Braised Beef

🥩 Beef slowly simmered with onions, tomato and cumin until tender and coated in fragrant cooking juices.

Ingredients

• 🥩 1 kg braising beef, cut into 4 cm pieces
• 🧅 2 large onions, sliced
• 🍅 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped (about 400 g)
• 🧄 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 🫗 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 🌿 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 🌶️ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 🧂 1 teaspoon salt, adjusted for the stock
• 💧 500 ml hot water or low-salt stock, plus more if needed
• 🍋 1 tablespoon lemon juice and parsley or coriander to serve, optional

Preparation

Pat the beef dry. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat in batches without crowding. Set aside on a clean plate.

Lower the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook for 7–9 min, stirring, until soft and golden. Stir in the garlic, cumin and pepper for 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes and cook for 8–10 min until they break down and their liquid reduces. Scrape up the browned bits without burning them.

Return the beef and its juices to the pot. Add the salt and 500 ml hot water or stock; the liquid need not completely cover the meat.

Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over low heat for 1 h 45 min. Check every 25–30 min and add small amounts of hot water if the pot dries. Turn the meat once or twice.

Test with a fork and continue in 15 min increments if needed; the cut and cube size affect the time. Uncover for the final 10 min to thicken the sauce, then taste and adjust salt.

Turn off the heat, add lemon if desired and rest for 5 min. Scatter herbs over the dish and serve hot; keep raw-meat utensils separate from cooked food.