Beef Casserole

Ingredients:

1kg gravy beef/chuck steak cut into 3cm pieces.
1 tin of chopped tomatoes.
500ml beef stock.
1 cup of red wine.
2 carrots, peeled & chopped.
1 parsnip, peeled & chopped.
2 cloves of garlic, peeled & crushed.
2 tablespoons tomato paste.
2 dried bay leaves.
1/2 cup of mushrooms.
1 onion, peeled & chopped.
2 tablespoons flour.
Dash of Worcester sauce.
2 tablespoons olive oil.
1 tablespoon butter.
Herbs to taste (optional).
Salt & pepper to taste.

Method:

• Toss beef in flour, add olive oil to a pan & fry until browned.

• Transfer to a bowl.

• Add a dollop of butter to the pan. Fry onion, garlic & mushroom for 5 minutes until onion is translucent.

• Transfer onion/garlic, beef & vegetables to a large pot.

• Add beef stock, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste & Worcester sauce. Stir ingredients.  Season with salt & pepper.

• Add bay leaves.

• Cover & simmer for a minimum of 1.5 to 2 hours or until meat is tender, stirring periodically.

• If the sauce is a little thin, you can sprinkle more flour in, stirring in well.

• Serve with crusty bread.

Notes:

This is one of those recipes that can be tailored to individual tastes. Different herbs & vegetables can be added. You may also wish to add half a cup of red wine for extra flavour. Obviously slow cooking vegetables such as carrots should be added earlier, fast cooking vegetables such as zucchini, peas, corn should be added later, to avoid them going mushy.