Potted beef with carrots and mushrooms in creamy paprika sauce

Tender beef slowly cooked and a nicely spiced creamy sauce give you this delicious family dish to enjoy any day of the week! The original recipe is cooked in the oven but I found that it was not so suitable this way of cooking for the specific recipe. In the pot, where I cooked it after the first time, I think it's better at keeping the meat juicy and the creamy sauce more "lively"

Adapted from a recipe of Maria Loi,

a prominent Head Cook and restaurateur

"Kouzinomagiremata" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper (2009)



Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

For the meat:
1 1/2Kg of beef shoulder (deboned), cut in medium pieces
2 large carrots, cut in thin slices
2 medium yellow onions, coarsely grated
4-5 fresh white mushrooms (cut in half if small or quarters if bigger)
1 glass of white dry wine
4 tbsp. of all-purpose flour
4 tbsp. of margarine
salt
pepper

For the sauce:
1 tea-cup of single cream
1 tea-cup of Greek Kefalograviera cheese, grated (or pecorino)
1 tbsp. of sweet paprika

Method:
Rinse the meat pieces and dry with kitchen paper. Season with salt and pepper, lightly pass them through the flour and keep them on a plate.

Melt the margarine in a spacious pot on medium-high heat, add the meat in batches and sauté until all the pieces are well browned on all sides.

Add in the pot the onions, the mushrooms and the carrots and sauté until they start softening, stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour over with the wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Add one cup of warm water, cover with the lid, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer until the meat is really tender.

In the meantime, put in a bowl the cream, the cheese and the paprika and mix well with a spoon or a whisk.

Towards the end of cooking, when just a nice sauce is left in the pot, turn the heat to low. Pour over with the cream mixture and give the pot a good shake so the sauce coats all the food. Leave for 1-2 minutes in low heat and then take the pot off the heat.

Serve while it is still hot along with white rice pilaf.