Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 3lb 8oz good-quality braising steak (chuck steak)
• 4–5 tbsp sunflower oil
• 7oz smoked bacon lardons or smoked streaky bacon, cut into ¾in pieces
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 75cl bottle red wine
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 beef stock cube
• 2 large bay leaves
• 3 bushy sprigs fresh thyme
• 1oz butter
• 1lb pearl onions, or 24 baby onions
• 10½oz chestnut mushrooms, wiped and halved or quartered if large
• 2 heaped tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp cold water
• flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 325°F, cut the braising steak into chunky pieces and season them well with flaked sea salt and black pepper.
2. Brown the beef in batches in sunflower oil in a frying pan and move each batch to a flameproof casserole.
3. Fry the bacon lardons until crisp in the same pan and scatter them over the beef.
4. Soften the chopped onion for 5 to 6 minutes, add the garlic for 1 minute, then add both to the casserole with the red wine, tomato purée, water, stock cube, bay leaves and thyme and braise covered for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
5. Soak the pearl onions in just-boiled water for 5 minutes, peel them, then fry them in butter until golden and fry the mushrooms separately until browned.
6. Stir the cornflour mixed with cold water into the casserole, add the onions and mushrooms and cook 45 minutes more until meltingly tender, then garnish with parsley.

Prep: 30 min · Cook: 2 h

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data