A Wonderful Stew and a New Gratin

My office looks for all the world like a junk shop. All our lovely possessions have been relegated to one spot. Funny how this does not improve their appearance.

The painter is coming today.
Our house looks like the House Doctor has been in and has gone mad de-cluttering.
We moved into this house 15 years ago this month and amazingly we have managed to last this long without redecorating.
It has been driving us mad…looking very “Shabby Chic” I felt and that is a polite term I guess.
So Dale has removed everything from the walls and all the photos and nice pieces we have collected over the years are thrown in the office.
Boy it’s looking very empty.


A bit sad I feel.
So how do I fill in the time?
I cooked.
I have 4 Seville oranges left from my tiny harvest and this dish from Gary Rhodes is so so good. It’s a bit of prep but well worthy it.
Don’t forget when it is the oven you just have to stir it every ½ hour
By the way you could use navel oranges for this casserole. Be a little sweeter but sill pretty good.

So you first
Heat you oven to 160C
Then for 4 people
250g blade steak per person
2 tablespoons flour
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil I use rice bran


Big knob of butter
2 large onions quartered
2 large carrots quartered
50 mls red wine vinegar
1 bottle red wine
2 teaspoons demerara sugar
2 bay leaves
Sprig of thyme
Sprig of rosemary
4 x Black peppercorns
4 strip of Seville orange peel
600 mls beef stock

Juice of 2 Seville oranges


Cut steak into 4 cm pieces
Toss in seasoned flour
Dump in a sieve to shake off excess flour
Heat a pan over high heat
Add oil and brown meat
Remove and set aside


Add a little stock and deglaze the pan
Add to meat

In another pan melt butter
Add onions and carrots fry till golden brown
Season with a little salt and freshly ground black freshly ground black pepper


Remove and add red wine vinegar
Reduce by half over high heat
Add red wine, demerara sugar, herbs and peppercorns
Reduce by 2/3 and add orange peel
Put meat vege and stock into a casserole dish
Add beef stock


Into oven and cook stirring every half hour and skim off any fat.
Cook till meat is tender should be 2 ½ - 3 hours

Meanwhile juice the oranges and strain, boil till syrupy.

When the casserole is cooked remove vege and beef
Keep warm
Strain liquid and put back into pan and reduce a little more.


I think serve with mash and your favourite vege.
Peas will be pretty good.



But the real excitement of the day is the accompanying vege dish I made.
I saw someone on Saturday Cooks make this Gratin.
Well actually not this one which is what is exciting.
Turns out I got it all wrong but what a find.

It is Swede and Beetroot Gratin

This is what I did
Heat the oven to 180C

The two of us ate this amount.
Knob of butter
1 large swede
1 med beetroot
1 clove garlic
½ cup milk
½ cup cream
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese

First thinly slice the swede and beetroot
If you have a mandolin use that.
Grease your dish with the butter
Layer of swede
Season and covered with grated parmesan cheese
Then the beetroot


More seasoning and cheese
Final layer of swede
Mix milk and cream
Season
Pour over the top and a final grating of parmesan.

Whoops I forgot the garlic
So I grated 1 clove of garlic and pressed down the vege so that the milk was well dispersed.


Into the oven.
After 10 minutes I found my pad with the notes from the show.
Quelle domage!!!guess what?
Not swede but kumara
You also heat the milk infused with bay leaf and onion
Breadcrumbs mixed with melted butter and parmesan
Too late for the first two instructions but not too late for the breadcrumb topping

So I whipped it out of the oven…melted some butter
Mixed with Japanese Panko breadcrumbs (the best)
Some extra grated parmesan and sprinkling of dried thyme.

Sprinkled them all over the top
Back into the oven 40 minutes
Here it is
Looks like Rhubarb Crumble


What a wonderful meld of flavours and colours
This would make a wonderful first course
And definitely would accompany any red meat.

So once again a new dish has been born,