The legendary footwear designer shares one of his family’s favorite recipes.
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A comforting and hearty dish ideal for cooler climes, this recipe from Manolo Blahnik has all the makings of a quintessential stew. Spanish in origin, like the famed footwear designer himself, Guise de Carne has long been a favorite of locals, and Catalans in particular, dating back to the Early Renaissance times. Typically featuring a meat base, with vegetables and herbs, it's a warming stew with various adaptations according to the region, season, and family taste. Guise de Carne is “one of my absolute favorite special family dishes,” says Blahnik. “This traditional stew uses time and a simple technique to draw out the lovely flavours of fresh vegetables, tender beef, a divine sauce, and a rich, slightly sweet picada,” the latter being a Catalan take on a rich pesto, used to thicken the stew.
Ingredients for the stew:
- 15 ounces beef shoulder
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground pepper
- 2 yellow onions
- 2 carrots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 15 ounces fresh diced tomato
- Just under 1 cup of water
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 5 cups of beef stock
- A small handful of fresh mushrooms
- Flour
- Olive oil
Ingredients for the picada:
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- 1 handful toasted almonds
- 0.2 ounces or a grating of dark chocolate
- Just over 4 ounces of water
Instructions:
- When purchasing the meat, kindly ask your butcher to clean the shoulder of any nerves and tendons—one of the most important secrets to a deliciously tender stew.
- At home, cut the meat into chunks and season each piece with salt and freshly ground pepper, then cover in flour and give it a little shake to remove any excess.
- Cover the bottom of a Dutch oven with olive oil and brown the meat on all sides, then remove and set it on a plate for later.
- Finely dice the onions and carrots and sauté these in the same Dutch oven until both are cooked through—they’ll turn a divine golden color.
- Meanwhile, mince the garlic then add it in and sauté for just a minute. Add the tomato paste and herbs and sauté these for only one minute more.
- Now add the meat back in along with the juices released while it was resting. Cover it with the diced tomatoes and water—you can also use a red wine instead, whatever you fancy.
- Bring to a boil then add the flour to thicken and lower to a simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half.
- Pour in the beef stock, enough to fully cover the meat in liquid. Cover the pot and let simmer for an hour, just come back every now and then to give it a little stir.
- While that’s happening, make the picada simply by placing all ingredients into a food processor and pulsing until smooth. Add slowly to taste after the stew has been simmering for an hour.
- Add a touch of olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper to a frying pan and sauté the fresh mushrooms. Add these to the stew immediately before serving.