Beef and red wine hotpot
Serves 6 You will need:
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 250g button mushrooms, halved (or quartered if they are large)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 small onions, peeled and sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1.5kg stewing beef, cut into 4cm chunks
• 150ml red wine
• 100ml beef stock or chicken stock
• 3 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 650g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm-thick slices
• 25g butter, diced
1 You will also need a large casserole dish or an ovenproof saucepan with a lid. Preheat the oven to 150°C, 300°F, Gas 2.
2 Put the casserole dish or saucepan on a medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms. Season them with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss them for 2-3 minutes or until they are lightly golden. Remove the mushrooms from the dish or pan and set them aside, leaving any oil behind in the pan.
3 If there isn’t much oil left in the dish or pan, add the remaining tablespoon. Tip in the sliced onions and the finely chopped garlic, stir over the heat, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook them for 4-5 minutes, or until they start to turn golden at the edges.
4 Add the chunks of stewing beef, the red wine, the beef stock or the chicken stock, whichever you are using, and 2 teaspoons of the chopped thyme leaves. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and put the hotpot in the preheated oven to cook for 1¼-1½ hours, or until the meat is just tender.
5 Take the hotpot out of the oven and turn the heat up to 230°C, 450°F, Gas 8.
6 Stir in the fried mushrooms and the red wine vinegar. Arrange the potato slices over the beef in the pan (it’s fine if there’s more than one layer). Scatter over the remaining teaspoon of chopped thyme leaves and season with some more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dot with the diced butter. Place the hotpot back in the (now hotter) oven and bake it for a further 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and beginning to turn golden. Bring to the table and serve.