• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 shin of beef with the bone, trimmed of fat
• ½ brown onion, sliced
• 2 rashers of bacon, diced
• ½ cup (70g/2½ oz) diced celery
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 clove
• 1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (concentrated purée)
• 250 ml (8½ cup fl oz/1 cup) rich beef stock
• 100 ml (3½ fl oz) dry white wine
• bouquet garni, made up of a few sprigs of parsley, thyme and a bay leaf tied together with kitchen string
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 8 medium carrots, peeled
• chopped parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet and brown the beef shin for a few minutes. Then remove from the pan and put to one side

Add the bacon and the onion and stir for 1 minute. Next add the diced carrot and the celery, the garlic and clove and stir for a couple of minutes. Now stir in the flour and tomato paste, then add the beef stock, wine and the bouquet garni. Season well with salt and pepper and bring to the boil whilst stirring.

Return the shin of beef the pan and cover with foil. Cook in the preheated oven for about 3 hours, turning the meat over once or twice.

Add the eight carrots and stir briefly. Cover the pan again and finish cooking in the oven for a further hour or so.

Transfer the beef, carrots and sauce to a warm platter and garnish with chopped parsley ready to serve.