Beef shin and horseradish soup

Serves 4-6

(Jason Lowe)

Beef and horseradish is a time-honoured combination; the horseradish grated in at the end gives the rich broth a nice little kick and I've even added a bit of curly kale for a bit of veg. I've used beef shin here but you could also use cheek, brisket or oxtail.

250g beef shin, cut into rough 3cm chunks
1tbsp vegetable or corn oil
50g butter
50g flour plus some extra for dusting
2 medium onions, peeled, halved and finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
A few sprigs of thyme
1tsp tomato purée
2.5ltrs hot beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
250g curly kale, thick stalks removed and cut into pieces
120-150g fresh horseradish, peeled and grated

Season the beef and dust with a couple of tablespoons of flour. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the pieces of beef on a high heat, turning them as they are cooking to give them a nice colour. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a saucepan and gently cook the onions, garlic and thyme for 2-3 minutes with a lid on until soft. Add the flour and tomato purée, then gradually whisk in the stock to avoid lumps forming. Bring to the boil, add the beef, season and simmer gently for about 2 hours or until the beef is tender. You can use a simmer plate for this or transfer it to a pressure cooker. Add the curly kale and horseradish and simmer until the kale is tender. Re-season and serve.