A True Comfort Food

If there’s one thing that can truly be enjoyed during winter, it’s the comfort food! Tender meat and tasty vegetables, broths and pies and stews and soups, the choices for comfort food are almost endless, but which is the king? Our vote is for beef olives, tender pockets of boneless meat in rich tomato-based gravy, nutritious vegetables and paired with creamy, turmeric-infused mashed potatoes. What could be better?


Ingredients:

16 beef olives from your local butcher
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 large carrots chopped
2 Stalks of celery chopped
1 large leek
1 punnet of button mushrooms (quartered)
1 large white onion chopped
300g back bacon chopped
½ tsp. garlic
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
600ml beef stock
1 can of tomato puree
1 tsp. powered coriander
1 tsp. paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
3 or 4 medium potatoes
1 ½ Tbsp. butter
50ml full cream milk
½ tsp. turmeric
1 cup red wine


Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until onions become soft.
3. Slice the leek lengthways and then chop width ways into half coins about 1.5cm wide. Add the leek, carrots celery, and bacon to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Empty the vegetables into a large ovenproof dish and set to the side.
5. Heat 1 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil on a high heat. Brown the beef olives on all sides but be sure not to cook them all the way through. Gently place the beef olives on top of the vegetables making sure they do not unroll.
6. Sprinkle the coriander, paprika, salt, and pepper over the beef olives and add the tomato puree, red wine, and beef stock to the dish.
7. Place rosemary on top and cover with tin foil.
8. Place in preheated oven and allow to cook slowly for 3 hours.
9. After 2 ½ hours, peel chop, and boil potatoes until the slide off a knife when poked.
10. Remove the potatoes from the stove and drain using a colander.
11. Add butter, milk, a touch of salt, few grinds of black pepper and turmeric to the potatoes and mash.
12. Remove the beef olives from the oven.
13. Serve on top of mashed potatoes with the vegetables and a generous serving of flavourful gravy.


This dish is a wintertime favourite for many families. Remember you can add more vegetables such as spinach, peppers, and marrows or remove any of the ingredients you that don’t suit your taste. Cooking is about making delicious and enjoyable meals to enjoy with the people you love most. If you have picky kids that don’t like vegetables, you can blend the vegetables and sauce together in small batches for all the wonderful flavours and nutrients and none of the fuss.