Organic Beef and Beer Casserole

A hearty, simple, welcoming casserole to warm your cockles on a cold winter evening. It freezes well, so make a double quantity and keep some stocked in your freezer for when you’re too tired to cook, but still fancy some delicious comfort food. You’ll be glad you did. I use Black Isle organic Porter - it’s an unctuous dark, bitter-sweet stout that works wonderfully well with the beef - but any good, dark beer will do - just don’t use lager.

Shopping list for 4 people: 500g pack of Whitmuir organic shoulder steak, 3 large onions, peeled and sliced, 250g of shallots or small pickling onions, 4 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 bottle of Black Isle Porter, 3 bay leaves, a large pinch of dried, mixed herbs, a glug of Sunflower oil, salt & black pepper.

Method: Brown the meat well in the oil in a heavy, oven-proof casserole pot; remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, while you gently simmer the onions in the same oil, until softened. Add the garlic and herbs, and saute gently for a couple of minutes, making sure that the garlic does not catch or burn. Return the beef to the pot and then turn up the heat and add the porter. Bring to the boil, season well, then place the lid on the pot firmly and put into a pre-heated oven at 160oC (gas mark 3) for around 2 hours.

With half an hour to go, peel the shallots or small onions and blanche (pop into boiling water for around a minute). Drain and add to the stew. Serve with celeriac & potato mash (enriched with some creamed horseradish, if you like it) and seasonal greens.

If you’re in need of total comfort food, you could also make some herb dumplings to go with it. Mix 50g of dried suet with 100g of self-raising flour, a good pinch of salt and a handful of finely chopped, fresh herbs (I normally use thyme or lemon thyme with parsley and a wee hint of rosemary). Mix with just enough cold water to form a dough. Flour your hands and roll the dough into golf-ball size dumplings and lay them gently onto the top of your casserole. Put them in at the same time as the shallots.

Go on, try it. You know you want some.