This is madly delicious. The original recipe is in Honey from a Weed by Patience Grey.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 kg beef, cut to about the size and shape of a large thumb
- 1 onion, halved and finely sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- 1 glass of spanish brandy
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 50g dark chocolate
- a pinch of cinnamon
- 1 bunch of herbs, include thyme, bay, parsley
- 200ml white wine or noilly prat
- 300ml water
- 12 fine prunes
- olive oil
- 2 potatoes per person, peeled and cubed.
METHOD:
- Soak the prunes for an hour.
- Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a pan, and brown the meat. When it is browned, put it in a casserole dish.
- Fry the sliced onion in the olive oil, with the unpeeled garlic cloves, until the onions are soft and beginning to brown.
- Add the tomatoes to the frying pan, with the brandy, and wine. Simmer for around 20 minutes
- Add the paprika, bitter chocolate, and the cinnamon, and the herbs.
- Stir in the water, and cook for a few minutes, before pouring this over the meat in the casserole dish.
- Simmer in a moderate oven, around 140C, for 2 hours.
- Cook the prunes for 1/2 an hour in a very little water, and drain them.
- Fry the cubes of potato in hot oil until they are golden.
- Serve the stew on a platter, with the fried potatoes at one end, and the stewed prunes the other.