Annegret's Casserole

Well, the traveling is truly over for this year (well nearly!) and the stormy and wet season is upon us. So it is time that I share some more recipes with you

I have tried a few new dishes, but I feel I need to test them a little more, before I share them with you. The summer is over ( at last!) and Autumn is truly upon us and with that time to cook tasty comfort food, slowly cooked casseroles (the French certainly know how to do them) are one of the more delightful  dishes to serve during the cold dark months.

Casseroles are the perfect dish to prepare in advance and lend themselves to share with friends, as you are going to end up with enough to feed 6 to 8. It also freezes well, so any leftovers can be enjoyed at a later date.
This casserole is for true  meat lovers, as  it is based on three different kind of meats: beef, pork and smoked ham/bacon. ( I will post some mixed and totally vegetarian ones later).
The secret lies in the slow cooking. So it is not something you think of now and can eat within the next hour. A proper casserole needs planning, at least a day in advance . As usual the quality of the ingredients will determine the excellence of the casserole.
I do not have many photos for this recipe as I only decided at the last minute, when I had the Casserole in the oven, to write about it and then I forgot to take more photos!  Easy known I have been away from my blog for awhile!

I have added a comment re doing the recipe in a slow cooker at the end.

Ingredients  ( serves 6 to 8)

500 g (approx*) beef , preferably, sirloin or chump or rump steak  ( round steak is possible , if well hang, but the texture will be different)

500 g (approx*) pork steak

500 g (approx*)smoked ham or bacon 

2 large onions

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 leek

1 or two stalks of celery

1 or 2 medium size carrots

2 dried bay leaves ( or 3-4 fresh ones)

1 tsp dried herbs ( mixture of oregano,majoram, thyme - herbs de Provence)

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 

Some black pepper

Salt to taste
Rapeseed oil for frying

1/2 l to 3/4 l water or stock 

1/2 l red wine

*approx. means that if you see a really nice piece of meat and it is slightly bigger, take it 

Note:  be careful with the salt as the ham/bacon will be adding salt already, I would advise to wait until after the first few hours of cooking before adding salt

I did not use any garlic, no special reason, if you like garlic you can add 1 or two cloves

Note 2:
You will have to replenish some liquid during the slow cooking process.

After 4 hrs cooking, with the vegetables on top

Method 

Day one

1 cut the meat into cubes and cut off any fat.

Fry the meat in batches until brown and put into the casserole dish, loosen the juices from the pan with some water and add to casserole

2. Peel and cut the onions and fry until brown, add to the meat.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, and the spices, add the liquids.

4. Clean and wash the leek, celery and carrots , place whole on top of the meat.

5. Put the lid on the. Casserole and put into the oven at 150 C after 3 hrs reduce heat to 100 C for a further hour. Check the level of the liquid regularly and adjust the level. 

6. Let the casserole cool down and refrigerate until the next day.

Day two

1. Approx 3 to 4 hrs before you want to eat, reheat the casserole first at 150 C and after an hour or two reduce the heat to 100 C.

2. An hour( approx.) before serving take the casserole out of t he oven and discard the vegetables.

3. Mix approx 50 to 100 ml of water or wine with 1 Tbsp plain flour, mix well, and add to the casserole stirring well, to avoid lumps.

4. Return to the oven for a further   30 min. minimum at  100C

*Serve with mashed potatoes, or any Pasta you like, or rice. It depends on your likes and preferences.

  Each one works perfectly.
**My personal favourite is: creamed potatoes 

    I serve also a green salad  with the dill cream dressing.

***You can of course do it the peasant way and simply eat it with a crunchy baguette! 

Despite the length of cooking time, once you have all the ingredients in the casserole dish and the dish in the oven, it requires very little attention and even if you forget it in the oven,for a few hours, the wonderful smell will remind you that there is something delicious in the oven waiting for you. The secret lies in the low  temperature and time.

PS

Thanks to a question from overseas I want to add that the casserole could be done in a Slow Cooker as well, but as I haven't tried it yet, it will be a trial for you. In case you wish to try it in a slow cooker, make sure you brown the meat properly, otherwise the dish will be more like a version of an Irish stew. 

You will have to adjust the liquid too, in this case less, as the evaporation will be less. Good luck trying