Beef Casserole

Old style beef casserole or stew, oven cooked with a variety of vegetables.

Ingredients

For 1	Continued...
2 tbspn oil	120 ml red wine
100 gm onion (prepared weight)	200 ml beef stock
50 - 75 gm carrot	½ tspn dried thyme
50 - 75 gm celery	1 bay leaf
150 gm braising steak (see notes)	¼ tspn salt
1 tspn paprika	freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tspn plain flour	150 gm potatoes (prepared weight)
1 tspn tomato purée	75 gm button mushrooms

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 190° C.
Cut the beef into cubes (see notes).
Mix the flour and paprika and fully coat the beef cubes.
Slice the onion.
Chop the carrot.
Chop the celery.
Peel and cut the potatoes into 2 - 3 cm cubes.
Chop the mushrooms into approx 2 cm pieces.

Cooking

Heat 1 tbspn of oil in a flameproof casserole and cook the onion, carrot and celery over a high heat for 5 min, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add 1 tbspn of oil and fry the beef over a moderate heat for 10 min until browned on all sides.
Return the vegetables to the casserole and stir in the tomato purée, red wine, stock, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
Add the potato, cover, and cook in the oven for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Add the mushrooms and continue to cook in the oven for another 30 min (it may be necessary to add a little water at this point).

Serving

Remove the bay leaf and serve with peas and vegetables of choice such as carrot and beans.

Notes

The steak (beef) can usually be purchased already cubed and labeled for 'braising' or 'casserole'.
Depending on the type of beef, it may be necessary to cook for longer in order to make it more tender.

The main ingredients

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