Serves 4

1-3  tablespoon of olive oil

200g smoked lardons

200g baby onions or small shallots

600g diced braising steak

1 tablespoon of plain flour

1 medium onion

225g carrots

2 cloves of garlic

6 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

125g chestnut mushrooms

450ml red wine

250ml beef stock

Seasoning

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C
2. Peel the onion, carrots and garlic.
3. Cut the onion in half and then slice thinly.
4. Cut each carrot into quarters or halves (depending on the size of the carrot).
5. Cut the mushrooms into thick slices (or use whole baby chestnut mushrooms).
6. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, ovenproof casserole dish over a medium heat.
7. Once the oil is hot, sauté the lardons until they turn golden brown.  Remove from the pan.
8. Now add the shallots or baby onions into the pan and sauté until they also turn golden brown.  Remove from the pan.
9. Add the beef to the pan and sauté until it browns. (I usually do this in batches to stop the beef from steaming.) Remove from the pan.
10. Now add the sliced onion to the pan, with a little more olive oil if needed.
11. Once the onion has browned, return the beef to the pan, along with the garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes.
12. Add the flour and stir to combine.
13. Now slowly stir in the red wine, followed by the beef stock.
14. Add the carrots, thyme and bay leaves.  Sir and season.
15. Bring to the boil and then place in the hot oven.
16. After 1 hour 30 minutes, stir in the shallots or baby onions and return to the oven.
17. Slice the chestnut mushrooms.
18. After a further 30 minutes, stir in the lardons and mushrooms and cook for a final hour until the beef is falling apart.