Nadia And Kaye Disaster Chef Beef Bourguignon

Kaye says, ‘ What a dreamy aroma to come home to: wine, beef… beef, wine… Well, that’s what Nadia thinks. Me? I’m more to the point. The dinner is ready. Wine, glass… glass of wine.’

Serves 4

2tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra if needed

2tbsp plain flour

½tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper

900g (2lb) chuck, braising or stewing steak, in chunky pieces

10 small or 1 large onion, sliced

4 rashers of streaky bacon, chopped

Handful of button mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2tbsp tomato purée

500ml (16fl oz) dry red wine

1 bouquet garni (a bunch of herbs in a muslin bag), or a herby beef stock jelly cube

Pinch of sugar

1 Heat half the oil in a heavy-based frying pan. Put the flour on a plate and season well. Dust the meat in the seasoned flour.

2 Fry half the meat in the pan until browned, then remove with a slotted spoon, put in a slow cooker, and repeat with the remaining meat, adding more oil if you need to. ( Nadia says, ‘Kaye hates doing this, and you could miss it out, but you get more depth of flavour this way.’) 3 Now add the onions, bacon, mushrooms and garlic to the pan and stir for a few minutes. If you need more oil, make sure you heat it up in the pan first. Add the tomato purée and fry for a minute. 4 Pour in the wine, add the bouquet garni or stock cube, bring to the boil, then add the sugar. Pour the contents of the frying pan over the beef. 5 Cook on the low setting for 8 hrs. Do not open for a peek! If you’d like the sauce thicker, remove meat with a slotted spoon and boil sauce until reduced (which means some of the excess liquid boils off). 6 Serve with peas and boiled new potatoes. Kaye says, ‘Why do you always make me fry tomato purée?’ Nadia says, ‘Because otherwise it can impart a sour taste. Frying the purée makes it sweet.’