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

Veal chops with oysters

If you're not one for hearts and flowers but still feel like cooking up a special meal for Valentine's night this recipe from Will Beckett, Huw Gott and Richard Turner's Hawksmoor at Home* would fit the bill perfectly.

After all it does contain oysters which as you know are an aphrodisiac . . .

Huw writes: After a weekend in Vienna (during a depressingly England-less Euro 2008), we returned home with a newfound respect for schnitzel. Back at Hawksmoor, where the world revolves around a real charcoal grill, we decided to grill the veal and use the schnitzel’s breadcrumbs to coat oysters instead. It appealed to our inner food geek – the Victorians loved to pair oysters with beef, why not with veal? And it seemed like a good excuse to pile on the deep fried oysters – we love their crunch and soft milky, saline interior (part sea, part sex, part chicken nugget).

Veal needn’t be a cruel meat. Although crating has been banned in the EU a number of other unsavoury practices are still common. Your best bet is to buy British rose veal from a reputable supplier like Percy and Ben Weatherall’s Blackface Meat Company who produce great quality ethical veal from their Ayrshire dairy herd in south-west Scotland.

serves 2

2 British rose veal chops (3–4cm thick)
Maldon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
12 oysters
75g seasoned self-raising flour
2 lightly beaten eggs
100g fresh breadcrumbs
vegetable oil for deep-frying
2 lemon wedges to serve

For the mayonnaise:
50g line-caught tinned tuna
100g mayonnaise (Hellmann’s is fine)
10g capers, rinsed
50ml double cream

To make the mayonnaise, whizz the tuna, mayonnaise and capers in a blender and sieve into a small bowl. Stir in the double cream and set aside.

Open the oysters, remove the meat and pat them dry.

Dip them in the seasoned flour, then the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas 3. Heat a ridged grill until almost smoking. Season the veal chops well and sear both sides until well coloured, then place in the oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside to rest.

Heat an electric fryer or a deep pan of oil to 180°C/350°F. Dip the oysters in the breadcrumbs a final time and deep-fry for a couple of minutes until golden brown.

Serve the chops with a pile of fried oysters on top and a large spoonful of the mayonnaise.

NOTE: You can also use a barbecue to cook the chops.

What to drink: You could drink a lightish red like a red burgundy with this but I'd be inclined to go for a Chablis because of its association with oysters - maybe a vieilles vignes or a premier cru - or even grand cru - given the fact that the veal is grilled.

*which is owned by my son Will, in the interests of full disclosure! But the profits go to Action Against Hunger.

Navarin of lamb

I made this simple, classic French one-pot meal down in the Languedoc in April last year - proof that a stew hits the spot at what can still be a chilly time of year.

Ideally you need to plan it 24 hours ahead. It's better, like many stews, made the previous day but if you haven't factored that in at least allow time for the stew to cool and refrigerate so that you can spoon off the layer of fat that will rise to the surface. (Don't let that put you off - it's better made with slightly fatty meat.)

What veg you use for a navarin depends what’s in season but I’d suggest carrots are essential and turnips nice. Later in the spring you could add a few lightly cooked fresh peas and skinned broad beans at the end along with the parsley.

Serves 4

750g lamb shoulder cut into large chunks or a combination of shoulder and neck

3 tbsp seasoned plain flour

5 tbsp olive oil

20g butter

100ml dry white wine + an extra slosh

2 medium-sized onions, peeled and sliced (sweet onions like oignons de lezignan would be ideal)

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tsp crushed coriander seeds

2-3 medium-sized carrots, peeled and sliced

2-3 medium-sized turnips, scrubbed and cut into even-sized cubes

2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 bayleaf

1 sprig of fresh thyme

A good handful of flat-leaf parsley

500ml chicken or vegetable stock

400g new potatoes, washed

Pat the pieces of meat dry and roll in the seasoned flour. Heat a frying pan and add 2 tbsp of the oil, then when the oil has heated, the butter. Fry the meat on all sides a few pieces at a time. Remove from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the wine and pour over the meat. Wipe the pan and return to the heat. Add the remaining oil, tip in the onions, stir and leave over a low heat until soft. Add the garlic and coriander seeds then the carrots and turnips, cover and continue to cook for another 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining flour, tomatoes, bayleaf, parsley stalks and stock and bring to the boil. Add the meat, bring back to a simmer then cover and leave on a low heat or in a low oven 110°C fan oven for 1 1/2 hours, checking occasionally. Remove from the oven cool and refrigate. Spoon off and discard the fat. Reheat gently Cook the potatoes in boiling water until almost done then add to the stew. Leave over a low heat for 10 minutes for the flavours to combine, adding an extra dash of white wine if you think it needs it. Chop the remainging parsley and fold through.

What to drink: this is a homely dish so I don't think you need anything particularly grand with it. Although used white wine to make the dish, and a rich smooth white would work with it, I'd marginally prefer a red. A basic burgundy or Beaujolais would pair well - something dry and medium-bodied rather than a big full-bodied belter. It's also a good foil for a mature Bordeaux or Rioja that needs drinking up - or even an old Faugères which is what we drank with it back in April last year.

The rather messy pic is mine. At least you know it's real.

Tom Parker-Bowles Neapolitan Ragù

If you think you have the ultimate bolognese recipe, think again. Try this fantastic version from Tom Parker-Bowles book Let's Eat Meat. I love Tom's style of writing - do read the great introduction:

"Ah, Naples. Considered by many as filthy, dirty and dangerous, a southern Italian wretch who has seen better days. But for me it’s Italy’s greatest city, endlessly invaded and occupied, but endlessly sexy, thrilling and beautiful. It’s also home to the best cooking in the country, as well as two of my favourite restaurants in the world (Da Dora for fish and DaMichele for pizza). This is still a poor area of the country, and meat doesn’t play a huge role in its traditional cookery. But this slow-cooked ragù is a masterpiece, the pride of every Sunday lunch, simmered and devoured with love and lust.

‘You must stay with it, guide it, caress it for hours,’ writes Jeanne Carola Francesconi in La Cucina Napoletana, ‘so that the aromas of its various components can be released and mingle with each other.’ This isn’t mere tomato sauce, rather Neapolitan lifeblood. I’ve adapted this recipe from Arthur Schwartz’s magnificent Naples at Table. It tastes even better after reading Naples ’44, Norman Lewis’s masterpiece on this most magical and seductive of cities."

Serves 6–8

1–2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

250g/9oz rindless pork belly, cut into large chunks

250g/9oz stewing veal

250g/9oz beef shin, cut into chunks

2 onions, finely chopped

½ bottle (37.5cl) of punchy red wine

3 x 400g/14oz cans of chopped tomatoes

big pinch of sea salt

big pinch of dried chilli flakes

handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy pot over a medium–high heat and brown all the meat, in separate batches, until well browned – around 5 minutes for each batch. Start with the pork belly as it will release some fat, but add more oil if the meat starts to stick.

After removing the final batch of meat, tip the onions into the pan and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until soft, stirring and scraping up the crisped bits of meat stuck on the bottom of the pan.

Return all the meat to the pan, add the wine and reduce over a high heat.

Add the tomatoes, salt and chilli and simmer very gently for 3–4 hours. Stir every 15 minutes or so, skimming off any excess fat. You may need to add a little water, 100ml/3½fl oz at a time, if the sauce begins to stick in the last couple of hours.

The Neapolitans would remove the meat and serve the sauce with pasta to start, then serve the meat separately for a next course. But I like it all together. Scatter on the parsley and serve with a pile of cooked fusilli or spaghetti.

Extracted from Let's eat Meat: Recipes For Prime Cuts, Cheap Bits And Glorious Scraps Of Meat by Tom Parker Bowles, published in hardback by Pavilion, priced £25. Photograph © Jenny Zarins.

What to drink: I think you need a hearty Italian red with this dish. A Taurasi might well be the local choice but other Aglianicos would work. You could also try a Sicilian red such as Nero d'Avola or even a Barbera even though it comes from the other end of the country. FB