January’s theme for ‘Waiter there’s something in my…‘ was Stew and I thought long and hard about what to make. I love simple food, I try to eat as much local produce as possible and I like trying new recipes, so I decided to combine all three!

I found a wonderful recipe for Sussex stewed beef in Elizabeth David’s ‘Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen’. It is the most basic of stews, taking literally 10 minutes to prepare but is superbly tasty and perfect for a wintry Sunday lunch.

So, yesterday we went shopping… beef from our local butcher, local organic veg from our farmer’s market and a bottle of Sweet Sussex stout (Harvey’s Brewery), all in ready-ness for today’s Sunday lunch.

Sussex Stewed Steak

Serves 4

Ingredients

2½ lbs Chuck Steak cut in one piece (top rump/thick flank/chine)
2 Medium onions
2 tbsp Flour
6 tbsp Port
6 tbsp Stout
2 tbsp Mushroom ketchup (or wine vinegar)
Salt & Pepper

Turn the radio/stereo on (I love cooking Sunday lunch whilst listening to music).

Season the meat, rub the flour all over and put into a flat, shallow baking dish into which it just fits.

Over it slice the onions.

Pour in the Port, Stout and Mushroom ketchup.

Cover with a double sheet of greaseproof paper and the lid of the dish.

Put in a very low oven, gas No1, 290°F and leave it for about 3 hours - a little less or longer won’t matter.

Slice the beef and serve with the onions and gravy.

Elizabeth suggests creamy mashed potato and grilled mushrooms (large flat) to accompany this stew.

Accompaniments
Mashed potato
Carrots baked in the oven with butter & garlic
Curly kale simply boiled.

The beef was so tender and delicious and the gravy was heavenly! It was a great hit with my parents and we left nothing, we even mopped-up the remainder of the gravy with homemade bread. After lunch I went for a lovely walk along my local beach, the perfect Sunday!

Many thanks to Andrew (SpittoonExtra) for hosting this month and I look forward to next month’s ‘Waiter there’s something in my…’ with bated breath!

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