Beef Casserole

Strangely, on Saturday Kitchen yesterday morning, they cooked some Thai food (a Phad Thai with approximately a thousand scallops… mmmmm!) and also beef casserole. This fitted in rather well with our plans for the weekend, as we had been planning Thai food last night and beef casserole today. Spooky really. Anyway, we took it as a sign that we were on the right path and continued with our plans.

Kerri has been planning to perfect versions of chicken, beef and sausage casseroles this year. We’ve already had a really good chicken casserole, so beef was the next in line. I was either studying or having my hair cut for most of the day, so Kerri did most of the preparation for this and it turned out really well. Cooked in the oven for over four hours and served with mashed potato, it was excellent. Great depth of flavour and slightly gooey in texture.

Beef Casserole – Serves Four

1lb stewing beef
Flour
1 packet lardons
3 medium shallots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stick celery, finely chopped
250ml red wine
500ml beef stock
Small tin of chopped tomatoes
Bay
Thyme
Carrots
Mushrooms
S&P

Coat beef in seasoned flour and brown in flameproof casserole.
Remove beef from heat.
Saute shallots, lardons, garlic and celery until brown.
Return beef to casserole dish.
Add a tablespoon of flour and cook out.
Add wine and cook until alcohol has burnt off.
Add stock, tomatoes, s&p, bay, thyme, carrots and mushrooms.
Bring to the boil then transfer to the oven and cook for four hours.

Serve.