Provence Beef Casserole

Serves	4
Prep time	20 minutes
Cook time	1 hour, 30 minutes
Total time	1 hour, 50 minutes
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Halloween
Region	French
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

An easy one pot dish made with beef and local French herbs that can be made in the oven or on top of the stove; Serve with rice or potatoes.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
900g stewing beef, cut into 2.5cm (1”) cubes (called Bourguignon beef in France)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced
2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
4 large fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped (or 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)
300mls beef stock mixed with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 bunch of herbes de Provence (1 teaspoon of dried herbes de Provence)
Salt and pepper, to taste

An easy one pot dish made with beef and local French herbs that can be made in the oven or on top of the stove; Serve with rice or potatoes.

Step 1	Pre-heat oven to 160C/325F/Gas mark 3 if using oven.
Step 2	Add olive oil to an oven proof casserole dish that has a lid and brown the beef in the oil over a high heat, removing it to a plate as it browns; you want a nice dark brown crust to the beef.
Step 3	Add the onions and garlic to the dish, adding a little more oil if needed and cook over a medium heat until the onions are opaque.
Step 4	Put the beef back in to the dish with the cooked onion mixture; add the remaining ingredients, season to taste with salt and pepper, cover the casserole dish and simmer over a low heat for 1 hour until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened.
Step 5	Alternatively, cook in pre-heated oven for 1 ½ hours until beef is tender.
Step 6	Serve with cooked rice or potatoes and seasonal vegetables.