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Braised Beef Stew

This is the kind of dish you crave when winter really settles in — a proper braised beef stew that fills the house with the most wonderful smells. Ingredients For 6 people 1.5 kg stewing beef, cut into cubes. 150 g salt pork, cut into 2 thick slices. 1 large onion or 2 medium ones. 4 garlic cloves. 250 ml good quality red wine. 250 ml beef stock. 1 tablespoon tomato sofregit. 3 tablespoons flour. 18 small pearl onions. 50 ml red wine for cooking the onions. 500 g mushrooms. 50 g butter. Olive oil. Salt. 50 g sugar. Boiled rice to serve alongside.     Method Trim any rind from the salt pork and cut it into 2 or 3 pieces. Put it in your casserole with just a few drops of oil over medium heat, and let it render its fat. Remove the salt pork and set aside. In the fat it's left behind, brown the beef — but don't crowd the pot. Do it in two or three batches so you don't drop the temperature too much, which would make the meat release its ju...

Lemon Tartlets


These little tartlets are bright, zesty, and absolutely irresistible. Perfect when you want something that feels light but still satisfies.


Ingredients

Pastry (makes about 16)

  • 250g sifted flour.
  • 75g icing sugar.
  • 125g butter, at room temperature.
  • 1 egg yolk.
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar.
  • 40g milk.

Filling

  • 3 lemons.
  • 100g raw almond flour.
  • 2 eggs.
  • 100g sugar.
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar.
  • 150g water.
  • 150g sugar, for the syrup.

Making the Pastry

In a large bowl, put the butter, sifted flour, milk, sugar, vanilla sugar, and egg yolk. Work it quickly with your fingers until everything comes together, then turn it out onto your work surface and bring it into a ball. Don't overwork this dough — the less you handle it, the better.
Wrap the dough in cling film and pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
      Take the dough out and line your tartlet tins with it, rolling it as thin as you can while keeping an even thickness throughout.
Prick the pastry all over with a fork, then place a circle of baking paper on top of each one and fill them with dried beans or baking weights. This keeps the pastry from puffing up in the oven.

Making the Filling

Peel two of the lemons, taking only the yellow part, and cut it into short strips. Simmer these in water over low heat for about 10 minutes, then drain. You can toss the water.
Make a syrup with the sugar and water. To check if it's ready, dip the tip of a spoon in and touch it with your fingers — when it starts to form threads, it's done. Stir in the vanilla and the lemon peel strips. Set aside.
Beat the two eggs with 100g of sugar for a good 5 minutes. Set aside.
Grate the zest from the remaining lemon, then juice that one and one of the peeled lemons. Mix the juice and zest with the almond flour and the egg-sugar mixture.
Pour this lemon cream into the pre-baked pastry shells.
Bake at 160°C for about 25 minutes. To test if they're done, poke the cream with a toothpick — if it comes out clean, they're ready.
Let them cool a bit, then carefully remove from the tins.
Fish the lemon strips out of the syrup and arrange them on top of each tartlet. Brush a thin layer of syrup over the lemon peel and cream to give them a lovely glaze.
Enjoy!

Notes

You can make the pastry the day before and keep it in the fridge. Just take it out an hour before you need it so it can come to room temperature. Once baked, the tartlets will keep for 3 or 4 days in a covered metal tin.
I use silicone muffin molds for these — no need to grease them, nothing sticks.
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