Beef in fragrant herbs and wine sauce

Another simple but so tasty recipe to enjoy with your family. Ideal for a Sunday dinner to have something different than the classic roast meat. Nature generously offers some of its best raw materials for this delicious dish. It can be served with pasta, rice or potatoes

Slightly adapted from a recipe of Argyro Barbarigou,
a prominent Head Cook and restaurateur
Check out her site Argiro for more delicious recipes

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

For the herbs mixture:
3 cloves of garlic, mashed
½ tea-cup of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (or ½ tbsp of dried)
1 tsp of dried rosemary, crushed
1 tbsp of olive oil
black pepper

For the meat:
1 ½Kg of beef in one piece (rump)
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and cut in small cubes (or grated)
1 stalk of celery, cut in small cubes
2 tea-cups of small white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp of sugar (optional -my addition)
1 tbsp of tomato paste
2 ½ tea-cups of red dry wine
2 tea-cups of meat stock
2 tomatoes, ripe but firm
salt
pepper

Method:
Put the ingredients for the herb mixture in a bowl and stir well to blend. Half of it will be used inside the meat and the rest later in the pot.

With a long, pointy knife make 10 deep incisions all around the meat and fill each one with some of the herb mixture using your fingers.

In a large pot warm the oil in medium-high heat and sauté the meat on all sides for 5-7 minutes, until it gets nicely browned. Transfer the meat on a dish, season with pepper and cover to keep it warm.

Using a spoon discard most of the oil from the pot leaving only 2 tablespoons. Add in the pot the onion, the carrot, the bay leaf, the celery, the mushrooms and the rosemary and sauté for about 5 minutes stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the herbs mixture and the tomato paste and stir again.

Pour over with the 1/2 tea-cup of the wine and leave for a bit until the liquid is almost completely evaporated (in this way all the flavours of the wine, herbs and vegetables are concentrated and kept "alive").

Add in the pot 1 tea-cup of the wine and 1 tea-cup of the meat stock and boil for 5 minutes until the liquids are reduced in half. Transfer the meat back in the pot and add the rest of the wine and the rest of the stock.

Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze with your hands to discard the seeds and the excess liquid and add in the pot. Leave the food to come to the boil, add the sugar (if used), cover with the lid and turn the heat to medium.

Cook the food for about 2-2½  hours until it is tender, turning the meat around every half hour. Towards the end of cooking season with salt and some more pepper.

Take the meat on a board and after 5-8 minutes cut it into medium slices. Transfer on a serving platter, pouring over with the sauce. ***If it is too thin boil the sauce for a few more minutes.