we are denz

Portuguese / South African Style Beef

I first tried this dish during the early 1980s at a Portuguese restaurant in a small town south of Johannesburg. Believed to have been introduced to the country by Portuguese speakers from neighbouring Angola and Mozambique, Trinchado (means carved in English) is a rich, thick stew of melt-in-your-mouth beef laden with onions, garlic, red wine, black olives and fiery red piri-piri chillies. It's a welcome change from your typical beef stew or beef Bourguignon and is traditionally served with crusty bread or thinly sliced chips.

Ingredients

Serves 4 people

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1kg beef (rump or fillet) cut into cubes
2 large medium-sized onions, chopped
2-3 small red chilli peppers, chopped - add more if you like it very hot. The really small piri-piri / peri-peri type are the best but any smallish, hot variety will do.
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup beef stock
1 cup red wine
2 bay leaves
20 stoned black olives (kalamatas are ideal)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.

Once the butter has melted and is sizzling, add the beef cubes in batches and brown well on all sides. Avoid overcrowding the pan and be patient as this initial step is what gives the dish its unique flavour.

Remove the cubes with a slotted spoon to a warm plate and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium, add the onions, chilli peppers (with the seeds) and cook until soft for about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute - careful not to burn it.

Sprinkle the flour over the onion / garlic mix and stir until the flour is fully cooked i.e. for about 2 minutes.

Pour in the stock with the red wine and stir until the sauce thickens a bit - should take about 3 minutes. If the red wine is quite dry, add a teaspoon of sugar.

Return the browned beef cubes and any juices that may have accumulated on the plate together with the bay leaves and olives.

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours until the meat is very tender.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Transfer to a large bowl and serve with the chips or bread (for dunking).

Enjoy!