Oven-baked veal with potatoes

The beef is seared first, then everything bakes covered in a moderate oven and needs no stirring. You can cook it in the morning and reheat it before your guests arrive.

Ingredients

You will need: a 4-litre pot with a lid and metal handles that can go in the oven

Method

1. Cut the ingredients

   Heat the oven to 170 °C. Cut 800 g of beef into 4–5 cm chunks, 2 onions into half-moons and 2 carrots into rounds, and crush 3 cloves of garlic. Keep the chunks roughly the same size so they soften together.

   

2. Sear the beef

   Heat 3 tbsp of oil in the pot over high heat. Add the beef in two batches of 400 g and fry each for 4–5 minutes, until the chunks are golden brown on all sides. Then move them to a bowl.

   Pat the chunks dry with kitchen paper. If they are wet, they release water and boil instead of browning.

   

3. Soften the vegetables

   Turn the heat down to medium. Add the onions and carrots to the same pot and stir for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the garlic for the last minute.

   

4. Add the spices

   Take the pot off the hob, add 1 tbsp of paprika and 2 tbsp of tomato purée, and stir for 20 seconds. Paprika burns fast and turns bitter. Return the beef, then add 500 ml of hot water, 3 bay leaves, 1 tsp of salt and ½ tsp of black pepper. Put the pot on medium heat for about 3 minutes, until it boils.

   

5. Bake the beef

   Cover the pot and put it in the oven at 170 °C for 70 minutes. The beef is ready for the next step when a fork goes in easily but the chunks still hold their shape. While it bakes, peel and cut the potatoes.

   

6. Add the potatoes

   Take out the pot and add 1 kg of potatoes in 5 cm pieces, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of savory. Stir gently, cover and bake for another 30 minutes at 170 °C, until a fork goes into the potatoes but they are not yet falling apart.

   The potatoes should sit at least halfway in the sauce. If they stick out, press them down with a spoon.

   

7. Bake uncovered

   Take off the lid and raise the oven to 200 °C. Bake for 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens and the tops of the potatoes turn red. The sauce should bubble gently at the edges.

   

8. Let the dish rest

   Take out the pot and leave it on the table for 10 minutes. During this time the sauce sets and the meat firms up. Lift out the bay leaves with a spoon before you serve.

   

How to serve

Ladle into deep plates with the sauce, and put a sauerkraut salad and thick slices of bread for dunking alongside.

How to store

In a closed container in the fridge, it keeps for 3 days. The beef and sauce can go in the freezer for up to 2 months, but the potatoes turn soft and fall apart. Reheat over low heat under a lid, without letting it boil.

What you can use instead

• Instead of savory, add 1 tsp of dried marjoram.
• If you have no tomato purée, add 2 ripe tomatoes (about 300 g), peeled and chopped, together with the onions in step 3.
• Instead of shoulder, use boneless beef shank. Bake the beef 20 minutes longer.

Questions and answers

Per serving (approx.): 590 kcal · protein 46 g · fat 21 g · carbohydrates 57 g