A Simple quick Curry

Da Vinci once said simplicity is the ultimate sophistication and I’m inclined to agree. So many people can’t make a good curry, and even more resort to jars and tins and pre made pastes.  This is a really simple quick curry recipe my nana Perveen taught me how to make when I was younger, half my family are from the middle east and my nana lived there for about 15 years when she met my granda so she knows her stuff.

This is a standard curry sauce; you can add any meat or some butternut squash, veggies or lentils for a veggie curry.  I’ll only say one thing about the meat, if your using chicken don’t just put raw chicken in unless it’s really good quality.  It won’t taste of anything; it’ll just be a texture in your mouth.  I always roast a whole chicken and pick the meat off, shredding it and adding it to the curry half way through.  It has so much flavour and is cheaper than breasts as you can pick a good quality chicken up for £6 to feed 4 people and the last I checked two breasts were pushing a fiver.

Ingredients
will feed 4

1 tsp mustard seeds

1tsp fenugreek
2 chilies, sliced
1tsp turmeric
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp garam masala
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic chopped fine or grated
1x 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped fine or grated
2 chilies, chopped fine seeds in or out whatever you prefer
1 tin of 400g tin tomatoes
1 tin of 400ml tin coconut milk (it doesn’t make the curry taste of coconut don’t worry it just adds richness, if you really don’t want to add it just use 2x tomatoes)
 salt and pepper
Oil
1 bag of spinach

MEAT: 1 cooked chicken, 6 raw tiger prawns per person, leftovers from your Sunday roast beef/lamb/pork or some veggies and lentils for a veggie curry

Method

Get a frying pan hot and add the mustard seeds. Once they start to pop which is about 10 seconds put them in a bowl and add the coriander to the pan. Toast the coriander seeds for a minute or so to release their flavors. Shake the pan to make sure they don’t burn and again set aside to allow to cool.

Finely dice the onion and add it to a large saucepan with the garlic and ginger and oil.

Sweat on a low heat for around 10 minutes.

While this is happening crush your spices which will be cool by now.

Once they are crushed and the 10 minutes have passed turn the heat up, add the crushed spices, the fenugreek, turmeric, garam masla, and chili to the pan and stir constantly over a high heat.  This is an essential stage as all spices need to be hard fried to release their potential.  Literally 20 seconds will do it, stirring all the time to coat the onions.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes and coconut milk to the pan immediately with about 100mls of water.

Give everything a good stir.

Simmer for 10 minutes then add your meat whatever you are using. (Unless you are using prawns as they only take minutes to cook so don’t add them until 5 minutes before the end)

Simmer for another 10 minutes.

While this is happening add your spinach to a food processor or stick blend to a puree (you might need a little water to help you along)

You should be left with a green liquid sludge.

Add this to the pan (add your raw prawns now if making a prawn curry)

Simmer for more minutes then serve with rice, naan, whatever you like.

All in all this is just over 30 minutes for an authentic and totally delicious curry.

This Morning Steak and ale pie with thyme suet crust

This is the pie i last made on This Morning.  I love it best as a pie filling, however this steak and ale mixture can also be eaten on its own with some buttery mash or you can add a few dumplings to the pan for the last 20 minutes of cooking for a hearty winter stew.

It's so versatile and what's more it's economical too as all the ingredients can be bought for £5.

If you want to watch a video of me making the pie live on This Morning, click here

 

Ingredients

Serves 4

for the pie filling

800g braising steak, which is a really economical cut of beef

1 punnet of mushrooms (I like chestnut)

1 large white onion, peeled and sliced

1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 sprig each of fresh thyme and rosemary (or just one if that's all you have)

1 330ml can of your favourite ale (I like Newcastle Brown or Guinness)

½ pint of beef stock (or just a beef stock cube depending on how thin you like your gravy)

1 large carrot, chopped

Ingredients for the pastry

150g self-raising flour

75g beef suet

A few sprigs of thyme, chopped (dried is fine)

A couple of tablespoons of cold water (no more than 100ml)

1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2.

Start with your veg. Put a little oil into a large ovenproof pan or pot and, over a medium heat, sweat the onions and garlic (sweating means cooking without colouring, which softens the onions and makes them sweet).

Once the onions are cooked and have turned a little see-through, turn the heat up and add the carrot, mushrooms and herbs.

Fry the veg over a medium-high heat for a few minutes to get a little colour on the mushrooms. Don’t worry about the onions; as long as you keep stirring they won’t burn.

Tip everything into a bowl then turn the heat up high and add the diced meat to the pan.

Season the meat and colour on all sides. Keep the heat high to do this. You want to get a good colour on the meat which adds flavour to the finished pie.

Once you have coloured the meat (it shouldn’t take long; remember you are just getting a colour on all sides, not cooking it) add the vegetables to the pan, stir to combine and, keeping the heat high, add the ale.

Stir everything together. It’ll bubble away but that’s good!

Now if you like a thick gravy just crumble the beef stock cube into the pan and, if you like a thinner gravy add the beef stock. It’s entirely up to you.

Put a lid on the pan and put it in the preheated oven, for anything between 90 minutes and three hours. The meat will be tender after 90 minutes but the longer you leave it the better it will be.

Take the pan out of the oven and check the juices. If you like the pie filling a little dryer, put the pan on the hob and, on a high heat, boil the mixture to reduce it. Keep an eye on the pan and turn the heat off when it reaches the consistency you want. It’s usually fine straight from the oven but some people do prefer a thick gravy.

You can make the pie filling the day before or even pop it in a slow cooker while you’re at work. It will keep for three days in the fridge.

Now you’re ready to make the pastry. First preheat (or turn up the oven, if you are making it at the same time as the filling) to 190C or gas 5.

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and add the water until you have a sticky dough.

Dust the dough with flour and wrap in cling film to rest for around 10 minutes. This relaxes the gluten in the flour and stops the pastry from shrinking.

Select your pie dish, something big enough for four servings, and lightly butter the dish including the edges.

Roll the pastry out on a floured surface (using a floured rolling pin and lightly floured hands) until you have a circle that will fit over the top of the pie dish. Roll backwards and forwards, never side to side, or you will get an uneven rise on your pastry.

Add the filling to the pie dish and fit the pastry lid, pressing down round the edges to seal it.

Roll up the edges of the pastry so that you have a thick crust. Don't trim it! Well you can if you want but I like the thick crust on the pie.

A glorious platter of beef, that costs less than you might think...

Every now and again you deserve something special, it doesn’t have to cost the earth but it has to be a one off delight for the senses! ALL of the senses!

This platter of beef from Donald Russell is just that, at its bones its simply 4 fat juicy steaks for 4 people but the presentation makes it look a lot more.

I serve this with garlic rubbed ciabatta bread, an olive tapenade, a huge rocket salad flecked with shavings of pecorino AND the piece de resistance, my slow roasted tomatoes, the quintessential side for the fabulous beef.

This recipe is merely my method to cook the perfect steak, but it’s a skill I can without arrogance say I have mastered and would like to share.  At the end of the day with beef this good you can’t go wrong…

Here goes…

Ingredients

A Donald Russell steak per person, we had the pleasure of a rump, a fillet, a sirloin and a rib eye.

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Butter

For the black olive tapenade:

Around 100g of black olives

4tbsp of red wine vinegar

1tbsp of Dijon mustard

6tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 clove of garlic

For the tomatoes:

1 large tomato per person

1 clove of garlic per tomato

Sprigs of thyme

Olive oil

Extra virgin ilive oil for drizzling

Salt and pepper

Balsamic vinegar

Method

Start with the tomatoes, cut them in half, scoop out the seeds (the wet bit from inside) fill the hole with salt and pepper, a ½ clove of garlic, sprinkle with thyme and olive oil and roast in the oven on really low for around 1-2 hours.  Timing isn’t a big deal here you just want to cook them slowly to intensify their flavour.  Once they are cooked drizzle with the extra virgin oil and set on a platter ready to serve.

For the tapenade, blend the olives with the vinegar, salt and pepper, garlic and mustard.  Once that’s like a thick paste add the oil and mix together.  That’s it! Pop the tapenade in a ramekin ready to serve.

Ok so onto the steaks, the centrepiece for the platter.

Rub the steaks in a little oil, season with pepper – no salt at this stage.

Get a pan smoking hot, season 1 side (the side your going to place down on the pan) with salt and place the steaks in the pan, LEAVE THEM, step away from the pan and set a timer for 2.5 minutes.

After 2.5 minutes, season with salt on the side that’s facing up and flip the steaks and again leave them alone. Set a timer for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes, turn the heat off, add the butter to the pan and baste the steaks in the buttery juices for around 30 seconds.

Remove the steaks from the pan and leave them to rest for at least 10 minutes.  This makes all the difference and the flavour will intensify and the steaks will be SOOO juicy!

The timings are for a standard 1 inch thick steak; if your steaks are thinner adjust the timings to cook the steak less.

The reason you don’t season the steaks with salt until the last minute is salt draws out moisture, if you season the steaks too early they won’t be as juicy J

Carve the steaks into thick slices and present on a wood board, or some slate, with the sides positioned around the beef!

When I made this the steaks were delicious, juicy, full of flavour, charred on the outside from the heat of the pan and knee quivering medium rare in the middle, the perfect black and blue steak! YUM!

Steak burger

Sick of burger vans selling you ears, eyes and arseholes and charging you £4 for the (dis)pleasure? Make your own, simple to make, economical and tastier than pre bought!  They go perfectly on the BBQ or in a frying pan for a mid week quick tea!

Ridiculously simple to make, the only skill you have to posess is good wrist action!  Change the ingredients to suit your taste buds, some people prefer English mustard, white onions, no chilli - you get the picture!

 

Ingredients

Serves 1 burger, double for more etc

150g minced steak (chuck steak is cheap and fantastic for burgers, get your butcher to mince you some, if they wont, mince it yourself at home in a food processor and get a new butcher)

¼ red onion, chopped finely

½ garlic clove, crushed

½ a chilli

1 tsp each of cumin and coriander seeds, lightly toasted and crushed (optional)

1tsp mustard of your choice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil to fry
Burger bun
30g cheese of your choice, grated, plus beef tomatoes and salad leaves, to serve

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until minced.  If you don’t have a food processor scrunch everything up in a large bowl with your hands until well combined.
(make sure you blitz the onion garlic and chilli before you add the rest of the ingredients to break them down a little bit as they are quite chunky)Shape into a patty/burger about ¾ inch thick
Leave the burgers to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge to firm up the shape and to relax and set the meat.  If you don’t do this the burgers will break up when you fry them.You can leave the burgers anything upto 48 hours in the fridge, loosely covered with cling film.

When your ready to cook the burgers get them out of the fridge 20 minutes before to bring the meat back to room temperature.

If cooking on the BBQ drizzle the burgers with oil.

If cooking in a frying pan drizzle the pan with oil.

Fry the burgers for 3 minute a side on a medium high heat for medium meat.  If you like your burgers well done fry for 4 minutes a side.

Don’t touch the burgers when they are cooking or this will break the meat up.  Simply put them in the pan or on the BBQ and leave them.

Serve in the bread roll topped with cheese, tomatoes and crisp salad leaves! My preference is to add gherkins, French mustard and red sauce! But its your burger have it your way

Serve these with my ultimate chips or my traditional coleslaw recipe, both found under accompaniments and rest assured what you’re eating is quality!

15 minute chilli beef with stir fry greens

From start to finish this dish takes a mere 15 minutes to prepare and cook. NO excuses that you don't have time when you get in. This is healthy nutritious and packed full of flavour, whatsmore it costs less than a fiver for 2 good sized portions!

This can also be done with lamb, pork, chicken or tofu; same rules apply for cooking and marinating.

Ingredients

2x 1cm thick sandwich steaks

2 sheets of egg noodles

Soy sauce, sesame oil and olive oil

Ginger, chilli and garlic (to your taste, I use 1tsp of each)

Greens such as tender stem broccoli, fine beans, sugar snap & mangetout, most supermarkets will do a pack of these veg ready mixed.

Sesame seeds and coriander if you have any (optional)

Method

Cook the noodles in boiling water as per the pack instructions

Add the chopped chilli, garlic and grated ginger to the beef with a little oil and leave to marinate for 5 minutes

Get a wok smoking hot, add a little oil and stir fry the greens, keeping the pan on high and stirring often. Add a little more garlic, chilli and ginger for the last few seconds. Then turn the pan off.

Add the cooked drained noodles to the veg drizzle with sesame oil and soy to your taste, season to your taste and set aside.

Get a frying pan smoking hot, scrape the marinade off the beef, drizzle with oil and a little salt and pepper and add to the pan, don't touch it, leave it for 1 minute then turn it over, keep the heat high, that's the trick to a good steak, the outside caramelises and enhances the flavour.

After 1 minute per side remove the steak from the pan and allow it to rest for a few minutes while you serve up the noodles and veg.

Slice the beef and lay it on top of the noodles.

Serve immediately with a little more sesame drizzled over the top and maybe some toasted sesame seeds or chopped coriander if you have any...

Rib eye steak

Dinner tonight, after the most lush day off ever was rib eye steaks from Northumbrian Quality Meat, they have been my butcher for years and their meat is outstanding, ive previously recommended them, they are on my likes section of my website check them out.  If they are a little to far check out Donald Russell too, equally superb!

So there realy isnt  much to cooking a steak, I had to do one in the pressure test of MasterChef and this is the method i used. 

First you take your steaks (this applies to any meat for that matter) out of the fridge a good 30 minutes before you want to use it, this relaxes the meat and brings it to room temperature. think of it like this, if you've just got in from the freezing your usually all huddled up like this baffoon below - your muscles are all tense until you get back to normal - well its the same principle for your meat.  It needs time to get back to the temperature its comfortable at and that way you'll get the best flavour and texture from your meat.

So, next you want to get your pan as hot as humanly possible, season the meat liberally with salt and pepper and a little oil then whack it in the pan, set  your timer for 2.5 minutes and LEAVE it alone. Step away, leave the pan on high, open a window for the smoke and leave it.

After 2.5 minutes flip the steak, and again leave it for another 2.5 minutes.

Nearly there, hang on in, so 2.5 minutes have passed, turn the heat off, whack about 50g of butter into the pan and as it melts spoon the juices over the steak, this is called arabouche in France and basically means to baste in butter. Do this for around 30 seconds and then remove the steaks from the pan and allow to rest somewhere for around 5 minutes to relax the meat, this is the most important step in the whole process, and like before it relaxes the muscle to create a tastier more tender piece of meat.

Home stretch - serve the steak with a sauce that you have made in the pan you took the steaks out of, something simple like the peppercorn sauce in my accompaniments section, or a red wine jus or something.  Nice and quick.

the finished article, black and blue steak,

My one stop shop for how I cook meat

I thought I would stick a quick entry in about cooking different cuts of meat and the required temperatures and times.  I know I would have found it useful, when I was learning to have all this information in one place rather than having to keep referring to different cook books.

Here are a few tips to help you get your meat from being great to extra special.  Firstly I always find it makes the meat tastier if you baste it throughout the cooking.  If you are cooking meat in the oven do this by spooning the juices that have come out of the meat over the meat every 30 minutes for the cooking time.  If you are cooking meat in a pan add a knob of butter to the pan for the last 30 seconds of the cooking time, take the pan off the heat to stop the butter burning and baste the meat with the butter using a spoon over and over again until the 30 seconds is up.  Don’t worry if the butter goes brown, it won’t burn as you've taken it off the heat.

It is equally important, with all meat to let it rest before you cut or serve it, this will allow all the juices which rushed to the centre of the meat during cooking to return throughout the meat, making it more tender and juicy.

Beef
Joint (rib or roasting)
Temperatures: no need to seal the joint of meat, just season it pop it in a pre heated roasting tin drizzled with a little oil and cook as follows: for the first 15 minutes on gas mark 9 (240) then turn the oven down to gas mark 5 (190)15minutes per lb PLUS 15 minutes for rare meat
20 minutes per lb PLUS 20 minutes for medium meat
25 minutes per lb PLUS 25 minutes for well done meat

Steak (1-1.5 inches thick)
Temperatures: no need to seal the steaks, just season them on both sides, drizzle them with oil (never put oil directly into the pan) and add them to a red hot frying pan for the following times remembering to baste them with butter as described in the introduction:2 minutes a side for rare meat
2.5 minutes a side for medium meat
3 minutes a side for medium well meat
4 minutes a side for well done meat
Its very important when cooking steaks to make sure the pan/BBQ or grill is red hot before putting the steaks in or the meat wont seal. Once the steaks are in the pan LEAVE them alone, keep the heat constant, don’t touch them or move them round the pan or this will stop a crust forming.  After the desired time turn the steaks over and again, leave the meat until the time is up.

Lamb
Leg
Temperatures:No need to seal the joint of meat, just season it pop it in a pre heated roasting tin drizzled with a little oil (and studded with garlic and thyme to make it extra special) and cook as follows: for the first 15 minutes on gas mark 9 (240) then turn the oven down to gas mark 5 (190)
20 minutes per lb for pink meat

Shoulder
The shoulder is full of muscle and therefore benefits from long slow roasting or braising in liquid such as wine / stock or even tinned tomatoes depending on what you are doing.  You can find several recipes for shoulder of lamb in my recipes section.
Temperatures:
Season the shoulder and drizzle with oil.  Seal in a hot pan on all sides then add to a large roasting tin, and depending on what your making throw in extra ingredients such as some, garlic, herbs, carrots, celery, onions and your chosen liquid, bring to a light boil on the hob then cover tightly with foil and/or lid and place in a pre heated oven
Gas mark 2 for anything between 2-7 hours. (or a slow cooker)

It really won’t do it any harm being in longer, it will just make the muscle and sinew break down even more therefore making the meat softer and more delicious!.  You'll know when it’s ready as the meat literally falls off the bone with the introduction of a fork.
Rack (3 ribs)
Temperatures:
The rack benefits from being sealed first as this creates a crust on the meat and seals in the juices as well as creating flavour, to do this rub with a little oil and seasoning and add to a red hot pan for 3 minutes a side until golden brown on all sides (remembering to baste with butter as described in the introduction), then add to a hot oven and cook as follows:
10 minutes for pink meat on gas mark 9 (240)
15 minutes for well done meat on gas mark 9 (240)Cannon (fillet from the eye of the rack)
Temperatures:Seal in a hot pan as above then add to the oven on a pre heated tray, as follows:8 minutes for pink meat on gas mark 5 (190)
12 minutes for well done meat on gas mark 5 (190)

Pork
A quick note about crackling:
To achieve the perfect crackling follow these steps:
Score the skin of the pork and pour over boiling water from the kettle.
Pat the pork dry.
Rub a few teaspoons of vinegar any kind) and sea salt into the skin, really rubbing in deep and getting in the score marks.
Place in a hot oven immediately and roast as described below.

Shoulder and Leg (roasting joint)
Temperatures:You don’t have to seal this cut of meat, carry out the steps mentioned above to create the crackling, season the flesh and pop it in a pre heated roasting tin drizzled with a little oil and cook as follows: for the first 15 minutes on gas mark 9 (240) then turn the oven down to gas mark 6 (190) and cook as follows:25 minutes per lb (450g) PLUS an extra 25 minutes  

Loin
Temperatures:This is my favourite cut of pork, I ask for it boned and rolled and usually unroll it and stuff it before rolling it back up and roasting it.  Ask your butcher for the bones, place them in the bottom of the roasting tin and put the pork on top once it’s ready for the oven.  This really creates fantastic roasting gravy.
You don’t have to seal this cut of meat, carry out the steps mentioned above to create the crackling, then season the flesh and cook as follows:
15 minutes at gas mark 9 (240) then 30 minutes per lb (there’s no extra 30 minutes on this one its just 15 minutes then 30 minutes to the lb)

Fillet also known as tenderloin
Temperatures: Rub the pork with oil and seal in a pan for 2 minutes a side remembering to baste with butter as described in the introduction. Transfer to a hot roasting tin and roast in a pre heated oven on gas mark 6 (200) for the following times:20 minutes for a medium fillet serving 1-2
25 minutes for a large fillet serving 2-3

Chop
Temperatures:Season the chops and rub with a little oil.  Heat a griddle pan until hot then place the chops into the pan and hold them skin-side down to create crackling. Cook them like this for 1 minute before turning onto the flesh, cooking each side for 1-2 minutes.
Transfer the chops to a hot baking sheet and place in the oven for the following times:
Gas mark 5 (190) for 8 minutes, or until completely cooked through.

Duck
Breast
Temperatures:With duck it is important to first render down the fat from the skin in order to crisp the skin and produce a piece of meat with minimal gristle.  To do this, season the breast on the flesh side.  Add the breast, skin side down to a COLD pan with no oil and turn the heat on.  As the temperature increases the fat will begin to come out, or render, from the meat.  Leave the breast untouched for 2 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden.  Turn the breast over and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes before adding to a pre heated oven on a hot baking tray on gas mark 6 (200) for the following times:
10 minutes for an average sized breast which would feed 1, larger breasts i would leave in for 12-14 minutes.

Whole
Temperatures:Season the bird inside and out, stuff with desired stuffing (if using) drizzle the whole bird with oil, prick the skin all over with a fork to allow the fat to render out of the bird and place in a hot baking tin and cook in a pre heated oven as follows:20 minutes per 450g/1lb plus 20 minutes

My roast beef

Roast beef is my favourite Sunday roast, I like my meat medium, tender and juicy and achieve this by basting the meat several times though the cooking.  Whatsmore the cold cuts make fantastic sandwiches the next day, served on thick granary bread smothered in horseradish and rocket leaves!!

This dish is my way of doing roast beef, some people seal their meat before they roast it but I just cook the beef on high for 20 minutes first which has the same effect.

I like to roast my beef with onions in the pan which caramelise and help make the most delicious gravy afterwards.  You can also smother your beef in Dijon mustard before roasting, of English mustard but be careful as its hot!!

Finally this recipe can be used with any cut of beef, I prefer rib of beef however topside and silverside are also fantastic.  As usual I get all my beef from the Ramshaw’s at Northumbrian Quality Meats.  Ive been buying my beef there for years and it won Gary Rhodes local food hero a few years back, and rightly so! 

The absolute most important thing with this recipe is getting the best quality meat, beef from a supermarket, in my opinion will just not do, its void of flavour as it hasn’t been hung and its red and bloody from the steroids pumped into the animal to promote growth.  Get good beef – have a good roast! Its as simple as that.

Ingredients
Serves 4-6
1kg of beef (any cut) 1.5kg  if using rib of beef to compensate for the weight of the bones.
Salt and pepper
1 large white onion
For the gravy:
Aprox 250mls of red wine
250mls of beef stock
Salt and pepper
Cornflour (optional)

mustard or horseraddish (any kind) this is just optional for flavour

Method
Pre heat the oven to its highest setting.
Get your beef out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature, which relaxes the meat.
Season the joint liberally with salt and pepper on all sides. Drizzle the joint with a little oil.
Get a roasting tin which is large enough to take the meat and put a little oil in the bottom.
Put the joint of beef in the tin.
Roughly chop an onion and put that in tin, scattering it around the beef.
Put the beef in the pre heated oven and roast for 15 minutes.
Turn the heat down to gas mark 5 (190) and roast the beef as follows:
20 minutes per pound (450g) for medium meat, 30 minutes/lb for well done meat. (do not include the first 15 minutes in this timing, you need to cook it for 15 minutes PLUS extra minutes per lb)
Baste the beef throughout the cooking, you do this by removing the tray from the oven and spooning the juices in the bottom of the pan back over the joint.
Once your cooking is completed remove the beef from the oven, let the juices drip from the beef into the baking tin and put the beef somewhere to rest for at least 30 minutes.
It is very important to rest the meat to ensure the muscle relaxes after beaing roasted in the oven.

Now lets make the gravy.
Put the roasting tin directly on the heat of the hob.
With a wooden spoon give the tin a good stir and scrape up and bits from the bottom of the tray which are full of flavour.
When the juices begin to sizzle and reduce add 1 glass of red wine, keeping the heat high.
Once the wine has reduced by half its volume add the beef stock and reduce again until a desired consistency for your gravy  is reached. 
If you like your gravy a little thicker add some cornflour and whisk in briskly.  If you like it a little thinner add more stock.
Season the gravy and pass it through a sieve to remove the onions and any other bits.
Keep warm until needed.  At this stage you can add a spoonful of horseradish, mustard or red currant jelly, whatever you like!
Before you carve the meat pour any juices from the resting plate in the gravy to enhance the flavour.

Beef bourguignon

This is a totally luxurious dinner, its the kind of food you want to eat while listening to Otis Reading, actually heres a little tune for the background while your cooking...  We only have this meal it once in a while but when we do we go all out and serve it with dauphinois potatoes, which you can find under my accompaniments section.  The richness of the red wine against the beef is just perfection in a dish in my opinion!!  Give it a go you won’t be disappointed.  Its surprising how good it is considering you just throw everything in a pot and band it in the oven for a couple of hours...  It’s even better the next day heated up.

Ingredients
Serves 4-6
1kilo stewing/braising steak or shin beef
1 bottle of full bodied red wine
4 fat cloves of garlic
1 punnet of button mushrooms
6-10 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
a few handfuls of baby onions, peeled (if you can’t get these just use 2 large onions sliced)
salt and pepper
flour for dusting the beef
a sprig of fresh thyme
1tbsp of tomato puree
1 beef stock cube for richness, or around 100 mls of homemade stock.

Method
Dice the beef and season it well, coat in a little flour, which will thicken the sauce.
In a hot saucepan add a little oil and seal the meat on all sides.
Take the meat out of the pan and add the onions.
Sweat the onions gently for 5 minutes or so until soft on a medium heat.
In a separate frying pan add a knob of butter and olive oil and fry off the mushrooms (whole dont chop them)
Add the garlic to the onions and stir.
Turn the heat up, add a little more oil if the pan is dry and add the chopped bacon.
Stir until the bacon is cooked.
Add the cooked mushrooms to the pan.
Add the beef back to the pan and any juices which have collected in the bowl/plate.
Season the dish with salt and pepper and add the tomato puree.
Add a sprig of thyme to the pan.
Cover the contents of the pan with red wine (it usually takes the full bottle)
Top up with the stock cube, the meat should be just covered.
Bring the dish to the boil, let it boil for a minute or so, then put the lid on and put the pot in the oven, gas mark 2 for anything between 2 and 3 hours.  The meat will be cooked after 2 but even more tender after 3.
Works wicked in a slow cooker too.