Time saver: rich and hearty, this casserole is perfect for winter.

Casseroles are great, you do all the work up front, then leave them to do their thing and come back to reap the benefits. This recipe can be embellished as much as you like (obvious changes are including button mushrooms, swapping beef for chicken, adding bacon…) but provides a good flavourful meal as is.

I served it with creamy mashed potatoes and green beans. A kumara mash would also be great, and most vegetables will go with it.

Beef casserole – serves 4

• 600g rump steak (or blade/chuck steak but you’ll need to cook it for longer)
• 1 large onion
• 3 celery stalks
• 3 medium carrots
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups beef stock (I use Campbell’s liquid stocks)
• 1 cup red wine (I prefer strongly-flavoured ones, e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cornflour, mixed with a little cold water

1. Heat oven to 200°C.
2. Trim fat from meat, then cut the steak into smaller pieces (whatever size you like really).
3. Dice the onion, cut the celery into crescents, peel/wash the carrots and cut into rounds.
4. Add oil to a large saucepan, then heat on a hot element. Brown the steak in batches, and set aside.
5. Reduce the heat to medium, then add the onion and celery to the same saucepan and cook till softened (3-5 mins).
6. Put the steak back in the saucepan, and then add the tomatoes, wine, beef stock, herbs, sugar, salt, and black pepper to taste. Stir well, and bring to a simmer.
7. Once the oven is hot, transfer the contents of the saucepan to a lidded casserole dish (I use a ceramic-coated, cast-iron “Dutch oven”) and place in the middle of the oven. Cook for 1 hour (or more, if using chuck/blade steak consider cooking for up to 2 hours).
8. Prepare whatever else you’re going to serve it with. I would normally serve it with mashed potatoes (or a kumara and potato mash) and some sort of lightly-boiled/steamed green vegetable, e.g. green beans, brocolli etc.
9. Just before it’s time to serve, remove the casserole from the oven. Dissolve 2 tsps cornflour in a little cold water and mix well, then add it to the casserole and stir it quickly through to thicken it. Replace the lid and leave it to sit for a couple of minutes before serving. Enjoy!