Slow-cooked traditional Jewish Stew

I apologise that some of the quantities here are vague – that’s how this recipe was handed down to me by Shoshanna, my nanny. When I pressed for specifics she always said- I don’t know… I’ve always eye-balled it. So I did too, and so must you. You don’t mess around with matriarchichal lore.

Ingredients:

About 800g of fatty slow-cook beef, preferably oxtail on the bone

3-3.5 cups of beans – previously marinated overnight in water, then drained (you start with 2 cups of dry legumes/ grains, in twice as much water. You can use chickpeas, kidney benas, wheat grains, or a mix of all three)

About 1 litre chicken stock

2 onions, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

2-3 large/ medium Potatoes, peeled & sliced

1 chilli, chopped fine

3-4 garlic cloves, crushed

Tomato paste – a couple of Tbs.

Cumin, Paprika – quite a lot

 Turmeric & Cinnamon – just a bit

Huevos Haminados – Marbeled hard boiled eggs – one per diner (instructions below)

Salt & pepper

In a large oven-proof pot, fry the onion with the spices in a bit of oil (any kind), and when it’s translucent add the chilli, garlic & tomatoes, and the tomato paste.

In a separate pot/pan sear the beef in some oil (on all sides)

Add the legumes & grains (drained after marinating) to the fried onion mix, add the stock, and bring to a boil.  Season with salt & pepper.

Add the seared beef (scraping in all the yummy bits from the searing) and sliced potatoes – arrange them somehow among the legumes etc., and the huevos haminados (still in their shell).

This all needs to be just covered in liquid; if you need to add any – make sure the water / stock you add is boiling hot!

Bring to the boil again

Put the pot in the oven on a low heat (really low) for at least 4 hours (Can be done overnight if you’re brave and / or feeling very traditional, but then the heat must be REALY low).

You can either serve it in the pot, or put each individual component in a serving dish – as you desire.

(just peel the Huevos befor serving – it’s messy)

Huevos Haminados:

Boil eggs as you normally would BUT put a couple of teabags in the water

When they’re almost done, take them out, and crack their shells with a spoon, then put them back in the boiling tea for the remainder of their cooking. Do not peel.

The tea will stain the white of the eggs through the cracks, leaving a beautiful pattern when you later peel the eggs.