Competition: Bernard Matthew's "Chef Inspired" Winter Recipe Competition

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while- with all the whirlwind of Christmas and the huge amount of University work and pressure, I just havent had any type to relax and keep up with the blog lately. Aaaanyway, so just before Christmas, I won this marvellous competition Bernard Matthew has been holding for chefs. For each season, professional chefs were supposed to come up with innovative and delicious recipes for turkey. My Winter Turkey Casserole with Leek Mash won, and I received £100 Russums (a caterer- check out their site at http://www.russums-shop.co.uk) vouchers, a branded Craft Guild of Chefs' set of chef whites, and a whole load of turkey! Bootiful!!!

Was very proud of it, heres the blurb they wrote about it all as well, sounds so professional:

Our new Chef Inspired section is a collaboration of delicious seasonal turkey recipes, tips and techniques from expert chefs from across the industry, compiled to help you make the most from British turkey in order to create profitable, tasty turkey dishes for use on menus all year round.

‘’This season’s winning British turkey recipe is Turkey and Winter Vegetable Casserole with Leek Mash, brought to you by Melanie Booth, chef at Bath’s Cosy Club. The dish was chosen by the Craft Guild of Chefs from scores of submitted recipes as a ‘gloriously hearty dish that would work well on winter menus.’ CEO of the Craft Guild of Chefs Martin Bates said: “This is a really comforting winter recipe, and just reading the ingredients makes your heart and tummy warm,” he said. “The use of leek in the mash makes the perfect accompaniment.”

So without further ado, here's the winning recipe!!

Turkey and Winter Veg Casserole with leek mash (serves 4)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 knob of butter
1 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 sprig fresh rosemary, sprigged and finely chopped
800g diced raw turkey breast
2 parsnips, peeled and diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
500ml chicken stock
1 tbsp Worchester sauce
2 tbsp corn flour, mixed with a little water
Salt and pepper to taste.

750g potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large leeks, diced.
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
60g butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Fry the onions, garlic and rosemary in the oil and butter in a large casserole pan for 5 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add the turkey and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add all the other ingredients (except the cornflour), cover the casserole, and put in the oven for 1 hour.
3. Remove from the oven, add the corn flour, stir in well, and put back in the oven for 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, put a large pan of salted water onto the boil. Add the potatoes and cook until soft. In another pan, fry the spring onions (or leeks) for about 5 minutes or beginning to turn golden.
5. Drain and mash the potatoes, mix in butter, the cooked spring onions, fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Serve the casserole with spring onion mash.

*For caterers, the casserole and mash can be cooked seperately, then microwaved for 2 minutes and served with eachother. The recipe is also very easily multiplied and can be cooked in large batches

Recipe: Beef and Winter Vegetable Casserole

This is actually my boyfriend's recipe, and he cooked me this lovely dinner, but I thought I would have to put it on here because he does rather make some of the best comfort food in the world (although in our house we do actually compete for who makes the best!). I kinda feel like it doesn't matter even if I go out in my warmest clothes and winter coat and gloves and all that, I still come home feeling cold, and wanting a big bowl of some lovely hot food. Theres something about the need of stews and casseroles in the autumn/winter to make you feel much warmer on the inside, much more than other foods.

Beef and Winter Vegetable Casserole (serves 4)

1 tbsp olive oil
Knob of butter
500g casserole steak, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
2 sticks celery, sliced
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
¼ a swede, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
½ tsp dried mixed herbs
400ml beef stock
1 tsp Bovril
150ml red wine
1 Bay leaf
Dash Worcester sauce
Dash chilli sauce (such as Tabasco or Cholula’s)
½ tsp corn flour, mixed with water.
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Brown the beef in the oil in a medium-large casserole dish, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add butter to the pan then sweat off onion and garlic, adding celery, carrot, swede and potato, stirring around occasionally for about 10 minutes.
2. Return the beef to the pot add the herbs, seasoning, wine, stock and bay leaf and cover with lid. Cook in the oven for about 2 and 1/2 hours- 3 hours, giving it a stir halfway through cooking. At the end thicken on the stove with a little corn flour mixed with water, finish with a dash of the sauces, and season to taste.

Recipe: Cajun Pork Casserole

Can't believe this recipe -it's epic, I actually fooled my brother into eating swede, as well as apple! Its flavourful, healthy, filling, and pretty darn cheap to make too. I served this with macaroni (as we didnt have any bread or rice in the house) and that actually works really well as a side dish.

Cajun Pork Casserole (serves 4)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
450g diced pork (leg or shoulder)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
200g diced swede
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans in chilli sauce
1 tsp paprika
300ml vegetable stock
1 tsp bisto gravy granules
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a casserole, sauté the onion, garlic and pork in the olive oil for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add all the other ingredients and bring to the boil.
2. Put a lid on the casserole, and put in the oven for half an hour. Remove, stir it, and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes. Season to taste and serve!

Recipe: Butterbean and Vegetable Casserole

Sorry I haven't been posting much this month, but to be honest this is to be expected. I have 1 last assignment to do, but it looks really hard and i've got to hand it in on thursday/friday! And then in a couple of weeks I have exams too, i feel really frazzled. Been working myself really hard lately, which means my diet's gone out the window. When im busy i just cant be healthy, and i just cant concentrate properly when i'm hungry. This is a nice dish i cooked for mum last time i went over to Weston, you can of course just use 1 white onion or 1 red onion, but that's just what i had in the house at the time. I served this with sweetcorn and crusty bread, which worked very well.

Butterbean and Veg Casserole (serves 3)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 knob of butter
½ red onion, diced
½ white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
400ml vegetable stock
Handful chopped parsley
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp sugar
1 tin butterbeans, drained and rinsed
100g baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the Oven to 200C. In a casserole pan, sauté the onion, garlic and carrots in the olive oil and butter, for 10 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Add all other ingredients except the spinach, bring to the boil, and cook for 5 minutes uncovered, stirring often.
2. Add the spinach and cook for 2 more minutes. Put a lid on this and put in the oven for 45 minutes. Season to taste and serve!

Recipe: Traditional Chicken and Vegetable Casserole

This is a really basic casserole that is always a staple in my flat. It always makes exactly the right amount for two, it's really comforting, it's got potatoes in there so it's filling enough not to have to have mash or bread with it, and it's just scrumptious. I think everyone has a dish that they cook often, because they normally have all those ingredients in the fridge/cupboards, and this is one of mine!

Chicken and Vegetable Casserole (serves 2)

50g butter
1 white onion
1 clove garlic
2 leeks
1 large chicken breast, diced
100ml sherry
1 tsp dried rosemary
500ml vegetable stock
2 tsp lemon juice
1 large potato
2 carrots
2 tsp bisto gravy granules
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Cook the onion, garlic, leeks and chicken in the butter in a casserole dish for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the sherry and rosemary, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, lemon juice, carrots, and potatoes, cover with the lid, and cook in the oven for 1 hour.
2. Remove casserole from the oven, add 1 tsp of bisto, stir until well combined, and return to the oven for a further hour.
3. Remove from the oven, add another tsp of bisto, and cook on the hob, stirring often, until the casserole has thickened enough. Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley and serve!

Recipe: Sausage and Bean Casserole

This was a really tasty, economical dinner that I made yesterday. I had another portion for my lunch today and froze another portion, which is great- Nick didn't have any of it because he's so fussy how he haw meat. He loves bacon, he loves sausages, but he wont eat it if it's "in" a dish. Honestly- he's as fussy as my little brother sometimes! This is a bit of a Heinz-fest i suppose, but of course i always haved these products in the house. I'm not one of these people that are obsessed with branding on products, but when it comes to baked beans, ketchup, and cream of tomato soup- it just has to be Heinz, otherwise it just tastes weird. I served this just with some brussel sprouts- it doesnt really need mash with it, because theres already potatoes in it.

Sausage and Bean Casserole (serves 3)

3 tbsp olive oil
9 gourmet chipolata sausages, halved or diced into 3rds
Knob of butter
1 white onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp dried thyme
500ml beef stock
1/2 tin Heinz baked beans
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 generous tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp corn flour, mixed with a little water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a casserole pan, cook the sausages over a high heat in 2tbsp of the olive oil, for about 5 minutes (or until browned). Remove them with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Add another tbsp of oil the casserole, along with the onions, garlic and butter, and fry for 5 minutes.
2. Add everything except the corn flour, bring to the boil, cover, and put in the oven for 1 hour. Remove, stir, and put in for another hour.
3. Remove, add the corn flour, stir well, and return to the oven for a final 15 minutes. Season to taste and serve!

Recipe: Pheasant, Mushroom and Leek Casserole

This is what I cooked Nick for Valentines day, although he decided he'd rather spend the night at the pub rather than coming home for dinner! Humph! If i wasnt used to it, i guess i'd be annoyed- but anyway, he bought me a very nice bouquet of flowers for Valentines (I suppose I would be annoyed if he didnt- we live next to a ruddy florist! Lol!!!). Very nice bouquet indeed- not the usual red roses, but a really colourful spring bouquet with red tulips, little daffodils and blue hyacinths- and i love the hyacinths because they make my little desk smell lush! This is the first time i have cooked or tried pheasant- i bought it because it was on offer at Sainsburys- but i must admit I am very pleasantly surprised. So was Nick too actually, who before dinner was determined to say he didn't like pheasant, even though he can't remember ever trying it! You could try this recipe with any other game bird, or even chicken or pork if you prefer.

Pheasant, mushroom and leek casserole (serves 3)

1 tbsp olive oil
40g butter
1 red onion, diced finely
2 thin streaky rashers smoky bacon
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 skinless pheasant breasts, diced
200ml white wine
125g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 large leek, diced
300ml chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1-2tbsp double cream
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp corn flour, mixed with water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Fry the red onion, garlic and bacon in a casserole pot for 3 minutes. Add the pheasants and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the wine, and cook for 2-3 minutes in order to burn off most of the alcohol.
2. Add the mushrooms and leeks and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the chicken stock and bay leaf, cover, and put in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove, add cream, mustard and corn flour, and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes.
3. Give the casserole a good stir, and put back into the oven for a final 30 minutes. Remove, season to taste, remove the bay leaf, and serve!

Recipe: Tomato, Leek and Bean Hotpot

This is a family favourite and in my opinion one of my mum's best recipes. All the time that I was making this, dad kept coming back in from the garden, and walking past me in the kitchen saying "ooh, one of my favourites this is!". Can't say I blame him- this dish is incredibly comforting and delicious, as well as being pretty good for you too. I used the first leeks i've picked this season to make this, and i think despite having a fair amount of other ingredients in it, the flavour of the leeks really shine through. Its amazing though, when i harvest my homegrown leeks, there is such an aroma- such a strong onion-y garlicky smell. I sware that homegrown vegetables just smell much more "vegetabley" then their supermarket counterparts (the lush smell of homegrown tomatoes holds no comparison atall in my opinion, to shop bought toms). If you don't have a food processor, just try and slice the potatoes as thinly as possible.

Tomato, Leek and Bean Hotpot (serves 4)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large or 2 medium leeks, sliced
2 large or 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
300ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp marmite
700g potatoes, peeled and sliced very thinly (using a food processor slicing attachment if possible)
50g butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a saucepan, fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the leeks and carrots and cook covered for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C. Add the tinned tomatoes, kidney beans, stock and marmite to the vegetables, season to taste, and set aside. Pour this mixture into a large casserole.
3. Top the bean and vegetable mixture with all of the sliced potatoes. Every full layer, add a little bit of salt and pepper. Once you have layered up all the potatoes, dot with the butter, put the lid on, and bake in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes.
4. Remove the lid, and if the potatoes need any crisping up, put under the grill for a few minutes. Serve!

Recipe: Spiced Beef Casserole

I kinda lost the recipe for this, but then found my print-out behind the sofa and thought GAWWWD I havent made this for ages and it's soooo lush!! I guess with the cinnamon and the cocoa powder it has a slightly north african flavour to it, but i guess it isn't a specific sort of "named dish", it just happens to be tender and delicious! Perfect served with mash and buttered purple sprouting broccoli.

Spiced Beef Casserole (serves 2)

2 tbsp olive oil
500g stewing steak
1 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp mild chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
250g passata
600ml beef stock
1 fresh or 2 dried bay leaves

1. On a high heat brown the beef off in a couple of batches, seasoned well. This should take about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon remove the browned beef from the saucepan and set aside in a casserole dish.
2. Add another tbsp of olive oil to the pan, and add the onion and garlic. Fry covered for 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and translucent. Heat the oven to 180C.
3. Add all the spices to the pan, and stir in well. Add passata and stir until well combined. Add the beef stock and reduce down for 10 minutes.
4. Add the reserved beef, add bay leaves, and cover. Put in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, removing and stirring every 30 minutes.

Recipe: Pork Goulash

Many attempts have been made over this dish but i think i've finally perfected it! Goulash is a wonderfully warming European treat- originally Hungarian but very popular in the colder countries of Eastern Europe. Me and Nick had some fantastic goulashes when we went to Prague last year and i've been trying to pinpoint a good recipe of it ever since. It's warming, it's meaty, but its also got a strong tomato flavour, as well as the most important element- the sweet fragrant taste you get from carraway seeds. I would say that without carraway seeds you can't make a traditional goulash, it's what sets it apart from different stews and casseroles. This dish is also very nice made with beef, but pork is the more traditionally used meat.

Pork Goulash (serves 3-4)

2 tbsp olive oil
450g diced pork leg, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 red onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
400g diced fresh tomatoes
1 red pepper, diced
2 large carrots, diced
500ml beef stock
1 tsp marmite
10g caraway seeds
3g cumin seeds
¼ tsp hot smoked paprika
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp sugar
1 rounded tsp cornflour, mixed with a little water.
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh parsley and soured cream for garnish

1. Toast the cumin and caraway seeds in a hot pan until smoking and browned (not burnt!), and blend in a spice or coffee grinder until fairly fine. Set aside.
2. Fry the diced pork in the olive oil in a large saucepan until beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the red onion and garlic and fry for a further five minutes.
3. Preheat the (fan) oven to 180C. Add all the other ingredients (including the reserved ground spices) to the pork and cook on a medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into a large casserole dish, cover, and cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove, add cornflour, stir in, and cook for a further hour.
4. Garnish with some chopped fresh parsley, and serve with some soured cream and some chunks of crusty bread or a big pile of creamy mashed potato!

Recipe: Chicken and Red Wine Casserole

Ugh. Feel a bit down in the dumps since Glastonbury. Yeah, it was fun and everything, i had a lovely time- but I didn't have as much fun as other years i've done. I think it's because it was all so rushed- I didn't get down there to the Babylon Bandstand by 6pm on the friday! Cause I had my last exam on the friday morning. It was literally 3 hour exam, train, bus, GLASTO! I just felt like I hadn't been down there long enough- in 2013 i'm literally not bothering to go unless i can get down there earlier. So, like usual, i drink, smoke and eat far too much on my "festival holiday", and I am always in need of a bit of a detox afterwards. This is a really really healthy dish, really nutritious- full of lean protein and vitamin rich vegetables. I just eat it by itself to be honest, it's tasty and filling enough to not need much else!

Chicken and Red Wine Casserole (serves 4)

500g chicken breasts (3-4 depending on size), diced and seasoned
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and roughly diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
200ml red wine
200ml vegetable stock
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 red pepper, roasted and diced
80g nice green olives, halved
1 tsp dried rosemary
Salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar
Handful of chopped parsley (for garnish)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a saucepan cook the seasoned diced chicken on a high heat for about 10 minutes, or until browned. Set aside.
2. Into the same saucepan, add the extra virgin olive oil, onion, celery and carrots, and cook covered on a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the crushed garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the red wine and cook uncovered for 10 minutes (to allow the alcohol to evaporate). Add all the other ingredients (except the fresh parsley) and the reserved chicken, and stir to combine.
4. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, cover, and cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, garnish with the freshly chopped parsley, and serve!

Recipe: Pork, Butterbean and Spring Green Casserole

I've been meaning to write this up for ages- this is such a moreish recipe- maybe the reason its taken me ages to put this up is because we've started eating it before i can take a picture of it! Lol! Nick says this is his favourite recipe of mine. This, my keema matar, and my chicken and black bean stew are his favourites. I think in general he just loves casseroles- as do I. Use a very lean cut of meat, and make sure you sear it, and your result will be literally melt-in-the-mouth pork! Takes a while in the oven, but it's still a fairly simple recipe to make though. Apologies for dirty oven though- filthy! Shall have to get nick into some marigolds to get scrubbing that hob (haha!)

Pork, butterbean and spring green casserole (serves 2)

2 tbsp olive oil
250g diced lean pork, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 rashers smoky bacon, diced
1 banana shallot (or 4 little shallots) sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tin butterbeans, drained and rinsed
500ml chicken stock
1 bay leaf
150g diced spring greens
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
½ tsp Worchester sauce
1 rounded tsp cornflour, mixed with a little water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a casserole, fry the seasoned pork in the olive oil on a high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the shallot, bacon and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.
2. Add all the other ingredients (except the cornflour), mix well, put the lid on, and put in the oven for an hour.
3. Remove from the oven, add the cornflour mixture, mix in, then put back in the oven for a further 45 minutes. Remove, season to taste, and serve!

Recipe: Chicken Cacciatore

This is scrumptious! "Cacciatore" is an Italian dish, which means "hunter" or a dish prepared in a "hunter style". So i suppose by this they kinda mean rustic! A traditional cacciatore is most commonly made with chicken or rabbit. You know i'm not really a traditional girl, so I kinda see this dish really as a nice chicken casserole with a tasty smoky bacon and tomato sauce! It does seem like when it comes out of the oven that there is a lot of sauce- but this is vital to make sure the chicken stays moist, and i think the best part of the dish is serving it with something to mop up all that delicious sauce! Again, traditionally in Italy they would serve this with big hunks of bread, but i've gone for a pile of creamy mash. By the way don't you just love this plate? My mum bought it decades ago, rather pricy at the time she told me! It really looks so fabulously eighties!

Chicken Cacciatore (serves 2)

2 chicken breasts with skin
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small white onion, diced finely
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 smoked thick-cut back bacon slice, diced finely
1 stalk fresh rosemary, destalked and finely chopped
100ml white wine
350g tomato passata
2 tsp sugar
1 vegetable stock cube
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Handful fresh parsley, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the two chicken breasts on an oven tray with a little salt and pepper, for 25 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. In a casserole, sauté the onion, bacon, garlic and rosemary in the oil for 10 minutes. Add white wine, and cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the passata, sugar, stock cube, and bay leaf, and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Put the reserved chicken breasts into the casserole pot, cover with the tomato sauce, cover with the casserole lid, and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley, and serve!

PS: After cooking this recipe a few more times, I have found it is also very nice to add a handful of halved button mushrooms in at stage 2 (before adding the wine).

Recipe: Chicken and Mushroom Hotpot

This a delicious, warming, and moreish chicken hotpot. A perfect dinner for two, served with some steamed broccoli. Using the slicer attachment on the food processor makes the prep for this recipe so quick as well- such a handy peice of kitchen equipment! If you dont have a food processor, just slice the potatoes as thinly as possible, and add an extra 5 minutes to the cooking time at stage 4.

Chicken and Mushroom Hotpot (serves 2)

3 tbsp olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
100g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
200g diced chicken breast
1 tbsp plain flour
100ml chicken stock
100ml white wine
100ml skimmed milk
½ tsp dried thyme
450g red rooster potatoes, peeled
40g butter
Salt and pepper

1. Fry the white onion in 2 tbsp of the olive oil, on a medium heat, in a casserole dish. Add the mushrooms, chicken, the other tbsp of olive oil, and fry for a further 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the flour until the ingredients are well coated. Add stock, wine, milk and thyme, and bubble down for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste.
3. Heat the oven to 180C. Put the peeled potatoes through a food processor with the slicer attachment on. Layer the thin slices of potato on top of the creamy chicken mixture, and dot pieces of the butter all over the top.
4. Sprinkle over a little salt and pepper, cover, and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, and put under a hot grill for about 5 minutes, or until the potato slices have become golden. Serve!

Recipe: Beef, Mushroom and Guinness Casserole

This dish is amazing. Good old Guinness, I really really like the stuff. Tastes much better when you have it in Ireland though I sware- maybe because its closer to the source? Lol. I usually alternate from making this as a casserole, to topping with puff pastry and turning it into a pot-pie. I have served this in pie-form to many of my friends and they absolutely love it- a definite winner. If you want to make it into a pie, allow to cool after stage four, then spoon into pie bases and top with ready rolled puff pastry. Brush with egg, and make a couple of little air holes at the top. Bake in oven at the same temperature for about 30 minutes.

Beef mushroom and Guinness casserole/pie (serves 3 as a casserole, 4 as a pie)

3 tbsp olive oil
500g braising beef, seasoned with a little salt and pepper
2 thin streaky bacon rashers, diced
1 white onion chopped
1 carrot, sliced
125g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 crushed garlic clove
1 tsp sugar
200ml Guinness
300ml beef stock
½ tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1tsp corn flour mixed in a little water

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan. Add the beef in batches and brown, for about 5 minutes, and set aside.
2. Add the other tablespoon of oil and the bacon, and cook until starting to colour. Add onion, carrot, garlic, mushrooms and sugar, and cook for 15 minutes or until soft and browned.
3. Add the stock, Guinness, bay leaves, thyme and the reserved beef. Keep on a low heat and covered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
4. Heat the oven to 180C. Add the corn flour mixture, remove the lid, and cook for a further 10 minutes.
5. Pour the beef mixture into a casserole, cover, and put in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and serve!

Recipe: Beef and Shallot Hotpot

Nom nom nom. I can make perfect Hotpots now that I have my lovely little Le Creuset casserole. This serves 3 nicely, but whenever i make it for me and my boyfriend we end up eating it all and practically lick the pan clean, lol. Last time I made this, I came home from the pub- to be honest- a little drunky, and ended up eating this with a serving spoon out of the pan, haha!! So nice though, seriously, you gotta try this.

Beef and shallot hotpot (serves 3)

3 tbsp olive oil
500g stewing/braising beef
60g butter
8 shallots, peeled and halved
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp sugar
100ml red wine
300ml beef stock
2 tsp corn flour, mixed with a little water
½ tsp dried thyme
450g peeled and thinly sliced potatoes

1. Turn Oven to 180C. Season the beef with a little salt and pepper. In a casserole, brown the seasoned beef in the olive oil (in 2 batches) and set aside.
2. Add the shallots, garlic and sugar to the pan along with ½ of the butter. Fry for about 5 minutes until a little caramelised.
3. Add red wine, stock, thyme, and stir well (making sure to scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan). Add the reserved beef and corn flour mixture, and cook on a medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the stew has thickened up nicely.
4. Layer the sliced potatoes on top of the stew. Dot the rest of the butter evenly across the top, put the lid on the casserole and put in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.
5. Remove the lid and place under a hot grill for about 5 minutes, or until the potatoes on top have become golden and crispy. Serve!