The main flavour of this Mexican dish is the chipolte chilli, a dried and smoked jalapeno, available from most supermarkets. This beef stew has all the great flavours of Mexican food
Serves
4
Cooking time
3 hours
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
900g braising steak or shin, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 x 700g jar of passata
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 chipoltes (soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, destemmed and finely chopped)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp oregano
salt
Preheat the oven to 150C. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole and brown the meat over a high heat in batches. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Return the meat to the pan, add the passata, vinegar, chipoltes, bay leaves, oregano and a good pinch of salt.
Bring to the boil, cover and cook in the oven for about 3 hours or until the meat is meltingly tender.
Serve with rice mixed with fresh coriander, soured cream and a squeeze of lime.