Beef Cheek Bourguignon

• 50 ml vegetable oil
• 4 beef cheeks (each about 300g)
• 1 cup (150g) plain flour
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 350 g golden shallots, peeled
• 300 ml pinot noir
• 4 cups (1L) beef stock
• 260 g bacon, cut into 2cm pieces
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 350 g button mushrooms, halved
• ½ cup (firmly packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped, plus extra to serve

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 150C. Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat.
• Season beef cheeks, dust with flour and brown all over (7-8 minutes).
• Add garlic and shallots, and sauté until shallots just start to colour (3-4 min).
• Deglaze pan with wine and transfer to a flameproof casserole dish adding stock, bacon and herbs.
• Cover with a lid and braise in oven until beef is very tender (3-3 ½ hours).
• Place casserole over medium heat, add mushrooms and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender (8-10 minutes).
• Stir in parsley, scatter extra on top and serve.