Cow crumble Recipe
							
										
						
				
- 6 tbsp olive oil
 
- 2kg/4lb 8oz cubed beef (mixture of chuck, skirt and shin)
 
- about 500ml/18fl oz beef stock
 
- 3 carrots, roughly chopped
 
- 3 celery sticks, roughly chopped
 
- 3 white onions, roughly chopped
 
- 3 tbsp plain flour
 
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
 
- 8 sprigs thyme
 
- 2 bay leaves
 
- 20cm/8in piece beef shin bone
 
- 2 large potatoes
 
- 4 large parsnips, peeled
 
- 125g/4½oz butter
 
- 2 tbsp black mustard seeds
 
- Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
 
- Heat four tablespoons of olive oil in a large oven-proof dish.
 
- Brown the cubed beef on a moderate to high heat, in roughly four batches, reserving the meat in a bowl as you go.
 
- Add a couple of ladlefuls of stock to the dish and scrape the base of the dish with a wooden spoon to release the caramelised sediment. Pour into the bowl with the browned meat.
 
- Heat two more tablespoons of olive oil in the same dish and soften the roughly chopped carrots, celery and onion.
 
- Return the meat to the dish and scatter over the flour. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes.
 
- Pour over enough stock to almost cover the meat, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and then stir the contents well.
 
- Add the thyme and bay leaf and leave to simmer on a low heat.
 
- For the crust, using a course grater or the grater setting of a food processor, grate the potatoes and peeled parsnips.
 
- In another pan, melt the butter with the mustard seeds.
 
- Toss the potatoes and parsnip in the melted butter and mustard seeds, evenly coating every strand.
 
- Spread the parsnip potato crust over the stew.
 
- Make a little gap in the middle of the crust and poke the bone into it, so that it stands upright.
 
- Cover in foil and bake for two hours, removing the foil after one hour so to allow the crust to go crisp.