Serves 4 This is rather a blunt title for a rich and deeply flavoured stew. As with many slow-cooked dishes, the trick is to give all the ingredients, down to the smallest chunk of celery, enough time, space and heat to give up their maximum flavour. The quantity of red wine may seem extravagant, but the almost black, sticky sauce it produces will convince you it was worth popping two corks. 10 carrots, peeled 50g butter 2 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil 1kg boiling beef 2 medium to large onions, peeled and halved 3 garlic cloves, crushed 2 sticks celery, cut into 4–5cm pieces 3 level tablespoons plain fl our 1.5 litres good red wine 1 bouquet garni salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon tomato purée or sun-dried tomato paste
Chop two carrots into two or three chunks and slice the others into 5mm discs. Melt the butter with the oil in the casserole, then add the beef and let it brown all over. Add the onions, the garlic, the two chunky chopped carrots and the celery. Sweat for a few minutes, giving things a shake and a rough stir so that nothing burns. Sprinkle the flour over everything and stir again. Pour in the red wine and stir thoroughly to disperse any lumps. Add the bouquet garni, a little salt and pepper and the tomato paste. Cover the casserole and cook over a very low heat or in a slow oven (150°C/300°F/gas mark 2) for about 2 hours. Check on proceedings from time to time. If the meat seems to be drying out, add some water, stir well and return to the heat or oven. This is a perfect dish to cook in advance, so at this stage you could let it cool right down, then put it in the fridge. The next day, heat it gently then let it boil for a good 10 minutes. Alternatively, keep on cooking, add the sliced carrots and serve 30 minutes later. Recipe taken from Trish’s French Kitchen by Trish Deseine (Kyle Cathie, £19.99 with photography by Deirdre Rooney)