Ingredients
2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 sticks celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
A few sprigs fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 small handful dried porcini
1 stick cinnamon
1 kg quality shin of beef, bone removed, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon flour
2 x 400 g good-quality tinned plum tomatoes
⅔ bottle Chianti
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. In a heavy-bottomed ovenproof saucepan, heat a splash of olive oil and gently fry the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, herbs, porcini and cinnamon for 5 minutes until softened slightly. Meanwhile, toss the pieces of beef in a little seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Add the meat to the pan and stir everything together, then add the tomatoes, wine and a pinch of salt and pepper. Gently bring to the boil, cover with a double-thickness piece of tinfoil and a lid and place in your preheated oven for 3 hours or until the beef is meltingly tender and can be broken up with a spoon. Taste and check the seasoning, remove the cinnamon stick and rosemary sprigs and serve.
