It’s an overcast Saturday morning in the midst of November. My Christmas decorations are up prematurely and drinking mulled wine has become a daily habit. But hey – I’d be doing worse if it wasn’t lockdown!
During these cold months, nothing soothes my soul quite like a hearty meal. Salads and buddha bowls have been cast aside in gleeful abandon. It’s chunky-yet-funky season now.
So, how am I going to celebrate this new me, you may ask? With a stupendously, mouth-watering beef casserole. And since it’s basically Christmas, let’s add some festive cheer!
When you eat this casserole, it feels like a warm hug. That’s the best way to describe the feeling. So for those overcast, rainy days that we’ll be facing over the coming months, it’s the perfect antidote. Settle in with a rich bowl of casserole and put your feet up. You’ve earned it, boo.
We’ve got five basic tastes.
- Bitter
- Salt
- Sweet
- Sour
- Umami
Everything that we eat touches at least one of these flavour points. Complex dishes often marry these margins together, e.g. curry. But when we take that first bite, certain flavour points stand out more to us than others. For this recipe, we’d say these are:
- Bitter
- Salt
- Sweet
- Sour
- Umami
Beef & Mulled Wine Casserole
Ingredients
- 400 g Lean diced beef steak
- 1 tbsp Sunflower oil
- 2/3 cup Mulled wine
- 4 Bay leaves
- 3 grinds Salt
- 5 grinds Pepper
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce
- Casserole veg mix
- 1 sachet Vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp Cornflour
- 1 whole Yellow onion
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius (°C) or 356 (°F.) Chop the onion finely and toss into a pan on medium heat. Let that baby sizzle and bring it to a low/medium heat. Caramelise those onions for 2-3 minutes.
- Toss in the diced beef and brown the chunks. Turn the heat up until you hear a satisfying sizzle. Brown the beef for 2-3 minutes. Slowly add the mulled wine, vegetable stock and spices, stirring carefully.
- Par-boil your vegetable mix for 2-3 minutes on high. Line your casserole dish with the veg mix and sprinkle cornflour across the top. Add the meat and onions. Stir in the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle gravy granules across the top.
- Add boiling water until the mixture is completely covered, but not drowning. Give it a careful stir, and either add a lid or cover it with tinfoil.
- Check on the casserole every half hour to ensure it’s cooking evenly. Add more water if required. Cook for 2.5-3 hours
- Serve and enjoy! We recommend a side of mashed potatoes or roasties. For those looking for a healthy alternative, try laying it on a bed of baby spinach.
