A French style beef stew, but with a little more than the Anglo-Saxon style.
Cooking method
Tip the beef (cut into large chunks) into a large bowl with the bay leaves, thyme, wine and some pepper, then cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
Strain the marinated meat, keeping the wine. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan, then brown the meat in batches. When all the meat is browned, pour a little wine into the now-empty frying pan and bubble to release any caramelized bits from the pan.
Heat the rest of the oil in a large casserole and fry the carrots and chopped onions until they start to color. Stir in the flour for 1 min, then add the tomato purée. Add the beef and any juices, the wine from the frying pan and the rest of the wine and herbs. Season and bring to a simmer. Transfer to the oven (200 C) and bake for two hours until the meat is really tender. Let cool and serve when temperature is warm.
| Ingredients | Serves 6 |
| Braising steaks | 1.6 kg |
| Bay leaves | 3 |
| Thyme small bunch | |
| Cheap red wine | 2 bottles |
| Cooking oil | 2 tbsp |
| Carrots, cut into large chunks 3 | |
| Onions, roughly chopped | 2 |
| Plain flour | 3 tbspns |
| Tomato purée | 1 tbspn |
