This dish was the first meal that I made for my husband in our first apartment…we first tasted it when we went to what is now our favourite French restaurant in Sydney – the meltingly tender beef, the rich hearty oniony sauce atop the fluffiest mash you could find means it was definitely a night to remember! There are many different versions of this recipe around – but I like mine because its simple and classic without too much ‘fusion confusion’ this is also my favourite dinner party dish of all time, its delicious yet cost effective because it uses cheaper cuts of meat, but most importantly  this dish is easily prepared the day before so you can spend the actual day of the dinner party relaxing with your friends rather than slaving away in a hot kitchen. As with all casseroles, the tastes develop overnight and it will actually taste better the  next day.  I hope you enjoy this recipe, from my family to yours!

Ingredients
1.2 kg chuck/gravy beef diced in big cubes (get your butcher to do this to save time)
90g butter
2 tablespoons oil
12 baby onions peeled and left whole
2 cloves garlic, crushed
300g mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup flour
2 cups red wine
3 cups beef stock
1 beef stock cube
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
salt, pepper

Method
1.Coat the beef with flour and season with salt and pepper (I like to do this in a bag and shake it all about)

2. Heat 1/3 of the butter and the oil in a cast iron casserole dish and brown the beef in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan because that will result in the beef cooking in its own juice which is not at all desireable

3. Once all the meat is browned, add the baby onions (add a little more oil if you need to) followed by the mushrooms and cook until the onions are browned – set these aside with the meat

4. Heat the rest of the butter in the pot, add the garlic and flour and cook without allowing to brown

5. slowly add both liquid and powdered stock  (which should be at room temperature) as well as the wine and thyme leaves

6. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil – the sauce should thicken as it comes to the boil

7. Put the meat and mushrooms back into the pot, and place into a 160 Celsius oven for 1.5 hours

8. Serve with fluffy mash!

Happy cooking xx