One of my favourite things to do when I was little was to stand by my mother as she was cooking. I learned many tips and tricks this way. I can’t stress enough how important it is to share your knowledge of cooking with your children. Sadly I did not do this and although my children can cook, they do not seem to delight in cooking the way mum did and the way I do. To me cooking is fun and something I do to relax. I have so many favourite recipes that date back to those days at my mother’s side.

This recipe is from Mum’s Recipe Book – or actually the original Mum’s book which was in her head!! This was one of the many recipes I asked her to write down for me when I left home. She had so many recipes in her head and it was quite difficult for her to write them down for me. But she did and I am very grateful for that and so are my family!

So on to the recipe now: Braised Steak! This is one that I loved helping with as I was allowed to turn the pieces of meat in the pan as they were browning, before putting the whole casserole together. The aroma rising from the pan as the meat and onions were browning was incredible and made me impatient for the meal to be cooked.

What you will need:

1 kg beef suitable for a casserole (Round steak works well) cut into 2 cm chunks

2 x onions, chopped

1 clove garlic crushed (this is my addition)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

approximately 600 ml beef stock

1 – 2 tablespoons of plain flour to thicken 

1 drop each of Black Pepper Essential Oil and Thyme Essential Oil

A handful of fresh mixed herbs or some dried mixed herbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil 

Method:

Add the oil ( about 2 tablespoons) to a frying pan, heat the pan to High and brown the steak until all sides of each chunk are brown. For best results brown a few pieces at a time. If you overload the pan you will stew the meat rather than brown it! 

Place the browned meat into an oiled casserole dish. 

Add some more oil to the pan and brown the onions and garlic. 

Add in the flour to the pan and mix with the onions and oil.

Mix in the sauces and fresh herbs.

Slowly pour in the stock, stirring to make a gravy. Boil for a minute, stirring all the time and take the pan off the heat. Turn off the heat.

Pour the gravy over the steak and mix well. 

Cook the casserole with the lid on at 160 C for 1.5 hours. 

Add the Essential Oils to the mix and cook for a further 15 minutes.  

The meat will be tender and very tasty!

Note: You can substitute cornflour and add with a small amount of water when adding the Oils. Or you could just add some quinoa or barley before putting the casserole into the oven. Your casserole will be thick and extra tasty!

Sprinkle some fresh herbs on top to serve and serve with mashed potato or parsnips and some green vegetables for a well balanced and satisfying meal.

Enjoy!

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Until next time,

 

 

Gillian (and Andrew)