Braised Featherblade with Parsley and Horseradish Dumplings

Once you discover the poor, neglected featherblade you’ll be asking your butcher for it all the time. It braises beautifully, and the marbling of the meat makes for a satisfyingly rich sauce. This is one for a winter evening, or for a weekend lunch after a bracing walk on the beach or up a mountain. You can of course make it without the dumplings, but why on earth would you deprive yourself of that pleasure?

Braised Featherblade with Parsley and Horseradish Dumplings – Printer Friendly Download

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg featherblade steak, cut into six portions
  • sea salt
  • black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or Irish rapeseed oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, sliced
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 250 ml red wine
  • 500 ml beef stock
  • 2 tablespoons tomato purée
  • leaves from 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon English mustard

For the dumplings:

  • 15 g butter
  • ½ onion, very finely chopped
  • 4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
  • 80 g breadcrumbs
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 3 heaped tablespoons creamed horseradish
Serves 6

To Cook

Preheat the oven to 160° C/fan 140° C/gas mark 3.
Season the steak with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Heat a tablespoon ofthe oil in a large, heavy-bottomed casserole dish and sear the meat in batches for 2–3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. Place the meat to one side.
Add a little more oil to the casserole dish and fry the onion, celery, carrots and garlic until softened, about ten minutes.
Return the beef to the dish and add the wine, stock, tomato purée, thyme leaves, bay leaf and mustard. Stir and bring to a simmer, then cover with a disc of greaseproof paper and the lid and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 3 hours, or until the meat is very tender.

Now make the dumplings. Melt the butter in a small frying pan, add the onion and cook over a low heat until soft. Then transfer the onions to a bowl and combine with the parsley, breadcrumbs, egg and horseradish. Form dumplings with the mixture, allowing two per person. Don’t worry if they seem quite liquid — they will firm up as they cook.

Remove the beef from the oven and dot the dumplings on top. Cover and return to the oven for 20 minutes. Then remove the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Serve with green vegetables. Buttered kale would be delicious.

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