Beef Olives
I have very fond memories of beef olive’s it’s something that that reminds me of childhood and something my mother would make me for special occasions.
The flavour absolute textures and presentation of these little parcels of deliciousness tied up in string, are a delight, it’s only when I got older, I discovered there are no olives in Beef Olives!
They are a traditional British dish thought to originate from Scotland, this dish has been around in some form or another since Shakespeare’s time, it is basically thin steaks of meat, rolled around a parcel of stuffing cooked in a rich sauce.
Recently seeing fairy steaks in the freezer at the BNJC shop, I adapted a recipe, brought it up to date and I was delighted to step back in time.
Watch Point
This recipe is prepared in stages, and you need kitchen string to tie up your packages. This is not a recipe for a quick meal, but the preparation is well worth it. It isn’t complex if you follow the stages.
Ingredients- Serve 2
2 fairy steaks or 400 grams of very thinly cut beef steak.
2 slices of Gluten free bread
3 cloves of garlic
3 shallots
1 cup fresh parsley chopped.
zest of half a lemon
100 grams mushrooms chopped.
2 celery stalks chopped and diced.
1 medium onion peeled and diced.
½ large leek, washed, and chopped
2 carrots peeled & diced.
1 sprig of thyme
1 teaspoon good quality salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
400 ML of beef stock
¼ glass full bodied red wine
2 tablespoons passata or 1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon good quality mustard of your choice
Method
Stage one: make the stuffing.
Place a pan on a medium heat, heat ½ the olive oil, chop one clove of garlic, and the two
shallots, sauté the shallots and garlic together until translucent, add the mushrooms and
cook for a further 5-7 minutes on a low to medium heat, then set aside.
Take the bread, ½ the parsley lemon zest ,1 clove of garlic, 1 shallot place in a food
processor, and blend well together till it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Add the onion and mushroom mixture to the breadcrumbs season to taste, then transfer
into a dish cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to become
slightly firm.
Stage two – prepare your parcels.
Place your meat between two sheets of parchment paper cling film, and using a meat
hammer, or a rolling pin, beat them till they are around 1cm thick. Spread each piece of
meat with mustard, shape the stuffing into a sausage shape, and gently roll the meat
around it initially securing it with a cocktail stick.
Using the string wrap it round to secure the parcels! Place back in the fridge in an oven
proof dish until the sauce is ready. Set your oven at 170 degrees C, 350 F Gas mark 4.
Stage three – prepare the sauce.
Take a heavy bottom pan, heat the remaining olive oil over a medium heat, add one
chopped clove of garlic, the onion, diced carrots, chopped celery, reduce the heat, put on
a lid, and cook slowly until the vegetables are slightly soft, and onion translucent.
Deglaze the pan with the wine, add the thyme, stock, and tomato paste or passata,
season to taste, cook for a further 10 minutes till the sauce has reduced some, then pour it
over the meat & mushroom parcels cover them and place in the oven for an hour and a
half.
Serving –
Sprinkle with the remaining chopped parsley, and serve with mashed potatoes, and
glazed carrots and cabbage for a deeply satisfying meal.