(from Good Food Sept 2009 supplement, _Take Five Ingredients

Takes about an hour and a half.

Ingredients for 4:
1kg braising steak
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
3 onions, thinly sliced
300ml red wine
300ml stock
3 rounded tablespooons cranberry sauce
salt and pepper

1. Cut the meat into large slices. Tip the flour and some salt and pepper into a large food bag, and shake with the beef to coat.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and brown the beef – this may need to be done in batches. Remove to a plate.
3. Add more oil if needed. Fry the onions quickly for 5 minutes until starting to brown.
4. Return the beef to the pan and add the stock and wine. Bring to the boil.
5. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, covered, for about 90 minutes until the beef is tender.
6. Stir in the cranberry sauce, seasoning, and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
7. Serve with mashed potatoes.

A surprise nom! I’d defrosted some individual portions of beef yesterday for a slow cooker meal, and halfway through cooking discovered I’d left one of the portions in the fridge – d’oh! So, quick look to find something to use a single portion for today – and this was the first recipe in the book!

It sounds like a faff ‘cos it takes so long, but other than checking the pot once in a while it’s really easy – you just let it cook away. Makes the beef wonderfully tender, and the sauce is yum! Perhaps a tad on the rich side, so do serve with lots of nice green veggies :)

It does freeze, had I made more than a single portion.