BEEF, RED WINE AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE - Sandra Groom July 2021

Quantities are flexible – depending what is in the fridge   Adapt to your own requirements.

500g cubed blade steak or any stewing steak.  Cut off excess fat.

300g or more sliced mushrooms (I had a small amount of Porcini powder left from a previous recipe which I added.  It’s powerful, you only need a little, but it adds a real mushroom flavour!)

1 or 2 large diced onions

A couple of tablespoons flour, seasoned with salt and ground black pepper

Smashed garlic to taste and chopped chilli to taste

Can of diced tomatoes (I used my own home made tomato sauce from the freezer – but you can get canned tomatoes with garlic and basil and even chilli added which are economical and delicious)

Olive oil

Red wine – optional – use beef or vegetable stock instead

Whatever fresh herbs you have, I used parsley and basil just because we have lots in the garden so I use loads.

(OPTIONAL:  Add preserved lemons if you have them. Once a year or so, I make a couple of jars and keep them in a dark place – but once opened, store in fridge.   Doesn’t matter if you don’t have them.

AND the ‘secret’ ingredient is a couple of tinned anchovies and their oil.  Open a can, use what you need – and freeze the rest.  It’s easy to ‘dig out’ of the tin when it’s frozen for your next dish!  It doesn’t matter if you don’t have them. But I find preserved lemons and anchovies add a depth of flavour to most meat dishes.

The day before - marinate cubed steak overnight in whatever you like.  I used soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic, a little ginger, splash of olive oil, dash of fish sauce, and some Ketjap Manis if you have it.   Or you could use a dash of Worstershire sauce, HP sauce, or Tabasco sauce (be careful if you have already added chilli, I would omit it!) – and you could put the garlic and chilli in with the marinade instead of directly in the dish.

1.       Brown onions in a couple of tablespoons olive oil. Remove from pan. If you didn’t use garlic in the marinade, brown it with the onions.

2.       Brown mushrooms – remove from pan.

3.       Drain marinade and set aside.   Dust meat in flour and add to pan and brown – add more olive oil as necessary. Do it in batches so it doesn’t ‘broil’ – it fries. 

4.       Remove meat from pan and add about ¼ cup or more of red oil and deglaze pan - the heat burns off the alcohol but adds great flavour! - scrape all the brown ‘burnt’ bits off the bottom of the pan. This gives the dish depth and colour.  Add the preserved lemons, the anchovies, the marinade and the tomato sauce. Add chopped herbs, onions, mushrooms and meat to pan.   Check for seasoning. If the sauce is too runny, mix a little more flour with water, and add to the pan to thicken it.  If its too thick, add some beef stock.  (A cube in hot water will do, or Vegemite or Marmite)

5.       Place in covered casserole at 180 degrees for about two hours.

6.       Serve with mashed potatoes or rice and a couple of steamed vegetables.   YUMMY!