Braised beef in red wine.

A little red meat for those that aren't too keen on pork or ham. This one takes a little time to cook so it is best to plan ahead. The list of ingredients given below should be enough to feed six people, although you can modify the amounts to either increase or decrease the numbers.

25g / 1oz plain white flour, Salt & pepper

900g / 2lb stewing beef or venison, cubed

4 tbsp olive oil

350g / 12oz button onions

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

350g / 12oz carrots, sliced

300ml / 1/2 pint red dry red wine

150ml / 1/4 pint beef or chicken stock

400g / 14oz canned chopped tomatoes with herbs in juice

Pared rind of 1 lemon

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Freshly cooked rice to serve

Pre-heat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4. Put the pepper and the flour in a polythene bag (without holes) add the meat and shake well untill all of the meat is coated in the mixture. In a large flameproof casserole dish, heat the oil and fry the coated meat for 5 - 10 minutes until it is browned on all sides, remember to stir constantly. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside. (We use a slotted spoon as we want the juices and oil to remain in the dish). The photo below shows the meat being browned.

Add the button onions (I couldn't find button onions so I sliced an ordinary onion instead) add the garlic and carrots to the casserole dish and fry for around 5 minutes until they begin to soften, then return the meat to the dish.

Pour the wine into the dish, stirring in any glazed pieces from the bottom of the dish, then add the stock, the tomatoes and juice, lemon rind, bay leaf, parsley, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to the boil then cover the casserole. The meat with the added red wine and stock can be seen here.

Place the casserole in the pre-heated oven and cook for about 2 hours until the meat is tender, then serve hot with rice, shown below.

The wine I used to cook with is Hardys Crest Cabernet Shiraz and there was enough left for a glass each with the meal. However, if you prepare for 6, you will need to open at least another bottle.