Rich meat casserole/stew

[becks5109]

can anyone point me in the direction of a good recipe for a meat casserole, ideally beef. I want something rich and decadent as making it for 10 people for my mums birthday -thanks in advance!

Delia's Winter Collection has some lovely rich and hearty stews and casseroles. Still in print I think. It's a lovely book, or if you don't want to buy it, she has recipes on line, deliaonline.com and you'll find her website with free downloads. Can't go wrong with Delia imo.

Boeuf Bourguignonne with Beef, Bacon, Red Wine, Onions, Mushrooms & Herbs

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz (100g) Streaky Bacon
1 tbsp of Olive Oil

2 lb Lean Stewing Steak - Cut the into 1 1/2 inch cubes

1 Sliced Carrot
1 Sliced Onion

1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 oz Plain Flour

1 pints (500ml) Red Wine
1/2 pint (250) Beef Stock
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
1 Garlic Clove Mashed
1/2 tsp Thyme
1 Bay Leaf

16 Small Button Onions or Shallots Peeled
2 oz Butter
2 tbsp of Olive Oil
12 oz Button Mushrooms

Parsley Sprigs

METHOD:

Pre-Heat the oven to 450F (230C, Mark 8).

Slice the Streaky Bacon into lengths 1/4 inch wide. In a large Casserole heat up the Olive Oil and cook the Bacon strips until lightly brown. Spoon them out (leaving as much oil remaing as possible) and set aside in a covered bowl.

Re-heat the remaining Oil and Bacon Fat until very hot - almost smoking. Add the cubes of Beef, in batches, and fry them until they are brown on all sides. Spoon these out and place in the bowl alongside the Bacon.

Now add the Sliced Carrot and Sliced Onion and fry briefly while constantly stiring. When done, pour or spoon out any excess fat.

Add the Beef and Bacon back into the Casserole. Add the Salt & Pepper and shake everything well. Sprinkle with Plain Flour and shake again. Place the Casserole uncovered into the oven on the middle shelf and baked for 4 miniues. Give everything a stir and return for another 4 minutes.

Now reduce the oven temperture to 325F (160C, Mark 3).

Stir in the Red Wine and enough Beef Stock to just cover the meat. Add the Tomato Puree, Garlic and Herbs. Bring to boil on the stove then cover and place back into the oven for 3 to 4 hours.

While this is cooking prepare the Shallots and Mushrooms.

Heat up 1 oz of the Butter & 1 tbsp of the Olive Oil in a small saucepan and when it starts to bubble add the Onions or Shallots. Gently fry them over a medium heat for arond 10 minutes until softened and brown - occasionally rolling them around so that they brown evenly. Set aside in bowl.

Do exactly the same with the Button Mushrooms and likewise set aside in bowl.

When the meat is ready and tender sieve the contents of the Casserole into a saucepan. Wash the Casserole, place on the stove top and place back the Beef, Bacon, Carrot and Onion. To this tuck in the cooked Onions or Shallots & Button Mushrooms.

Skim any excess fat from the remaing strained gravy in the bowl. There should be around 1 pint of liquid. Boil and reduce down to the level where the sauce will coat a spoon.

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Check the seasoning.

Cover the Casserole and simmer for around 3 minutes, basting the meat with the juices several times. When ready decorate with the Parsley Sprigs and serve immediately from the Casserole.

Serve with Boiled New Potatoes.

Serves 2 as a Main Meal. Multiply it up for 10.

Best if made the day befor and then heated up on the day. Lets the flavours stew and is great for dinner parties as you can do the hard stuff the day befor and just pop in the oven on the day.

I'll have another think!

Beef Stew with Cinnamon, Red Wine and Bay
This is one of those recipes that can be made for two, as here, or scaled up (each time you double the recipe, add 20 minutes cooking time). For the cooking, choose a silky Burgundy, light enough to let the cinnamon to shine through.

Preparation time : 35 minutes, plus marinating
Cooking time : 1 hour 20 minutes
Total time : 1 hour 55 minutes, plus marinating time

Serves: 2
Ingredients
500g rump or braising steak, in 3-4cm pieces
300ml red wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cinnamon sticks
6 bay leaves
70g cubed pancetta
30g salted butter
6 small shallots, peeled but left whole
12 baby carrots, or 3 large carrots cut into batons
8 prunes
1 tbsp plain flour
300ml beef stock

Method
Put the meat, wine, garlic, cinnamon and bay in a large bowl, cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
Preheat the oven to 150°C, gas mark 2. Drain the meat, reserving the marinade, cinnamon and bay. Dry the meat on paper towels.
Fry the pancetta in a casserole over a medium heat until it starts to brown. Add half the butter, the shallots, carrots, prunes and reserved bay and cinnamon. Sauté until the carrots and shallots start to brown.
In a separate pan, melt the remaining butter, brown the meat (in batches, if necessary) and add to the casserole. Add the flour, stir well then add the reserved marinade. Bring to the boil. Add the stock. Return to the boil, cover and put in the oven for 1 hour 20 minutes or until the meat is tender and the sauce thickened. Remove from the oven and stand, covered, for 20 minutes, then serve with buttery mashed potato. Alternatively, cool, refrigerate for up to 2 days and reheat.

Oh There are loads more!

what sort of thing have you got in mind?

thank you those sound wonderful - I like the idea of using bacon or pancetta so will do something like that.

Oh I just thought this might be a interesting alernative.

Hungarian Goulash with peppers
Delicious, tasty, spicy, warming. You can prepare it either with pork or beef. Beware so, which kind of paprika you buy, some have already chilli powder added and might blow your socks off. So season it to your liking.
1 1/2 (1125 g ) to 2 lb ( 900 g )of lean braising pork or beef , cut into big chunks
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
3 green bell peppers, washed, deseeded and cut into big chunks
1 red chilli, washed, deseeded and cut into tiny pieces
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 bay leave
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1 pint (570 ml ) stock
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon of flour mixed with a little cold water
some sour cream
cooking time : approx. 1 hour

braise a few pieces of meat at a time browning them on all sides, put aside
now fry the onions, garlic, the pimento and add 1 of the peppers
add the paprika, chilli powder and mix all together
return the braised meat back into the saucepan and add the stock, bay leave, tomato purée and salt and pepper,
times can vary depending on your cuts of meat , add the 2 peppers for the last 20 minutes of cooking
to thicken the sauce add the mixed flour towards the end and let it cook for at least 1 minute
add the sour cream just before serving
serve either with plain boiled potatoes, noodles or rice and your favourite vegetables