Aromatic Beef Braised In Coconut Cream & Ginger

Serves two

400g beef shin, excess fat removed and chopped into 3cm chunks

50ml good-quality olive oil

1 tablespoon coarse sea salt

2 sticks lemongrass, bruised

4 kaffir lime leaves, torn

2 long red chillies, bruised

15g Thai shallots (or any small, sweet shallot), peeled and left whole

20g ginger, peeled and fine julienned

600ml-700ml coconut cream (enough to submerge the beef)

1 heaped tablespoon of tamarind paste

20ml-25ml fish sauce

1 heaped tablespoon soft brown sugar

10g coriander leaves, torn, to garnish

10g Thai sweet basil (or Italian basil), torn, to garnish

Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

1 Massage the olive oil and salt into the beef with your hands to ensure all the meat gets a good coating.

2 Preheat the oven to 140°C/gas mark 1. In a large ovenproof tray, add the beef, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, long red chillies, Thai shallots, two-thirds of the ginger, the coconut cream, tamarind paste, fish sauce and sugar. Check all the ingredients are completely submerged in the coconut cream, then tightly wrap the tray in foil to protect the contents from the direct heat of the oven. Place the tray on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for five to six hours.

3 Check the beef is cooked properly. You should be able to break up the pieces of meat with a spoon, it is so tender. When you are satisfied the beef is ready, taste the coconut broth to ensure you are happy with the seasoning. It should be delicately sweet from the coconut cream and moreishly salty from the fish sauce. Add a little more of either if you think necessary.

4 Serve the stew in bowls topped with the remaining ginger, as well as the coriander and basil. This dish is great served with steamed jasmine rice.

Lime Granita With Fresh Pineapple, Coconut Cream & Sea Salt

Makes 700ml (six to eight servings)

180g caster sugar

A pinch of coarse sea salt

4 kaffir lime leaves, torn to release their flavour

1 stick of lemongrass, bruised

150ml soda water

350ml lime juice (1 lime usually yields 20ml-25ml)

1/2 small pineapple (about 150g), peeled and roughly diced

100ml coconut cream, to serve

1 In a large saucepan, heat 180ml water, the caster sugar, a pinch of salt, the lime leaves and lemongrass until the sugar has dissolved and the flavours have fused together; this should take eight to 10 minutes on a medium heat. Discard the lime leaves and lemongrass.

2 Add the soda water and lime juice to the pan and stir gently (try not to stir all the bubbles out of the soda water). Pour into a freezer-proof container with a lid and freeze. Take out every hour and, using a fork, scrape the granita so that you end up with fluffy ice, rather than one big block of ice. It should take about four hours to freeze.

3 To serve, put a generous portion of pineapple in a bowl, top with a scoop of granita and pour over a little coconut cream. Sprinkle with a small pinch of sea salt. CL