Slow Cooked Kokkinisto Beef with Mushrooms & Spaghetti

Giddy up, happy February people! This year is flying past and a lot of fun has been had already.

This summer weather, if you can call it that, sucks dogs balls though. Summer, winter, heatwave (in Adelaide anyway), rain, humidity, cold snaps, whatever. I felt like something comforting so I slapped the beef on, free poured the red vino and danced around in the kitchen.

For those of you uncultured people, "kokkinisto" means reddened in Greek.

Slow Cooked Kokkinisto Beef with Mushrooms & Spaghetti
5 mins prep time, 2.5 hrs cooking

olive oil
500-600g beef chuck or round steak, cut into chunks
1 large Spanish red onion, chopped chunky
4-6 thyme twigs
8 button mushrooms, chopped chunky
2-3 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
1 cup tomato puree
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1-2 cups water
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon beef stock
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste
cooked spaghetti

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. 
2. Heat a stove to oven (dutch oven or pot roast) pan, add olive oil, onion and stir until onion is softened. Add meat and brown on both/all sides. Season the meat with salt, pepper and beef stock powder.
3. Add tomato paste, thyme and bay leaves , stirring well.
4. Add red wine, tomato puree, 1 cup water and sugar. Stir well. 
5. Shove the lid on (or foil if no lid) and shove pan in oven. Slow cook for 1 hour. Stir and add more water if needed. Then bake in oven for another 30 mins.
6. Stir through mushrooms, adding more water if needed to ensure a nice saucy consistency and cook in oven for a further 30 mins.
7. Serve over cooked spaghetti.

Tips

• If you want, add freshly chopped parsley and parmesan as garnish at the end.
• Enjoy with a glass of red vino and a side of fresh green salad.
• Alternatively to spaghetti, you can eat with rice or creamy mashed potatoes. The mash rocks with this dish and is my favourite, but this time I felt like spag.
• You can cook the fuck out of the meat, especially cheaper cuts, on a lower heat and for longer. Just ensure there's plenty of water in the pan for the sauciness.

I used gluten free pasta as I find it easier to digest. Don't judge me.