Globe-cooking recipe : Posta Negra (Colombia)

Posta Negra or Black Beef is another family-friendly meal all the way from Colombia. I was expecting spicy dishes, reminiscent of Mexican cuisine, but I've learnt that Colombia favours sweetness rather than chilli heat. This was just as popular as the Arepas I made earlier in the week.

 Posta Negra

ingredients :

800g beef joint

1/2 a panela (or 120g dark brown sugar)

2tbsp triguisar (spice blend - you could use cumin instead)

3 onions

2 tomatoes

5 cloves of garlic

3tbsp olive oil

2tsp vinegar

5tbsp orange juice

salt/pepper

20cl water

a beef stock cube (I used a Knorr stock pot)

Chop up the onions, garlic and tomatoes. Put them in a large bowl with the salt, pepper, triguisar, orange juice and vinegar. Mix well.

Put the roast beef in a dish (I used the roasting tin that I was planning on using to cook it in) and pour over the marinade. Leave overnight in the fridge, turning the meat a couple of times if possible so it really soaks up the flavours on all sides.

Boil the water in a saucepan and mix in the stock cube. Crumble in the panela (or stir in the brown sugar) and, when it starts bubbling, add all the marinade. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until it gets thick and syrupy. Turn off the heat.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and sear the beef on all sides.

Use a hand blender to whizz up the sauce to a smooth consistency. (I wanted some lumps of tomato and onion so I spooned half over the meat then blended the other half.) Pour some of the sauce over the meat and use to baste during the cooking process. Cook your beef for about an hour - more or less depending on how well cooked you want it.

While the beef is in the oven, cook some rice. Serve the rice on a plate, with guacamole dotted around the edges. (See my arepa recipe if you need a recipe for guacamole, but you could always cheat and use ready-made !). Lay slices of the roast beef on top of the rice and tip over the remaining sauce. (Add extra orange juice and bring back to the boil if you need more.)

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