Layered sweet and sour beef stew (Lah'meh Fil Meh'leh)

So many cookbooks these days have similar dishes that it's great to come across one that includes recipes you won't find elsewhere. That's absolutely the case with Eat Share Love a collection of recipes and stories from the home cooks of Bristol's 91 language communities collated by food writer and campaigner Kalpna Woolf.

This unusual sweet and sour Syrian stew from Viviane Bowell sounds really delicious and I can't wait to make it

Viviane writes: "My mother’s family originates from Aleppo in Syria. My grandparents left in 1910 for economic reasons and settled in Egypt as it had become the new El Dorado, due to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The Jews of Aleppo had developed an elite cooking style which featured fine ingredients such as cinnamon and allspice, and exotic flavours such as tamarind paste and pomegranate molasses. Dried fruits were commonly available in the markets of Aleppo and were added to all sorts of vegetable and meat dishes. This remained very much my grandmother’s style of cooking. She taught my mother everything she knew, and I have tried to keep the tradition going in my own way.

I have shared two Syrian Jewish recipes for this book: layered beef stew (opposite) and borekas, which you can find on page 142. These little pies are the trademark and the pride of Jews of Spanish descent. Their ancestors were expelled from Spain in 1492 and most of them settled in the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans. My father’s family moved from there to Egypt just before the First World War as the Ottoman Empire had by then disintegrated. Borekas were a staple in my family and part of my childhood. Every housewife had her own variation and prided herself that hers were the best. The ones I remember most fondly are my mother’s as her pastry just melted in the mouth.

LAH’MEH FIL MEH’LEH (LAYERED SWEET AND SOUR BEEF STEW)

This Syrian Jewish dish favours the sweet and sour combination of ingredients. It’s very easy to prepare, as it’s all cooked in one pot. The flavour will improve if prepared a day ahead and reheated in the oven before serving.

Preparation time: 30 minutes • Cooking time: 2+ hours • Serves 6-8

900g stewing beef
• 21⁄2 tsp salt
• 1⁄4 tsp black pepper
• 1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 11⁄2 tsp allspice
• 2 medium onions
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 medium aubergine
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3⁄4 cup (134g) pitted prunes
• 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 21⁄2 cups (625ml) water
• 3 heaped tbsp tomato paste
• Juice of 2 lemons + 3 tbsp
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce or pomegranate molasses
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1⁄4 cup (51g) firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1⁄4 tsp salt

First, prepare the layers. Cube the stewing beef and then combine it with the salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice in a bowl, mixing well with your hands. Cut the onions into wedges and separate them into layers, then peel and chop both types of potato into medium chunks. Cut the aubergine into 2cm cubes. Pour the vegetable oil into a heatproof casserole dish. Spread half the onions in a single layer over the oil. Place half the meat over the onions, pressing down firmly. If using a large saucepan, you may have to use all the onions in one layer and then all the meat. Add the vegetables in layers, beginning with the white potatoes, followed by the sweet potatoes, prunes and then aubergines, in that order. Press down firmly and then pour the chopped tomatoes over the vegetables.

Next, prepare the sauce. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, tomato paste, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce or molasses, tamarind paste, dark brown sugar and salt. Give the mixture a stir, quickly bring it to the boil and then pour the sauce over the layers in the casserole dish.

Cover with a lid and simmer the stew over a low heat for 1 hour. Correct the seasoning to taste. You may have to add more brown sugar, as the sauce should have a sweet-tart taste. Preheat the oven to 180°c (Gas Mark 4) and then transfer the casserole dish to the oven and cook for another 1 hour 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours until the potatoes and aubergines are soft. If necessary, cook uncovered for a further 15 minutes if the sauce needs to be reduced. Serve with white rice.

What to drink: There is actually a great Syrian red if you can get hold of it but otherwise I'd go for a full-bodied Lebanese red or a grenache/syrah/mourvedre blend. FB

Eat Share Love by Kalpna Woolf is published by Meze. All proceeds from the book go to the award-winning Charity 91 Ways to Build a Global City.

Slow-cooked ox cheek in spicy tomato sauce

A warming wintry recipe from José Pizarro's Catalonia - the perfect dish to cook as the nights draw in.

José writes: "If you go to Palafrugell, you must visit the market. It’s a great place to go for all the food you’ll need for the day or weekend ahead, and you’ll inevitably end up buying many things you didn’t go there for, just because there’s so much choice.

The farmers are very proud of what they’ve brought to market, so spend a little time chatting to them and they’ll be delighted.

On the day we went, the ox cheek that was available was just stunning, so we made this dish for our lunch."

Slow-cooked ox cheek in spicy tomato sauce

Serves 6

4 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) ox cheek in large chunks

2 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour, to dust

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 stick celery, finely chopped

6 anchovies, chopped

2 teaspoons sweet smoked pimentón

2 teaspoons hot smoked pimentón

handful thyme sprigs

300 ml (10 fl oz) red wine

2 × 400 g (14 oz) tins chopped tomatoes

150 ml (5 fl oz) chicken stock

Heat half the oil in a casserole dish. Dust the ox cheek in the plain flour with plenty of seasoning, add to the dish and brown in batches. Set aside.

Heat the rest of the oil in the pan and fry the onion, carrot and celery for 10 minutes until softened. Add the anchovies and pimentón and cook for a minute. Then add the thyme and red wine and bubble until reduced by half.

Add the tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently, covered for 2 hours. Uncover and cook for a further 30 minutes – 1 hour, or until the ox cheek is really tender and the sauce reduced and thickened. Rest for 15 minutes then serve with a chicory & pomegranate salad (also in the book) if you like.

What to drink: You really want a big rich red such as a Priorat with this dish FB

Catalonia: Recipes from Barcelona and Beyond by José Pizarro (Hardie Grant, £25) Photography © Laura Edwards

Seftali

We tend to think of barbecue as American but of course many cuisines involve dishes that are cooked over coals such as these delicious kebabs from Selin Kiazim's fabulous book Oklava.

Selin writes: "Åžeftali was probably one of the first things I planned to put on the menu at Oklava, first because it’s a Cypriot kebab, and second because it’s my favourite! You must eat it with an onion salad, lavash or Turkish bread to absorb the juices and lots of lemon. I have given specific measurements for the onion and parsley because for me it is very important to have the correct quantities, and every bunch of parsley or onion weighs a different amount."

MAKES 18

900g (2lb) minced beef

450g (1lb) onion, finely chopped

300g (10½oz) flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (a little stalk is good)

15g (½oz) fine salt

40g (1½oz) Turkish chilli flakes (pul biber)

200g (7oz) lamb suet, frozen and finely grated* (If you haven't got lamb suet I'd replay half the beef mince with lamb mince FB)

2–3kg (4lb 8oz–61b 8oz) lamb caul fat, soaked in cold water with the juice of 1 lemon for 1 hour* (obviously not the easiest thing to get hold of and you definitely don't need this amount. 500g should do it I'd have thought. Sausage casings might also work or just make them without FB)

Mix together the beef, onion, parsley, salt, chilli flakes and lamb suet. Knead for 5–10 minutes, or until well combined.

Divide the mixture into 85g (3oz) pieces and shape each one into a sausage about 7cm (2¾in) long.

To wrap the ÅŸeftali, stretch a large piece of caul fat over a chopping board. Place a sausage on one corner of the board and cut the caul fat around it, leaving a 1.5cm (¾in) margin on 3 sides and leaving it at least 10cm (4in) long on the fourth side,

Roll the caul fat around the sausage 1.5 times, tucking in the margins as you go. Repeat with the rest of the sausages.

Thread the sausages onto 2 large skewers, weaving them in and out to prevent them unravelling. Alternatively, if you have a metal grill for sandwiching fish on thebarbecue, you can line them up in that.

Cook over medium-hot coals, seasoning with a little fine salt during cooking, andturning them regularly.

What to drink: I'd suggest a bright fruity red with this such as Kalecik Karasi from Turkey or a mencia from Bierzo.

Image credit: Chris Terry

Book credit: Oklava by Selin Kiazim is published by Mitchell Beazley, £25 (www.octopusbooks.co.uk)

Richard Turner's beef rendang

If you like a bit of a project make Richard Turner's beef rendang this weekend - one of his favourite recipes, he tells me, from his brilliant new book PRIME.

The basic beef broth while amazing is a bit of a project in itself but Richard says you can use ready made beef stock or a beef stock cube if you haven't time. I'd be seriously tempted to double the recipe though and invite more friends.

Richard writes: "A caramelized curry dish from West Sumatra in Indonesia, reckoned to be one of the most delicious beef dishes on the planet by a CNN poll.Originally used as a method of preserving excess quantities of meat, this dish has spread throughout Asia due to the migrating culture of its originators, the Minangkabau."

Serves 4

1kg (2lb 4oz) chuck steak

50g (1¾oz) beef dripping

2 cinnamon sticks

2 cloves

2 star anise

50g (1¾oz) desiccated coconut, toasted

500ml (18fl oz) coconut water (the kind sold fresh for drinking)

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon kecap manis or light soy sauce

2 kaffir lime leaves

250ml (9fl oz) Basic Beef Broth (see below)

juice of 1 lime

Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

For the spice paste

100g (3½oz) shallots, peeled

1 garlic bulb, cloves peeled

50g (1¾oz) fresh root galangal, peeled

50g (1¾oz) fresh root ginger, peeled

3 red chillies

3 lemon grass stalks

50ml (2fl oz) water

For the coconut rice

300g (10½oz) basmati rice

700ml (1¼ pints) coconut water (the kind sold fresh for drinking)

First make the spice paste. Roughly chop the shallots, garlic, galangal, ginger, chillies and lemon grass, then place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse, adding the water to make a fine paste. Set aside.

Cut the beef into 4cm (1½ inch) chunks. Heat a heavy-based pan over a medium heat and add half the dripping. Add the beef, in batches if necessary, and cook on all sides until browned, then remove from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining dripping and the spice paste and fry for 2 minutes, then add the cinnamon, cloves and star anise and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Return the browned beef to the pan, along with the toasted desiccated coconut. Stir well, then add the coconut water, tamarind paste, fish and soy sauces, lime leaves and beef broth and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a bare simmer, stirring regularly to make sure it doesn’t stick. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 1½ hours, or until the meat is tender.

To make the coconut rice, place the rice and coconut water in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Meanwhile, remove the lid from the beef and cook for a further 15 minutes, until just thickened. Add the lime juice, season with salt and pepper and serve with the coconut rice.

What to drink: Tricky one. It's not the easiest dish for wine but I'd be tempted to go for a lush ripe grenache or garnacha or a GSM (grenache, syrah, mourvèdre) blend

Basic Beef Broth

Makes about 6 litres 10 ½ pints (so you'll obviously need a VERY large pan FB)

Richard writes: "I was taught to use three basic stocks as the base for sauces – veal, chicken and fish – but I’ve always had a nagging doubt: if making a sauce for pork or beef, why would you use any other stock than that made from the bonesof the meat you are cooking? This is my basic broth (call it stock if itpleases you), and the foundation of many of the recipes in the book. I’ve shoehorned in as many sources of umami as I can and consequently it’s not a subtle stock, but then beef can take it."

1kg (2lb 4oz) beef bones

1 small beef shank

1 oxtail

2 onions, peeled and halved

2 large carrots, split

2 celery sticks

2 large dried shiitake mushrooms

2 dried porcini mushrooms (20g/¾oz)

1 garlic bulb, broken into cloves but not peeled

1 faggot of herbs (thyme, bay, rosemary and parsley)

1 spice bag (20 fennel seeds, 20 black peppercorns, 1 star anise)

250ml (9fl oz) Madeira

250ml (9fl oz) soy sauce

5 litres (9 pints) water

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6 and lightly roast the bones, beef shank and oxtail for about 30 minutes. Put the onions cut side down into a dry pan over a high heat and leave until very dark brown, almost burnt.

Place all the ingredients in a very large pan and bring to a gentle simmer. If you don’t have a pan large enough to hold the full quantity, it can be divided between 2 pans.

Skim off any scum that rises to the surface and cook for 6 hours, skimming every 30 minutes or so. The trick here is to simmer at a bare roll and skim any impuritiesregularly for a clean, clear master broth.

Without moving the pan, turn off the heat and gently ladle the broth out of the pan through a very fine sieve, taking care not to disturb the base too much.

Cool and reserve until needed. Once chilled, this broth can be frozen in 500ml (18fl oz) or 1 litre (1¾ pint) batches.

Extracted from PRIME: The Beef Cookbook by Richard H Turner published by Mitchell Beazley at £25. Photograph © Paul Winch-Furness