Beef cheek curry

In winter, nothing beats a good curry and with the busyness of life, nothing beats a slow cooked meal either! This recipe is based on an old Pete Evans recipe. I have given you the traditional way to cook this curry but truth be told - I am much better at just throwing it all in the slow cooker for the day.

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg beef cheeks cut into 1-inch cubes 
• 3 tablespoons Changing Habits curry powder
• 2 teaspoons Changing Habits turmeric 
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar 
• 4 tablespoons ghee 
• 2 onions, chopped finely
• 1 carrot, sliced into rounds
• 4 cm piece ginger, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, sliced 
• 1 small chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
• 650 ml beef stock 
• 3 tablespoons Red Boat fish sauce 
• 300 ml coconut cream 
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach

Method
In the morning, combine the beef cheeks, curry powder, turmeric in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Combine the ingredients together and leave to marinate in the fridge for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a large ovenproof pan or casserole dish over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and cook until slightly softened, then add the ginger, garlic and chilli and cook for a further few minutes until the garlic starts to colour and is fragrant. Set aside.

In the same pan, add the remaining ghee. When the ghee is hot, add the marinated beef in batches, and cook until well browned.

Return all the meat and cooked vegetables back to the pan and pour in the stock and fish sauce. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2½ hours, or until the meat is tender.

Add the coconut milk to the curry and cook for a further 5 minutes before serving. Season with more salt and pepper if needed and fold in the baby spinach. 

Serve with cauliflower rice and some fermented veg.

…Alternatively, throw it all in the slow cooker for the day. Just add the coconut milk and spinach 5-10 mins before serving! 😉