“It is a classic here at Cafe St Honoré. We must sell thousands of portions every year and we can never take it off the menu for long. It’s a classic for a reason, like a classic car or motorcycle it will never go out of style. Rich and decadent beef with bacon, mushrooms and onions in red wine…yes please.”

Serves 6 to 8

Cooking time: 4 to 5 hours; fridge time: 6 hours minimum; prep time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

1.5 - 2 kg Scotch beef feather blade 

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 stick celery, roughly chopped

1 large carrot, roughly chopped

1 bulb garlic, split down the middle

2 bay leaves

A good bunch of thyme

1 tablespoon tomato purée

1 bottle good red wine, Burgundy is favourable

2 litres good beef stock

4 tablespoons rapeseed oil

A little knob of butter

200g bacon lardons

200g mushrooms, chopped 

A large handful of small pickling onions, peeled and blanched in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, set to one side

Good salt and pepper

METHOD

Firstly, heat 1 tablespoon of oil on a moderate heat in a frying pan or oven-proof pot big enough to take the feather blade. Season the beef and fry until golden brown all over, this should take 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the beef from the pot and add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme and bay leaves and fry until all well coloured. You may need to add more oil, but do aim to get lots of colour on the veg.

Next, add a tablespoon of tomato purée and fry this off in the veg mix. After 2 minutes of frying and again, give it lots of heat and colour, add the bottle of wine, scraping all the lovely bits off the bottom of the pan, this is flavour.

Heat the oven to 140-50°C.

Add the beef back to the pan and reduce the wine by half. Then add the stock so it is just covering the beef and bring to a low simmer. Season again with salt and pepper. Add a sheet of greaseproof paper to the top of the pot and place a lid on top. Place the pot in the oven for 4 to 5 hours until the beef is tender and soft. You will know it is done when the tip of a knife enters the beef easily. Remove the lid and greaseproof paper from the pot and leave to sit for an hour or two.

After an hour or two, carefully remove the beef from the stock and place it on a tray and leave to cool for about half an hour.

Next, lay several sheets of cling film on a work surface and roll the beef up, sealing it well. Leave this to cool overnight in the fridge or for a minimum 6 hours.

Meanwhile, take the stock and pass it through a fine sieve into a pot and reduce by three quarters, skimming off any impurities as you go. Set to one side.

Heat the remaining oil in a pot and fry the mushrooms, bacon and blanched onions. Fry them for about 6 to 8 minutes, tossing all the time and adding a little nob of butter to give them some colour. Drain off any excess fat and set to one side to keep warm.

Heat the oven to 180°C.

Remove the beef from the fridge, and with cling film on, cut into pieces about 2 to 3cm thick. Remove the cling film and lay the beef in an oven-proof dish big enough to take the sauce. Add the sauce and place the dish in the oven for 15 minutes until hot, then add the bacon, mushrooms and onions and reheat for a further 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve on a nice plate and with some very buttery mash and perhaps some parsley.