Ostrich & Sherry Stew

Winter + red wine + fireplace + good company + hearty food = perfection!

The 3 things I love the most about stews are:
1. They taste better after a day or so - like a teenage crush they love you more when you forget about them and treat them with nonchalance before rushing back for more just when you think it's all over.
2. You never have to stick to the recipe. Ever. If you don't have something, you can replace it with something else, or if the mood hits you, add a little dash of this or a blob of that, whatever tickles your fancy really.
3. They're cheap as chips to make but guarantee you smiles-all-round and the kids, fussy uncle John who is has both gluten and wheat allergies and Grandma Beatrice(who is now toothless and has to masticate by sucking on her gums) can not only eat, but rather, all absolutely LOVE them.

Do yourself a favor - next time you have a bunch of folks round to yours during winter - make a stew - forget about the poncy crudites and hors doeuvres and serve up a hearty-put the hair back on your chest-stew! Oh, 'but what if I have a bunch of tree-huggers to lunch?' I hear you holler - well, you can simply ditch the meat, replace the booze with another can of tomatoes and add some sweet potato or lentils - no jokes - it works a treat! Good grief I am starting to sound like a Verimark TV salesperson - 'but wait there's more'...No, fear not, that's it. But you should try it out - really - you should...terms and conditions apply, batteries not included

Hearty Ostrich and Sherry Stew

Ingredients (serves 8-10, simply halve the recipe if desired)

• 6 large carrots
• 6-8 leeks
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 5 sprigs rosemary (chopped)
• 1kg ostrich goulash/steak (cubed)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt and pepper
• 3 tsp cumin
• 1 ½ cups sherry/port
• 70g can/sachet tomato paste
• 1 tin cherry tomatoes/chopped tomatoes
• 500ml chicken stock
• 4 Bay leaves
• 1 punnet mushrooms (quartered)
• 800g butternut (cubed)
• serve with rice or mash

Method:

• Chop the carrots, leeks and onions into similar sized cubes/rounds. Put a large heavy-based saucepan on medium-high heat, add a little olive oil and saute the carrots, leeks and onions for 5 minutes with a little salt and then add the garlic and rosemary and cook for a further 2 minutes, the remove from the heat.

• Put another saucepan (preferably non-stick) on high heat. Pour olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin over the ostrich and rub in until well coated then caramelise in the pan in 2 batches and add to the already sauteed veg but put the meat pan back on the heat.

• Pour the port/sherry into the pan and deglaze the pan for a minute or 2 (Basically use a spatula to scrape any caramelized pieces of ostrich stuck to the bottom of the pan by using the alcohol as an aid) and add to the veg and ostrich.
• Now add the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, bay leaves and stock and simmer for half an hour with a lid on before adding the mushrooms and butternut.

• Simmer for a further hour with the lid on and you're done! (It will always taste better the day after so if you want to make it the night before.)