Beef in Red Wine Casserole with Carrots & Potatoes
Welcome to the ultimate comfort food with this slow-cooked Beef in Red Wine Casserole with Carrots and Potatoes! This recipe is perfect for chilly evenings, lazy weekends or around the campfire. Tender chunks of beef, infused with the rich flavours of red wine, paprika, garlic and herbs braised with sweet carrots and hearty potatoes in beef stock. The aroma that fills your home when cooking this meal is out of this world. It's easy to make and impossible to resist. The depth of flavour will blow you away!!
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or flame-proof casserole pot
Ingredients
- 1.2kg beef chuck steak, cut into 3cm cubes (See Note 2)
- ¼ cup plain flour
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 3 rashers bacon, roughly diced
- 6 eschalots, peeled (See Note 3)
- 1 leek, white part only, halved and sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 anchovy fillets in oil, roughly chopped (See Note 4 - Optional)
- 3 large carrots, cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 500ml (2 cups) red wine (See Note 5)
- 1L (4 cups) beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 4-5 sprigs oregano or thyme
- 2 teaspoons sugar (See Note 6 - Optional)
- 500g baby chat potatoes (left whole if small or halved if on the larger side)
TO SERVE
- Fresh crunchy bread or sourdough
- Steamed green beans
- Chopped fresh herbs (such as chives or parsley)
- Cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan forced). Place flour, paprika, salt and pepper into a freezer bag, add the beef and shake well to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large flameproof casserole pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef, in 2-3 batches for 5-6 minutes, turning to cook on all sides, until the beef is well browned. Add a little extra olive oil between each batch if required. Transfer to a plate. Reserve any leftover flour/paprika mixture left in the freezer bag and set aside.
- Heat a further 1 tablespoon oil in the pan. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes.. Add the eschalots, garlic and anchovies, cook 2 minutes then add the leek, carrots and balsamic vinegar. Cook for a further 5 minutes scraping up the browned bits from the base of the pan.
- Add the tomato paste and reserved flour/paprika mixture and stir for 1 minute. Return the beef to the pan, along with any juices, and add the red wine, beef stock, bay leaves, oregano or thyme and sugar. Stir to combine then bring gently to the boil. Cover with a lid and carefully transfer to the oven. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the oven, add the potatoes then return for a further 1 hour or until the potatoes and beef are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves and herbs. Allow to stand for 10 minutes at least before serving. Sauce will thicken slightly on standing. Serve warm with fresh crusty bread and steamed green beans. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs and a good dash of cracked black pepper. Enjoy :)
Notes
- COOKS NOTES:
Oven Temps: Oven temperatures are for conventional, if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C.
Measurements: We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon = 5 ml, 1 tablespoon = 20 ml & 1 cup = 250 ml.
Herbs: All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed.
Vegetables: All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified.
Eggs: We use extra-large size and eggs are 55-60 g each, unless specified. - BEEF
I like prefer to use chuck steak when making a casserole as it practically designed for slow cooking. It comes from the shoulder and upper arm of the cow and is abundant with collagen. It’s the type of cut that gets tough when grilled quickly, but becomes tender and juicier the longer you cook it. This affordable cut also has a good amount of intramuscular fat, so it’s full of flavour.
You could however, use gravy beef (shin), brisket or even silverside in a pinch. - ESCHALOTS
I love the sweet & pungent flavour of eschalots and there size is perfect for leaving whole (most of the time anyway - if you get large ones, just cut them in half). You can however - ANCHOVIES
I am not a lover of these tiny stinky fish fillets but but but.... when cooked in a casserole like this, they literally MELT down to nothing and they provide so much umami flavour with a nice saltiness. No one will even know they are in there! I promise. If you simply can't do anchovies, thats fine, just leave them out. You could also use a dash of Worcestershire sauce instead as this fermented sauce actually contains anchovies but in a more inconspicuous way. - RED WINE
Red wine when added to a casserole elevates the dish by adding complexity, depth, and richness of flavour. Use a cabernet sauvignon or merlot for the best flavour. - SUGAR
Adding a small amount of sugar to the dish helps to balance the flavours of the other ingredients and round it out overall, but you can simply omit if you prefer.