Was thinking about where to add Star Anise rather than Cookies and found this.

Daube of beef with orange & star anise

The perfect supper for those rainy nights spent in with a good bottle of red and an open fire blazing

Recipe by Mary Cadogan


Serves 8

Prep 45 mins
Cook 3 hrs to 4 hrs

2kg. Stewing Beef

300g. Shallots

1 Orange

A good bunch of Parsley and Thyme

3 T. Olive Oil

25g. Butter

200g. Lardons (Will have to find out what this is - well now I know: small pieces of pork fat)

4T. Cognacc

1 T. Flour

2 Carrots thinly sliced and 3 finely chopped

2 Celery stalks

1and 1/2 cups Red Bordeaux

2 star anise

4 cloves of Garlic

Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 4. Wash and dry the meat. Pour boiling water over the shallots to cover them, leave for 5 mins, then drain, peel and cut in half. Put to one side. Pare long strips of peel from half the orange and tie together with the parsley and thyme with some string.
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil and the butter in a large heatproof casserole. Add the meat and half the lardons and brown quickly on all sides (you will need to do this in batches). Return all the meat to the pan, then quickly pour over the Cognac and ignite. Stand well back when you do this as the flames may be fierce. Stir the flour into the meat until the flour disappears.
In a separate pan, fry the onion, finely chopped carrot and celery in 1 tbsp of oil until softened; this should take about 5 mins. Add to the casserole pan along with the wine, herb bundle, star anise, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, stir well, then cover tightly and cook in the oven for 2 hrs.
Tip the remaining lardons into a frying pan and heat with a drop of oil until the fat runs, then add the shallots and fry gently until they are lightly coloured. Add to the daube along with the sliced carrots, give it a stir and cover again. Return to the oven for a further 1½-2 hrs, until the meat is very tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Remove the herb bundle (and, if you can find them, the star anise) and serve with the two side dishes. If you're making the daube ahead of time, reheat it either on the hob or in the oven for 20-30 mins. The daube also freezes well for up to 1 month.