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Makes: Enough for four
Takes: 20 minutes
Bakes: 3 hours (on the hob)
200g smoked lardons
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
800g beef shin or stewing steak
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
330ml belgian beer
400ml beef stock
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp dark sugar
2 bay leaves
Place the lardons in a large casserole dish, and place over a medium heat, cooking until the lardons crisp. Lower the heat, add a tablespoon of the vegetable oil, and cook the onions until they are soft but not yet coloured. Set the lardons and onions to one side.
Add a second tablespoon of vegetable oil to the casserole dish, and brown off the beef in batches (don’t overcrowd the pan, as the beef will steam rather than brown).
Stir the flour into the browned beef, return the lardons and onions to the pan, and add the tomato paste, garlic, mustard, beer, beef stock, sugar and bay leaves. Season generously with salt.
Bring the whole mixture up to simmer, then cook for 3 hours. Give the casserole a good stir. The liquid should be glossy and coat the back of a spoon – if it’s too thin for your tastes, you can continue to simmer it for another 30 minutes. Once the sauce thickness is to your liking, taste and correct the seasoning if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and serve.
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