Located on Sloane Square, London, The Botanist is something of a local institution despite only coming into existence in 2008. The Botanist that inspired the restaurant is Sir Hams Sloane, the adventuring naturalist and Chelsea Physic Garden benefactor. The European menu, unsurprisingly, places an emphasis on fresh, natural ingredients. If you visit this month, look out for (male) staff looking more hirsuite than normal. As part of Movember, they'll be growing moustaches to raise funds for men's health charities.
Serves 6
Ingredients
For the ox cheeks
3 pairs of ox cheeks (ask your local butcher for these)
1 medium onion
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 head garlic
5 sprigs of thyme
1 pint (600ml) red wine
1/4 pint (150ml) port
5 pints (3 litres) beef or veal stock
flour
For the bacon and mushrooms
2 shallots
5oz (150g) button mushrooms
5oz (150g) baby onions
5oz (150g) snails (you can find these in your garden or at specialist suppliers)
3 rashers of streaky bacon
handful of parsley, chopped
1oz (25g) butter
For the mashed potato
12.5oz (375g) peeled potatoes
12.5fl oz (375ml) water
1tsp salt
2oz (50g) cream
2oz (50g) butter
Method
1. Trim all skin and sinew off the ox cheeks
2. Roughly chop one onion, one carrot, half a head of garlic and one stick of celery. Place this in a heavy roasting pan along with the cheeks, thyme, red wine and port, making sure the beef is covered. Leave this to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours, but the longer you can marinate, the better it will taste.
3. Remove the ox cheeks from the wine and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Lightly coat in flour and seal in a hot frying pan with a little oil until dark and golden in colour.
4. Strain the vegetables from the marinade and reduce the liquid over a low heat until approximately 3.4oz (100ml) remains. In a heavy roasting pan place the cheeks, vegetables and reduced wine ensuring the cheeks are fully submerged. Cover with a lid or tin foil.
5. Place this in an oven at 130 degrees centigrade for approximately 4 hours. Check the beef after 3 hours by lifting a cheek out from the dish with a slotted spoon - with a gentle feel it should slightly give way to the touch, if not return to the oven for another hour and check again.
6. While the beef is braising, boil the potatoes in the water until soft. Drain and allow to steam for 5 minutes (this will allow all the moisture to escape leaving you with light and fluffy potatoes). In a separate saucepan, gently heat the cream and butter together. Mash the potato making sure there are no lumps. Add the cream mixture and season with salt & pepper.
7. Cut the bacon into small lardons, peel the baby onions and wash the mushrooms. In a heavy based pan fry the bacon for 5 minutes, add the onions and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until the bacon is slightly crispy and the onions and mushrooms soft and golden. This should take about 15 minutes. Finish with a little chopped parsley.
8. Wash the snails well under running water. Chop one shallot finely and fry gently in butter until translucent. Add the snails and cook for about 1-2 minutes or until just hot. Add the bacon mix to the snails and combine. Remove from the heat and set aside.
9. When the cheeks are tender remove from the liquid and set aside. Pass the liquid through a fine sieve or conical strainer to remove the vegetables. Return to a saucepan and reduce over a medium heat until the liquid thickens and starts to look like rich gravy.
To serve
When the sauce is at the desired consistency place the cheeks back into the sauce to warm through. Gently reheat the snail and bacon mixture in a pan. Reheat the mash potato in a separate saucepan. On each plate, place an ox cheek. Pour some of the gravy over each cheek and spoon over the snail and bacon mix. Serve with a bit of mash potato and a nice glass of red wine.
You can follow The Telegraph's Movember coverage here.
