1. Beef in guinness pie














Ingredients

115g plain flour
salt and fresh ground black pepper
900g stewing steak, cubed
4 tbsp Olive oil
2 Onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Parsnips, peeled and chopped
800g tinned chopped tomatoes
600ml Guinness
225g button mushrooms
750g Puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Season the flour with salt and freshly ground pepper. Coat the stewing steak in the seasoned flour. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan.

2. In batches, fry the beef until browned. Using a slotted spoon transfer to a casserole dish. Re-heat the frying pan and fry the onion, garlic and celery for 5-10 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the onion mixture, carrots and parsnips to the casserole.

3. Add chopped tomatoes, Guinness and mushrooms. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring now and then.

4. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Divide the beef stew among 6 small individual pie dishes. Roll out the pastry and top each pie dish with a puff pastry lid, wetting the rims of the pastry dish with water to help the pastry to stick.

5. Brush the pies with beaten egg and cut a slash in each one. Bake for 45 minutes until the pies are golden-brown. Serve.

2. Thai-style roast beef













Ingredients

3 red chillies, seeds removed, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 piece of fresh root ginger (3cm), chopped
2 tbsp Fish Sauce, (nam pla)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 lime, juice
2 tbsp light Soy sauce
2 tbsp Mirin
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 tbsp basil leaves, torn
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

For the beef:
500g topside of beef
0.5 tsp Salt
0.5 tsp coarsely ground peppercorns

For the coriander salsa verde:
1 bunch Coriander
1 bunch Mint
1 bunch Basil
1 tbsp best extra-virgin olive oil
0.5 lime, juice
1 tsp brown sugar
1 piece of fresh root ginger (2cm)


Method

1. Place all the marinade ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

2. Rub the beef with salt and pepper before pouring over the marinade. Put the beef and the marinade in an air-tight plastic bag and leave overnight in a cool place.

3. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Remove the beef from its bag and place in a roasting tin. Spoon over a couple of tablespoons of the marinade.

4. Roast the beef for 30 minutes, longer if you prefer the meat well-cooked. Spoon over the juices once or twice during cooking.

5. While the beef is roasting, make the salsa. Tip all the salsa ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. Taste for seasoning and serve at room temperature with the hot roast beef.


3. Mum's steak and kidney pie













Ingredients

2 tbsp plain flour
salt and fresh ground black pepper
700g lean stewing beef, or chuck steak
225g beef kidneys, cut into chunks
1 tbsp vegetable oil
25g Butter
2 Onions, chopped
2 Bay leaves
170ml stout
400ml strong beef stock
1 tsp gravy, browning

For the ‘rough puff’ pastry:
500g plain strong flour
1/2 tsp Salt
500g Butter
25ml cold water
1 beaten egg, to glaze

To serve:
Buttered spring cabbage
Mashed potato


Method

1. Season the flour and toss the steak and kidney in it to coat.

2. Heat the oil and butter in a large pan and fry the meat for 5 minutes or until brown.

3. Add the onions and cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring.

4. Add the bay leaves, stout and stock.

5. Stir in the gravy browning and cook for 2-3 minutes, until thickened.

6. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, until the meat is tender.

7. For the pastry, mix the flour and salt together and gently add the butter. Make a well adding the water and bring lightly together to make a dough.

8. Roll out into a rectangle and mark into thirds. Fold over the end thirds into the centre one, turn through 90º and repeat two more times. Chill for half an hour.

9. When the meat is cooked, cool slightly and tip into a pie dish. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface a little bigger than the size of the dish using the trimmings to make a strip the width of the rim.

10. Brush the rim of the pie dish with beaten egg and lay the pastry strip on top to make a seal. Brush again with egg and lay the lid on top. Crimp or flute the edges, brush the lid with the remaining egg and make a slit in the top.

11. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. Serve with buttered spring cabbage and mashed potato.

4. Roast beef













Ingredients

1.5kg rib of beef
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp Salt
300g Carrots, chopped
300g Celery, sliced
600g Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and halved
few sprigs of fresh thyme
75cl bottle red wine


Method

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C/gas 8.

2. Prepare the beef by brushing it all over with the mustard then sprinkling with salt.

3. Put the carrots, celery, potatoes and thyme into the bottom of a roasting pan and place the beef on top.

4. Place the roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes before reducing the temperature to 160°C/gas 3 and cook for a further 45 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes, pour the red wine into bottom of pan. Put the roasting pan back in the oven and leave the beef to finish cooking.

6. When ready, remove the beef from the pan and allow to rest for ten minutes before serving. Reserve the pan juices to make Red Wine Gravy .

5. Chilli con carne













Ingredients

2 large Onions
700g lean stewing beef, fat removed and cut into 1-2cm cubes
5 garlic cloves, crushed
800g tinned chopped tomatoes
2 green peppers, sliced
3 green or red chillies, chopped, seeds left in if you like your chillies fiery
2 tsp ground cumin
1 can red kidney beans, 400g
1 tsp brown sugar

To serve:
125ml Soured cream
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
4 tbsp Cheddar cheese, grated


Method

Heat the olive oil in a casserole,or saucepan and fry the meat until it changes colour - about 5-7 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and stir for a minute or so before tipping in the tinned tomatoes,chopped chillies, peppers, and a good pinch of salt.

Cover the pan and simmer for about an hour, until the meat is tender and the liquid reduced to a thick sauce. If it gets too dry during cooking, pour in a little more water.


Add the cumin, kidney beans (and a little of the bean liquid,if you like)and the brown sugar. Simmer for a further 10 mins before serving with rice, a spoonful of sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and and coriander leaves as a garnish. For added spicy kick, serve this dish with hot chilli sauce.

6. Beef stroganoff













Ingredients

500g beef, fillet, trimmed of fat and cut into strips
2 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp sunflower oil
45g Butter
350g button mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp plain flour
300ml Soured cream
1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 pinch Paprika, or cayenne pepper


Method

1. Heat half the oil in a wide, heavy frying pan over a high heat and fry half the beef for a few minutes until lightly browned.

2. Scoop out into a bowl and repeat with the remaining beef, adding a little more oil if necessary.

3. Reduce the heat to medium, add half the butter to the pan, and when foaming, add the mushrooms. Fry until tender and browned. Scrape out into the bowl.

4. Next, melt the remaining butter in the pan and add the onions. Stir them around and cook gently until soft and golden.

5. Return the mushrooms and beef to the pan. Sprinkle over the flour, stir well and fry for a little longer.

6. Finally add the soured cream, salt and pepper and cook gently for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce is rich and thick. Taste and adjust seasoning.

7. Spoon into a serving dish, and dust lightly with paprika or cayenne.

Cook's Notes: This method of preparing beef takes its name from one of the members of the famous Stroganov family of Imperial Russia. Although this dish has, in the West, almost come to symbolise the cooking of Russia, it is, in fact, extremely rarely prepared in Russian homes today. Mostly, it appears on the menus of high-class restaurants for foreign tourists.

7. Sirloin steak with green peppercorn sauce













Ingredients

2 x 225g thick, well marbled sirloin steaks
25g Butter
2 tsp green peppercorns, in brine
1 small garlic clove, crushed to a paste with salt
1 tbsp Cognac
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
100ml whipping Cream


Method

1. Heat a heavy-based frying pan until very hot. Generously season the fatty edges of the steaks with salt. Pressed together as one double thickness steak, put them fatty-edge down into the dry pan. Turn down the heat to medium and cook until they have crisped up and exuded their fat into the pan.

2. Once the fat is crisped, lay the steaks flat in the pan and cook for a couple of minutes each side, or until cooked to your liking. Lift out and keep warm on the plate whilst you make the sauce.

3. Tip up the pan and remove the pool of fat with kitchen paper, but do not wipe out the crispy bits. Add the butter. When it froths add the green peppercorns and squash some of them into the butter using the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in the garlic and cognac and bubble for a few moments.

4. Whisk in the mustard and cream. Simmer, whisking occasionally, until the sauce has a good consistency. Serve with the steaks.

8. Chilli beef and pepper stir fry













Ingredients

200g Beef fillet, sliced
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp freshly grated Ginger
1 medium red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 tsp dark Soy sauce
1 tbsp light Soy sauce
1/2 tsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp hot vegetable stock


Method

1. Toss the beef slices in the corn flour and set aside.

2. Heat a wok over high heat and add the groundnut oil until it's smoking then add the garlic, ginger and red chili and stir quickly for a few seconds so they do not burn, add the beef slices and stir fry until browned.

3. Add the red pepper and a little freshly ground black pepper and stir fry until slightly softened. Finally pour in both soy sauces, the sesame oil and vegetable stock and heat until bubbling, if the sauce needs thickening then mix some cornflour with a little cold water and stir in to the sauce.

Cook's Notes:

Prepare all the ingredients first because once the cooking has started on the wok, you won't have time.

Do not cook with sesame oil - it burns very easily and should only be used for seasoning.

Heat the oil until smoking, then add the herbs - fresh garlic, ginger - and stir very quickly so that they don't burn.

Usual rules for adding to the wok are: herbs first, then protein (prawns, beef, chicken etc), finally the vegetables, seasoning and then lastly cooked noodles or cooked rice, delicate herbs (coriander and spring onion last).

If making a saucy stir fry, after adding the vegetables, add some stock and then finally thicken with cornflour and water mixture when the stock has come to the boil, seasoned with delicate herbs like coriander or spring onion.

For the perfectionist stir fry, heat the oil, add the garlic etc, cook the protein then scoop out onto a plate. Return to the wok, some oil, then cook the vegetables and then finally return the meat to the dish and then season together.

The best wok I now use is non stick carbon steel with one handle (allows you to pick it up in one hand and then the other is free to manoeuvre the food) - you can get the cast iron woks and then season yourself but when washing do not use a metal scourer or you will take the seasoning off. Just wash with warm water and use a soft sponge.

To season, use some tongs, add oil in the wok and then hold some paper towels using the tongs and then "burn the paper" and rub this over the wok to blacken it.

Woks are great for all steaming, deep frying, shallow frying and braising.

9. Chateaubriand with mustard Béarnaise and shoe string chips













Ingredients

oil, for frying
1 x 500-600g Chateaubriand steaks
Watercress, to serve

For the béarnaise sauce:
1 small shallot, finely chopped
8 Black peppercorns, lightly crushed
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
150ml White wine
2 tbsp chopped tarragon
3 large egg yolks, beaten
200g melted Butter, preferably clarified, cooled
1 tsp wholegrain Mustard

For the chips:
500g Maris Piper Potatoes, cut into matchsticks
oil, for deep frying


Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4 and a deep-fat fryer.

2. Pour a little oil in a griddle pan and bring it up to smoking temperature. Put the steak whole in the pan and allow it to sizzle. Turn and sear on the other side. Holding the steak with tongs, brown the edges all the way around. Put it in the oven to finish cooking - this will take about 20 minutes for medium-rare.

3. For the béarnaise sauce: put the shallot, black peppercorns, white wine vinegar, white wine and a little of the tarragon in a small pan and reduce until about a quarter of the volume remains. Pick out the peppercorns.

4. Put the egg yolks in a bowl with the vinegar reduction. Whisk until the sauce begins to emulsify. Add the hot melted butter a drop at a time, whisking between each addition. The sauce will start to thicken. If it splits, add a drop of hot water. Once all the butter is added, stir in the mustards, the rest of the chopped tarragon and season.

5. For the chips: fry the potato chips in a deep-fat fryer until golden. Drain well and keep in a warm oven to maintain the crispness until ready to use.

6. Cut in the steak in half and arrange on 2 plates with a dollop of béarnaise and a handful of watercress.

10. Fillet of beef













Ingredients

500g Beef fillet

For the port sauce:
2 tbsp oil
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
1 stick Celery, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
30ml sherry vinegar
400ml port
500ml beef stock
1 bay leaf
50ml double cream
50g unsalted Butter
1 lemon, juice only

For the vegetables:
50g Butter
1 red onion, chopped
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
pinch Sugar
baby Spinach

For the potatoes:
new potatoes
flat-leaf parsley


Method

1. To make the port sauce: heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the carrot, onion and celery until lightly browned, then add the garlic and bay leaf.

2. Add the sherry vinegar and cook out until the vinegar has evaporated.

3. Add the port and cook steadily until reduced by two-thirds.

4. Add the stock and reduce again.

5. Strain through a sieve and reduce again until thickened to a sauce consistency.

6. Remove from the heat and add the cream, butter and lemon juice to taste.

7. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7.

8. Roll the beef fillet in cling film and tie off the ends to form a barrel shape. Place in the fridge to allow it to set into shape.

9. Slice the beef to the size of required and season with salt and pepper.

10. Heat a pan and add the beef. Cook quickly on all sides to seal.

11. Cook in the oven for 5-6 minutes for medium rare. Remove the beef and rest for 5 minutes before serving.

12. To make the vegetables: heat 25g butter in a medium pan and cook the onions until caramelised.

13. Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar if the mixture is too tart then season to taste with salt and pepper.

14. Add the spinach to the hot pan with a dash of water and cover with lid to steam for a few minutes until wilted, then add the remaining butter.

15. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until soft.

16. Drain and add the chopped parsley, season with salt and pepper and crush the potatoes.

17. To serve: put two serving rings on the plate. Spoon the onions into one, filling to half way then put spinach in the other ring topped with the potatoes. Remove the rings and place the beef on the onions.

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