Christmas Eve Comfort Food – Christmas Carollers’ Casserole: Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew
Christmas Eve Comfort Food – Christmas Carollers’ Casserole:
Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew
Christmas Eve Comfort Food – Christmas Carollers’ Casserole – Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew
Christmas Eve is often a very busy time, with last-minute present wrapping, and even buying in some cases, plus all the preparations for the big day with mounds of potatoes to peel, sprouts to trim and “pigs in blankets” to make. For us, it is the night we put our tree up – I know it may seem late to lots of my readers, but the mystery and excitement of finally dressing the tree is wonderful, and I wouldn’t change that for the world. We have deviated from this tradition over the years; after my daughter was born we used to relent and put it up on her birthday, St Lucy’s Day on the 13th December, but as she got older, we reverted back to Christmas Eve and so the family tradition has been restored.
Christmas Eve Comfort Food – Christmas Carollers’ Casserole: Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew
I used to boil and bake a festive ham and make piles of sandwiches, mince pies and sausage rolls, and nice though this was to have a “running buffet” throughout the evening, more recently we have all enjoyed a sit down meal together on Christmas Eve, and this recipe for Christmas Carollers’ Casserole, or Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew has become a frequent request for our Christmas Tree decorating supper. The beef is beautifully spiced with added honey, chestnuts and plump prunes, and it is a very “well-behaved dish”, keeping warm for a few hours, as well as being easy to reheat.
Christmas Eve Comfort Food – Christmas Carollers’ Casserole: Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew
It’s a dish that can also be prepared in advance, and I have often made it in my slow cooker (crock pot) in the past, which works beautifully and allows you to forget all about it after the initial cooking steps. Plus, the aroma of all the spices in this recipe are redolent of Christmas and are very enticing. We often forget that British cookery was one of complex flavours and excessive spicing, for those who could afford spices of course; and the Elizabethan period was famous for its spiced meat dishes, often exotic and sweetened with honey, they are very similar to what we consider to be the cooking of The Maghreb nowadays, a region that is defined very loosely as North Africa.
Christmas Eve Comfort Food – Christmas Carollers’ Casserole: Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew
This is a dish to eat with mulled wine or sherry, by a roaring fire with candles lit and excitement mounting; it’s a dish to share with all the family and is perfect when served with spiced red cabbage, and I have a recipe here, Spiced Red Cabbage with Apples, as well as piles of fluffy mashed potatoes. It’s a veritable Christmas Carol of a recipe, with high notes of spices and low notes of tender, rich beef……it also has a fruity jingle with plump prunes and nutty chestnuts, it’s simply divine and I will be making it again this Christmas Eve, as we decorate our tree. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do, think of it as an English Tagine, comforting and yet slightly exotic…..and if your little ones aren’t keen on spices, just cut back on them, but experience has proved that children love this dish as much as the grown-ups! That’s it for today, see you soon with more Christmas and seasonal recipes, Karen
Christmas Carollers’ Casserole: Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew
Print recipe
| Serves | 6 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 2 hours, 30 minutes |
| Total time | 2 hours, 45 minutes |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish |
| Misc | Gourmet, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Christmas, Formal Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 100g dried prunes (pitted)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 300 ml red wine (or beef stock)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 750g stewing beef, or brisket (trimmed of fat and cubed)
- 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
- 50g cooked and peeled chestnuts
Note
The use of spices and fruit in savoury recipes during the Elizabethan era was very popular, especially with the upper classes and the Royal court. This is based on a genuine Elizabethan recipe, which I have adapted for modern day cooking. This is the perfect comfort dish to serve on a cold night and can be re-heated if you make it beforehand.
Directions
| Step 1 | Heat the oil in a large oven-proof casserole dish and gently fry the onion for 8 to 10 minutes. |
| Step 2 | Toss the cubes of beef in the flour combined with the spices and seasoning and then add them to the onion. |
| Step 3 | Gently sauté the beef until it is browned and an even colour. |
| Step 4 | Stir in the red wine with the honey and continue to cook over a medium heat, stirring for a further minute. |
| Step 5 | Add the prunes and then cover, before simmering over a very low heat for 2 to 2 and half hours - the beef should be soft and tender and the prunes rehydrated. Add the cooked chestnuts for the last 10 minutes. |
| Step 6 | Serve with spiced red cabbage and mashed potatoes. |
Christmas Carollers’ Casserole
As this has spices in it, I am entering it into the Festive Cooking with Herbs Challenge, which has also included Spices for December
Christmas Carollers’ Casserole: Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew
Christmas Eve Comfort Food – Christmas Carollers’ Casserole – Elizabethan Spiced Beef Stew
* In association with Schwartz*
Lizzy (Good Things) says
Such a lovely recipe! So flavoursome. If I may suggest, try adding some vanilla to your beef… one pod, split. It is exquisite!
Karen says
Thanks Lizzy! Yes, I HAVE tried vanilla in savoury casseroles and dishes before, and I loved it, it also works very well with seafood such as scallops! Great tip though, many thanks for popping over!
Dominic says
ooooh… j’adore sweet and meat… LOVE prunes and beef, how glorious… and yes, those old traditions are the best, we don’t really have any other than ‘eat lots of yummy stuff’… will be making this stew for sure x
Karen says
Thanks Dom! Yes I agree, that mix of sweet and spiced savoury is just sooooo good, and we LOVE this dish.
Tracy Nixon says
Looks delicious! G+’d!
Karen says
Thanks Tracy!
Glamorous Glutton says
This sounds perfect for Christmas eve, you’re right we do forget that our food used to be spiced and full of exotic flavours. We always put our tree up on Christmas eve too, but over time it has got earlier. I haven’t bought ours yet but that is for this weekend so the tree will go up early next week. I loved the anticipation of the tree as a small child. Waiting until Christmas eve was part of the fun of Christmas. GG
Karen says
It’s so interesting to see that other people also decorate on (or have decorated) Christmas Eve too! I remember that Christmas Eve was exactly as you described it, fun and with all the anticipation too, such a magical evening. Thanks GG and make sure you get that tree sorted this weekend! 🙂
ursula hunt says
Lovely idea for christmas eve, we tend to do snacks
Galina V says
Love the sound of that. I often add prunes or dried apricots to casseroles. What a festive recipe!
Zsuzsi says
This looks amazing! I am wondering if it would be possible to cook it one day ahead and reheat it the next day? Would it effect the qiality of the meal? Thanks for your answer and this amazing receipt! Zsuzsi
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Zsuzsi! This is a perfect recipe to make ahead and then reheat later, as long as the beef is fresh and has not been frozen. The taste will be slightly better, as the flavours will meld overnight. Karen
Jon says
This recipe sounds amazing! I plan on making it Christmas Eve this year, and serving, as suggested, with the mash and spiced red cabbage. I was wondering how long to cook it in the crock pot though? Would it be the same 2-2 and a half hours as on on the stove top? Thank you in advance for your reply!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thank you Jon! In a crock pot on auto I would give it about 6 hours and on high maybe 4 hours…..and if you want to let it cook all day for the evening, then it would be fine on slow up to 8 or 9 hours – this is based on other meat recipes that I make in my crock pot, so hope that helps? Happy Christmas, Karen
Jon says
Both of these recipes were an absolute hit with everyone last night!! These have instantly my new Christmas Eve tradition! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Karen Burns-Booth says
I am SO pleased to hear this Jon and thanks for letting me know too! Happy New Year to you and yours, Karen
Jon Shortsleeve says
Happy Nee Year!!
Nefeli says
I love this recipe! Made for an early Christmas get together with friends. Also added a bit of cinammon and ground almonds to the sauce. Yum! Served with cabbage and brussel sprouts with pancetta. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Karen Burns-Booth says
I am so pleased you enjoy this recipe of mine for Christmas Nefeli- thanks for letting me know! Karen
Carol Dalton says
Came across Christmas Carollers’ Casserole on the internet. Love all the ingredients and sounded good so I made it tonight. It was amazing! Didn’t have chestnuts but used pecans instead.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi Carol
That sounds wonderful adding pecans in place of chestnuts, so glad you enjoyed it!
Karen
Lucy M Price says
Your recipe is featured on the Hallmark Channel, I hope you know that! This is so intriguing I am going to try making it. Thank you!