Serves 4  

1 kg Beef Cheeks (remove silver skin and most of the fat) Slice each cheek into 4 strips.

¼ cup vino cotta or good balsamic vinegar

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling

1 ½ cups really good syrah ( I used Esk Valley 2009)
4 cloves garlic roughly chopped

1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon juniper berries crushed

2 stalks celery sliced
1 star anise

200ml rose veal glaze
2 sprigs rosemary

Rind of 1 orange peeled in strips
5 small fresh bay leaves
Sea salt flakes and fresh ground black pepper

Day before cooking, toss the beef cheeks in a little olive oil and marinade with garlic and all spices, herbs and orange.

Preheat oven to 150c. Drizzle the beef cheeks with ½ the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, then brown the cheeks on each side and place in a heavy-based casserole. Deglaze the pan with vino cotto and red wine and reduce by 1/3 and add to casserole. Wipe out the pan and add remaining olive oil, then add the onions and celery and brown. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to the casserole. Add the glaze and place the covered casserole in the oven. Turn the cheeks frequently and should be done to perfection after 3 hours. Should be tender and falling apart.
Serve over creamy mashed potato with plenty of wilted spinach and the rest of the Syrah in your glass….. Delicious