Braised Beef Cheeks with Polenta, Coffee and Wild Mushrooms

• vegetable oil↗4 tbsp tbsp
• beef cheeks↗2 large

  (about 800g total), trimmed of excess sinew

• all-purpose flour↗100g g

  for dusting

• carrot↗2

  peeled and roughly chopped

• onion↗1

  roughly chopped

• bay leaf↗2
• dark beer↗500ml bottle ml

  bottle

• beef stock↗1 litre l
• milk↗750ml ml
• polenta↗200g g
• coffee↗100ml strong black ml

  strong black

• butter↗100g g
• wild mushrooms500g g

  brushed clean and kept whole, or torn into smaller pieces if very large

• garlic clove↗1

  crushed

• flat-leaf parsley↗1 tbsp chopped tbsp

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 160 °C/140 °C fan/gas 3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy, oven‑safe pot or casserole dish large enough to hold the beef cheeks over high heat. Dredge the beef cheeks in flour and brown them on all sides until golden. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add the carrots, onion and bay leaves and sauté until nicely coloured. Add the dark beer and let it reduce, decreasing in volume by about three quarters. Return the beef cheeks to the pot, pour in the beef stock and place the pot in the oven, covered. Braise for 3 hrs 30 mins or until the meat is tender but not falling apart. After cooling, the cheeks can be chilled if preparing ahead.

2. 2

   Strain the braising liquid through a sieve, return it to the pot and place over high heat again to reduce the volume by half. Return the beef cheeks to the liquid and keep simmering on low heat until serving.

3. 3

   To make the polenta, heat the milk to a simmer. Add the polenta, whisk continuously, and cook over very low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or lumps. Stir in the coffee and 50 g butter, season, and continue mixing until smooth. Add a little water if needed to thin.

4. 4

   Melt the remaining butter in a pan. When it begins to foam, add the wild mushrooms and garlic clove, cook for 5 minutes, then add the flat‑leaf parsley. Cut the beef cheeks in half, yielding four equal pieces. Place a few generous spoonfuls of polenta at the bottom of four deep bowls or plates. Top each with a piece of beef cheek and scatter the mushrooms around. Serve the remaining sauce in a gravy boat separately.