BEEF AND GUINNESS CASSEROLE

It's March and spring is allegedly on it's way but here in Wales you still need gloves and a decent jacket. Therefore lets get some last minute winter warmers in before our glorious week of summer arrives.

There's not much I can tell you about this dish. It's a classic and needs little introduction. All it does need is a good mash potato to keep it company.

- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 900g stewing steak cut into slices
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 leeks sliced
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 celery sticks, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 300ml/half pint/1 and quarter cup of well reduced beef stock
- 150ml/quarter pint/two thirds cup of Guinness
- 50g/quarter cup of butter
- 75g streaky bacon diced
- 115g wild or cultivated mushrooms (i used some oyster and chestnut)
- 50g shallots or very small onions left whole but peeled
- 25g plain flour
- salt and ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a pan and brown the meat, then transfer to a casserole dish. Saute the vegetables in the pan for about 5 minutes then add them to the meat. To the casserole dish also add the garlic, stock and Guinness. Season at this point then cover and bring to the boil. reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the meat from the casserole and strain the cooking liquid and reserve it. Now this is the bit that perplexed me. Discard the vegetables! Yeah chuck em out, how strange. Clean the casserole dish then saute the bacon, mushrooms and onions in the butter for 5-10 minutes until the are tender. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Now slowly blend in the reserved cooking liquid. Return the meat to the casserole and heat through. That's it x

I know, I know wipe the plate