Steak With Stout And Potatoes -

Steak With Stout And Potatoes

Ingredients

675g/½lb stewing beef
15ml/1 tbsp vegetable oil
25g/1oz/2 tbsp butter
225g/8oz tiny white onions
175ml/6fl oz/¾ cup stout or dark beer
300ml/½ pint/1¼ cups beef stock
Bouquet garni
675g/1½lb firm, waxy potatoes, cut into thick slices
225g/8oz/3 cups large mushrooms, sliced
15ml/1 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
2.5ml/½ tsp mild mustard
Salt and ground black pepper
Chopped thyme sprigs, to garnish

Details

Serves: 4

Method

1. Trim any excess fat from the steak and cut into four pieces. Season both sides of the meat. Heat the oil and 10g/¼oz/1½ tsp of the butter in a large heavy pan.

2. Add the steak and brown on both sides, taking care not to burn the butter. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Add the tiny white onions to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned all over. Return the steak to the pan with the onions. Pour on the stout or beer and stock and season the whole mixture to taste.

4. Next add the bouquet garni to the pan and top with the potato slices distributing them evenly over the surface to cover the steak. Bring the ingredients to a boil then reduce the heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer gently for 1 hour.

5. Add the sliced mushrooms over the potatoes. Cover again and simmer for a further 30 minutes or so. Remove the steak and vegetables with a slotted spoon and arrange on a platter.

6. Mix the remaining butter with the flour to make a roux. Whisk a little at a time into the cooking liquid in the pan. Stir in the mustard. Cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the while, until thickened.

7. Season the sauce and pour over the steak. Garnish with plenty of thyme sprigs and serve the dish at once.

COOK'S TIP:- To make onion peeling easier, first put the onions in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow them to soak for about 5 minutes and drain. The skins should now peel away easily.

VARIATION:- For a dish that is lighter, but just as tasty, substitute four lamb leg steaks for the beef, and use dry (hard) cider instead of the stout or beer, and lamb or chicken stock instead of beef.

Energy 468Kcal/1968kj; Protein 43.4g; Carbohydrate 38.9g of which sugars 8.7g; Fat 14.8g of which saturates 6.2g; Cholesterol 126mg; Calcium 50mg; Fibre 3.3g; Sodium 195mg

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