1 1/2 lb. beef shanks
2 med. onions
1/2 lb. carrots
2 heaping tbsp. flour
Salt & pepper
2-3 tbsp. cooking oil
1/2 tsp. fresh basil, minced
1/2 c. Guinness
1 tsp. honey
1/2 c. stock or water

The beef shank should be about 1 inch thick and cut into about 12 pieces. If you use steak, it will only need about an hour.

Peel the onions and chop them fairly small. Peel the carrots and slice them into pieces about the size of your little finger. Place the flour in a flat dish and mix in a teaspoon of salt and a good sprinkling of pepper. Heat the oil in the pan, add the onions and cook until soft. Transfer them with a slotted spoon to a large, shallow, greased, ovenproof dish. Dip the pieces of meat in the seasoned flour and brown them in the fat in the pan. Remove these as they are cooked and place in the dish on top of the onions, in a single layer. Arrange the carrots around them. If necessary, add a little more oil to the pan and stir in the remaining of the seasoned flour. Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly, then add the basil and the Guiness. Allow to boil for a minute or 2 add the honey and the stock. Return to the boil and pour over the meat.

Cover the dish either with a lid or with foil and cook in the oven at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. This dish tastes even better if you cook it the day before and heat it up again in the oven for about 45 minutes. If the gravy looks as though it needs thickening, mix 1 teaspoon of arrowroot with 2 tablespoons of cold water and stir into the gravy 15 minutes before the cooking time is up.