Tag Archives: beef

beef casserole – cupboard style!

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My favourite way of throwing a dinner together, is shopping at a local market inspired by the ingredients on offer.  I throw a few fridge and cupboard staples into the mix, search the internet and adapt a recipe or two til I find something I reckon will work.

Yesterdays mix up was a huge hit at the Beach House.  With 1kg of casserole beef brought from Brussels, and a wander at Fouesnant Market on Sunday, I managed to mix together a great Beef Casserole with a little help from Google! Perfect for an Easter Monday supper…….

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Beef Casserole

Ingredients

  • 1 kg casserole beef (cheap cut)
  • 2 onions (roscoff of course!)
  • 3 garlic cloves (fresh if you can find them)
  • 3 leeks
  • 3 carrots
  • 2 tbsp worchestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree (I had to cheat and use ketchup but it worked perfectly)
  • 100ml red wine
  • 500ml hot water
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 cubes beef stock crumbled (I substituted pork ones – due to depleted stock in cupboard)
  • 50g butter and a couple of tbsp of olive oil

directions

Brown meat cubes in a little olive oil and set aside.

Melt the butter and olive oil in a large heavy casserole dish that can be placed in the oven.

Brown the sliced onion, 2cm slices of leek and carrot and garlic until lightly browned.

Add the flour and cook until incorporated (just a few minutes).  Add the worchestershire sauce and puree, crumbled stock cubes and then the beef.  Slosh in the red wine, and then add the water.  Stir well.

When the casserole is simmering, transfer the pot into the over (covered) and cook at 160 degs for 2.5 hours.  Check at this point as my casserole was perfect but you may need an extra 30 minutes in the oven uncovered, to thicken the gravy.

In the meantime prepare mashed potato to accompany the meal.  My current favourite is boiling cubed potatoes and swede until soft, and then masking it all up with a little milk, a large knob of butter and some horseradish sauce…….. delicious!

While all this is bubbling, I can thoroughly recommend a seat in the sun, a good book and a glass of red wine…….

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Bon Appetit!

 

 

 

 

slow cooking – braised beef with horseradish

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I have been dreaming about my new Slow Cooker for the last couple of weeks, investigating gorgeous recipes, chatting to my N. American friends who swear by them, and waiting patiently for the Crock Pot to finally arrive in France.

It was worth the wait – tonight I am testing out my latest cooking appliance with a lovely adapted recipe from The Slow Cooker Cookbook.  A perfect meal for such a cold, wet stormy Halloween night…….

Braised Beef with Horseradish

Ingredients

  • 30ml/2 tbsp plain flour
  • 4 x 175g braising steaks (I used a large pack of beef bourguignon cubed meat)
  • 30ml/2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 12 small shallots, peeled and halved (I used 4 roscoff onions quartered)
  • 1 clove of garlic crushed
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 2 tsp dark muscovado sugar (I substituted brown sugar from the cupboard)
  • 475ml/2 cups beef stock
  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp creamed horseradish
  • 225g baby carrots, trimmed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives to finish (I added 1tsp of dried to the crock pot at the start)
  • roast vegetables to serve

Directions

  1. Place the flour in a large flat dish and season with salt and pepper. Toss the cubes of meat to coat.
  2. Heat the oil in a pan and quickly brown the steaks on both sides.  Transfer them to the ceramic cooking pot.
  3. Add the halved shallots (or onions) to the pan, and cook gently for 10 minutes or until golden and beginning to soften.  Stir in the garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook for 1 minute more, then remove the pan from the heat.
  4. Tip the shallot mixture into the ceramic cooking pot, spreading it over the meat, and sprinkle it with the sugar.
  5. Pour the beef stock over the shallots and meat, then add the worcestershire sauce, horseradish, baby carrots and bay leaf.  Stir to combine, then season with salt and black pepper.  Cover with a lid and cook on high or auto for 1 hour.
  6. Reduce the slow cooker to low, or leave on auto, and continue to cook the stew for a further 5-6 hours, or until the beef and the vegetables are very tender.
  7. Remove the bay leaf from the stew, and sprinkle with the chopped chives, before serving with roast vegetables.

 

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