SLOW COOKED BEEF CASSEROLE
A proper family comfort-food dinner. Rich, slow-cooked beef for the adults, with a gentler Tiny Feaster version bubbling away alongside it. It takes a little time in the oven, but the prep is simple — and once it’s in, you can pretty much leave it to do its thing.
Serves 4 Adults and 4 - 6 Tiny Feaster
Ingredients
Adult version
775g feather steak, or another braising steak, cut into chunky 1–2 inch pieces
1½ onions, roughly chopped into large pieces
200g mushrooms, quartered
200g carrots, cut into large chunks
2 tbsp plain flour
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
500ml red wine
200ml water
2 Knorr beef stock pots
2 tsp chopped parsley
1 tsp sugar
A generous seasoning of black pepper
Drizzle of olive oil
Tiny Feaster version
225g feather steak or braising steak, finely diced
½ onion, finely chopped
50g mushrooms, finely chopped
100g carrots, finely chopped or cut appropriately for your baby
1 tbsp plain flour
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
500ml water
1 very low-salt Kallo beef stock cube
½ tsp chopped parsley
A small sprinkle of black pepper
Drizzle of olive oil
Method
You need two casserole dishes - ideally a medium and small
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Place two ovenproof casserole dishes over the heat and add a small drizzle of olive oil to each.
Add the 1½ roughly chopped onions to the adult casserole and the ½ finely chopped onion to the Tiny Feaster casserole. Gently fry until they begin to soften.
2. Add the mushrooms
Add the quartered mushrooms to the adult casserole and the finely chopped mushrooms to the Tiny Feaster version. Cook for a few more minutes until they begin to soften.
3. Brown the beef
Add the 775g chunky beef to the adult dish and the 225g finely diced beef to the Tiny Feaster dish.
Allow the beef to lightly brown, stirring everything together with the onions and mushrooms.
4. Add the flour
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of plain flour over the adult casserole and 1 tablespoon over the Tiny Feaster version. Stir really well so the flour coats the beef and vegetables.
5. Build the sauces
Add one tin of chopped tomatoes to each casserole.
For the adult version, pour in:
500ml red wine
200ml water
For the Tiny Feaster version, add:
500ml water
Stir well, scraping up all those lovely bits from the bottom of the dishes.
6. Add the vegetables and flavourings
To the adult casserole, add the 200g chunky carrots, 2 beef stock pots, parsley, sugar and a generous seasoning of black pepper.
To the Tiny Feaster casserole, add the 100g finely chopped carrots, very low-salt beef stock cube, parsley and a little black pepper.
Give both casseroles a really good stir.
7. Slow cook
Cover and place both dishes into the oven at 170°C for around 3–4 hours, checking occasionally.
The casserole is ready when the beef is beautifully tender and the sauce has become rich and thick. The larger pieces of carrot in the adult version should be wonderfully soft and juicy after all that slow cooking.
For your Tiny Feaster, make sure the beef and vegetables are completely tender and serve in an age-appropriate size and texture.
To serve
For me, this is crying out for proper fluffy dumplings and plenty of fresh green veg. A big time saver and ease, is to use packet mix dumplings - i just season the adult version with mixed herbs, a bit of black pepper and some salt. Keep Tiny Feasters simple, and just add a sprinkling of mixed herbs.
It’s equally lovely with crispy roast potatoes when you want full-on comfort food, or buttery new potatoes for a slightly lighter version depending on the time of year.
Feather steak is brilliant here because long, slow cooking turns it beautifully tender, but there’s no need to hunt it down — chuck, shin or another good braising steak will work perfectly too.
The important bit is giving it time. Low, slow and bubbling away until you barely need a fork to break up the beef.
