Slow Cooked Beef Brisket Stew With Smoky Jollof Rice

Trim, then slice your spring onion[s] on the diagonal

Crush your garlic open by squashing it with the side of a knife and remove the skins

Peel and chop your brown onion[s] into wedges

Deseed your pepper[s] (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and chop into chunks

Chop your tomato[es] into wedges

Add the crushed garlic, onion wedges, chopped pepper and tomato wedges to a food processor with your scotch bonnet paste (can't handle the heat? Go easy!), curry powder and all purpose seasoning

Blitz until smooth – this is your pepper paste

Boil a kettle

Remove the slow cooked beef brisket from the packaging and reserve the beef juices

Dice the beef into large chunks

Heat a large pot with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat

Once hot, add half the pepper paste (you'll use the rest later!) with your ginger paste, bay leaf[ves] and dried thyme and cook for 3-4 min or until very fragrant

Once very fragrant, add your chopped tomatoes with the diced beef, reserved beef juices and beef stock mix

Add 150ml [200ml] [250ml] boiled water then bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 min or until the sauce has thickened – this is your slow cooked beef stew

While the stew is cooking, heat a separate pot (with a matching lid) over a medium-high heat with a drizzle of vegetable oil and a knob of butter

Once melted, add the remaining pepper paste with your ground smoked paprika and cook for 3-4 min or until fragrant

Meanwhile, rinse your basmati rice in a sieve under cold running water until the water runs clear (use your hands to really wash the grains!)

Once fragrant, add your rinsed basmati rice and chicken stock mix with 300ml [390ml] [600ml] cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, give everything a good mix up, then reduce the heat to very low and cook, covered, for 12-14 min or until all the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked

Once done, remove from the heat and cover with tin foil, then set aside (lid on) to steam for 5 min – this is your jollof rice

Once the beef stew is ready, set aside for 4-5 min for the flavours to develop