One thing I struggled with when living in Dublin was the short days and long, cold nights. This is when I really started to enjoy slow cooked meals that would radiate heat through the kitchen and into the rest of the house. There was nothing better than a crackling fire, a warm house and a lovely glass of full-bodied red wine with a hearty pie to look forward to. This is my version of a bit of Dublin while keeping a bit of Brisbane in a dish.
1.5kg blade steak, diced
1/4 cup plain flour, for dusting
2 tblspns oil
2 brown onions, chopped
1 clove garlic
2-3 cups of guinness
250g button mushroms, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tspn vegemite
salt and pepper
2 carrots, diced
600g potatoes, sliced thinly
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Roll the beef in the flour. Heat some of the oil in a large saucepan and brown the beef in batches, they don't need to be cooked through, about 5 minutes for each batch. Set aside.
Add the rest of the oil to the saucepan and brown the onions until soft, around 4 minutes and add the garlic for the last minute or so.
While the onions are browning, put the guiness in a saucepan and boil until reduced by half.
Add the beef, onions, mushrooms, bay leaf, vegemite and guiness to a casserole dish and stir through. Cover with a lid and cook in a low oven for approximately 2 hours. Add the the carrots, place the sliced potato on top and cook uncovered for another hour. Serves 6.
