Beef, Mushroom, Tons of Thyme and Red Wine Casserole

Equipment

• Large Pan
• Chopping Board
• Sharp knife
• Measuring Jug
• Grease proof paper disc to fit on top of large pan (Cartouche)

Ingredients

• 500g Diced Stewing Beef
• 1 Red onion diced
• 1 medium parsnip cut into medium chunks
• 1 medium carrot cut into medium chunks
•  12 whole button mushrooms
• 1 Large glass of red wine
• 400 ml of beef stock
• 1 tsp Worcester sauce
• 1 tsp of beef bouillon
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (400g)
• 1 heaped tbsp of tomato puree
• 4 whole sprigs of fresh thyme
• 10 sprigs of fresh thyme just the leaves
• A small bunch of fresh parsley chopped
• 1 tbsp of plain flour
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper
• 1 knob of butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

• lay beef out on a plate and season with salt and pepper and evenly coat with the plain flour
• Heat olive oil in the pan to a medium high heat
• Add the seasoned beef and fry on all sides until browned
• Remove beef and set aside in a bowl
• Add onions and fry for a couple of minutes stiring occasionally
• Add knob of butter
• Add mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes stirring occasionally
• Add tomato puree and fry for 2 minutes stiring occasionally
• Add parsnip and carrots for 2 minutes and stir occasionally
• Add the glass of red wine and stir well so all caramelised bits are removed from pan base
• Simmer for 5 mins
• Add tomatoes, beef stock, Worcester sauce, beef bouillon, thme leaves and sprigs and stir
• Cover and simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours stirring3 or 4 times
• Preheat oven to 200
• Remove pan and stir and add grease proof paper disc on top of stew
• Place in the over for 30 mins
• Remove and stir in chopped parsley and your done
• Serve with mash potato or potato gratin

Fillet Steak with red wine sauce

Fillet steak with red wine Jus is always a winner. Just make sure the fillet steak is good quality from a good source and to use a fairly good red wine. Serve it up with some boiled or hassleback potatoes and some steamed green veg. After making this we decided to remake it over the weekend for 2 friends we had round. Although we were a bit drunk it still went down a treat again and we all had a lovely evening.

Serves 2

Equipments:-

• 1 Griddle pan
• 1 Sieve
• Small bowl or dish

Ingredients

Fillet steaks

• 2 Good quality fillet steaks at room temperature
• 300ml of red wine
• 2 tbsp of garlic infused olive oil
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of brown sugar
• 1 onion peeled and slice roughly
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Heat the griddle pan until medium/high
• Brush the fillet steaks with the garlic infused oil on both sides
• Season the fillet steaks with salt and pepper on both sides
• Quickly sear the fillet steaks on all over
• Cook the fillet steaks for 2 minutes on each side
• Set them aside in a warm place

Fillet Steak

• Add the olive oil and onions to griddle pan and fry until browning
• Add the brown sugar and stir fry for 2 minutes
• Add the red wine and simmer until reduced to by about 90% leaving a nice red win reduction
• Strain the onion and wine mix through a sieve pushing through as much liquid as possible out of the onions.
• Serve up the steaks and drizzle with the Jus.

Fillet steak with red wine sauce

Fillet steak with red wine sauce Done!!!!

Prawn Salad (Prawn Cocktail)

Here we have a prawn salad or a prawn cocktail if you want the starter version. It is more of a salsa based prawn cocktail than the traditional 70s and 80s variety. We originally done this with Lobster instead of prawns last Christmas and was so good we wanted to make it again this year but we could not get hold of a lobster. We got some good quality prawns and tried it with them instead. It turned out pretty amazing and at half the cost. So if you fancy prawn salad, prawn cocktail, lobster salad or lobster cocktail give this one a try.

Serves 2 prawn salads (4 prawn cocktails)

Equipment:-

• 1 large bowl
• 1 small bowl
• 1 chopping board
• 1 sharp knife

Ingredients:-

• 250g cooked and peeled prawns
• 2 tomatoes de seeded and finely chopped
• 1/4 cucumber de seeded and finely chopped
• 1 red pepper de seeded and finely chopped
• 4 spring onions finely sliced
• 1 small green medium chilli de seeded and finely chopped
• A bunch of coriander roughly chopped
• 1/2 juice of a line
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• A few drops of Tabasco sauce 
• 1 Avocado diced
• black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup of shredded lettuce

Method:-

• To a bowl add tomato, red pepper, spring onions, cucumber, lime juice, olive oil, salt and coriander.
• Mix well and then set aside the salsa in fridge for 30 mins
• In a small bowl make the dressing by mixing the mayonnaise, ketchup and Tabasco together
• In 2 medium serving bowls serve up. There will be 2 layers of each ingredient in each serving dish so roughly evenly serve it out based on that. Layer up in the following order
• Salsa, lettuce, prawns, dressing, avocado, Salsa, lettuce, prawns, dressing, avocado.
• Season with black pepper and it's done.
• You can alternatively make 4 smaller versions as a prawn cocktail and serve up in some glasses or smaller dishes.

Prawn Salad or Prawn Cocktail Done!!!