Beef braised in Guinness with whole wheat Pasta...

Apologies... I have been down with a bad flu. I don't think I have ever slept so much!  I am feeling a bit better today. A big thank you to my new 'joiners', very pleased you are here - so, on with the show...

Now, if the Guinness (or any dark beer) bit, is putting you off...  please try it, it really adds a depth of 'velvet' which goes so well with this. The next bit is the cut of meat : I always use the 'Hampe' in French or skirt steak (a long and flat piece of beef with long fibres of meat and a slight marbling of fat, that has great texture and taste).

For 4 :

700 g (1.5 lbs) skirt steak (or beef cut of choice - ground beef if you are in a hurry!)

330 ml (12 fl oz) can of Guinness

40 g (3 tablespoons) tomato purée

4 shallots (or 2 red onions)
2 finely grated carrots

1 litre (4 cups) of stock

Cut the long strip of meat into manageable sections (15 cm / 6 inches).   Then, for each one of these, you want to cut across (as in, across the grain) quite thinly - the meat will then be in strips, but will fall apart once cooked (see below). Chop the shallots.

In to a big pot, put some olive oil and brown the meat on a high heat; once just coloured, add in the shallots or onions and stir for a further four minutes reducing the heat, put in the tomato purée and cook for a minute; pour in the Guinness and cook for five minutes. Add in the carrots and stock, bring back to the boil and simmer for  around an hour and forty-five minutes (depending on the thickness of the cut beef, but the strips should be falling apart! - topping up with water if it gets too low)

Adding the Pasta should be done just before serving, as the beef can be cooked ahead of time.

I used a whole wheat pasta (Pennette Rigate) that I put straight into the same pot (enough for four) and let it take the juices of the meat (rather than precooking in water) - by cooking it this way, you will need to cook it a tiny bit longer as the juices are thicker so they take longer to rehydrate the pasta. I actually cooked as indicated on the packet, but let it stand for about six minutes off the heat with lid firmly on - if not about two or three minutes more (making sure the is enough liquid, add boiling water if it is drying out too quickly. Test before serving!)