Zigni-Style Berbere Beef Stew With Baked Rice

Before you begin...

This recipe takes around 5-10 min to prep, so get your casserole dish and all your ingredients ready, then wash your fruit and veg

Note: Make sure your dish is oven-proof and safe to use on the hob. Don't have one? Start cooking in a large, wide-based pan then transfer to an oven-proof dish and cover tightly with foil

Now let's get started!

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C (fan)/ gas 6

Boil a kettle

Heat a large, wide-based, hob-safe oven-proof casserole dish with a matching lid with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a high heat

Once hot, add your diced beef to the dish with a generous pinch of salt

Cook for 2 min or until lightly browned

Meanwhile, peel and cut your shallot[s] in half

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

Crush your garlic open by squashing them with the side of a knife and discard the skins

Cut your ginger in half (no need to peel!)

Add the halved shallot, pepper strips, halved ginger and crushed garlic to the dish with your berbere seasoning, tomato paste and 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] flour and give everything a good mix up

Add 450ml [600ml] [750ml] boiled water with the beef stock mix and 1/2 tsp [3/4 tsp] [1 tsp] sugar and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, cover with the lid and put the dish in the oven for 1 hour or until the sauce is rich and the beef is tender – this is your zigni-style berbere beef stew

Once the stew has had 30 min in the oven, reboil a kettle

Add your white long grain rice to an oven-proof dish with a pinch of salt and 300ml [390ml] [600ml] boiled water

Cover tightly with tin foil and put the dish in the oven for 25-30 min or until all the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked

Use this time to clear up, set the table, have a cup of tea or simply chill!