15 June 2017

Winter warmer - beef with vegetables

We had this for lunch yesterday and it was delicious.  Just to set the scene for you, outside was wet, windy and cold and this meal was an aromatic pleasure that carried on for hours.  As soon as it started cooking on the stove top, then braising in the oven, the aroma sent out the message: you'll be having a delicious warming lunch soon.

If you want to make this recipe, when you buy your meat, don't buy good quality steak. It will dry out and be tasteless. You want a cheaper cut, something like round, blade or skirt steak. The meal will cook slowly for a couple of hours so even if there is a bit of gristle or sinew in the steak, which is often present in secondary cuts, it will melt during the cooking process and add to the flavour of the dish.  I used two thin pieces of round steak. The vegetables you choose can be whatever you're growing or what's in the fridge. I had some mushrooms and a leek I wanted to use but I started with what I usually start with - onion, carrot and celery. This is commonly known as a mirepoix, which is the flavour base of most European-style casseroles/stews.  

INGREDIENTS

Meat
one thin slice of round, skirt or blade steak for each person you're serving. This needs to be thinned out with a meat mallet so all the meat is the same thickness.
For the stuffing
Mushrooms
Leek or onion
Garlic
Speck - cut into lard ons, or bacon - cut into small pieces
Mirepoix
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
The sauce
Either beef or chicken stock or water and a stock cube
Salt, pepper, paprika, plain flour, parsley

chopping vegetables
First, prepare vegetables for the stuffing.

Place into a frying pan with a small splash of olive oil and cook until the speck/bacon is crispy and mushrooms and leeks/onions wilt a little.
prepare meat
While the stuffing is cooking, thin all the meat slices.


stuffing meat
Then place a small amount of stuffing on the meat and fold it so you can secure all sides with toothpicks.  The steak isn't rolled, it's folded so it forms a pocket.

cooking beef rolls
Place the stuffed steaks in the same frying pan you cooked the stuffing in and start browning them on both sides.  Don't miss this step because this browning process is where you start building natural flavour in your meal.
When the meat is seared on both sides, place it in a casserole dish suitable for slow cooking in the oven.
When the frying pan is free again, start your mirepoix. Add chopped carrot, celery and onion (the onion went in after I took the photo), salt and pepper to your taste, two teaspoons of paprika, two tablespoons plain/all purpose flour and cook on medium heat till the vegetables and flour develop some brown colour.  Again, this will add natural flavour to your meal.

Add the mirepoix mix to the casserole dish, add whatever vegetables you want to add. In addition to the mirepoix, I used the rest of my mushrooms, some chopped herbs and the leftover stuffing. Pour in about one litre of water with a stock cube, or stock. You could also add some Worcester Sauce for added flavour. 

Heat up the mix on the stove top, put the lid on, then place in a pre-heated oven and cook at 165C/330F for about two hours.

beef stew
About one hour before you intend eating the meal, add some potatoes and greens so it's a one pot meal.  I added potatoes and Brussel sprouts. Test taste to see if you need to add a little more seasoning. 

beef stew
This is a really delicious meal that will fill you up and make you feel well fed. It is good home cooking that is tasty and healthy and you can mix it up depending on what's available in the fridge or garden. Don't forget to remove the toothpicks before serving. 

I hope you try this, especially if you're having a cold spell where you live. If you give it a go, let me know what you and the family think of it.

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37 comments

  1. This looks like a delicious, cold weather dinner. I'm saving it until autumn comes around again here in the US.
    Thank you for sharing and taking the time to post the recipe and pictures.
    Kind regards,
    Pat

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  2. That meal looks delicious and would be so appetising in our cold winters, Rhonda. I have never made it before so will give it a try. I guess it would be suitable to cook in the slow cooker after the first couple of steps.

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    1. Yes Chel, instead of transferring it to a casserole dish for the oven, you can pop it into a slow cooker. xx

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  3. Here is it is June in California, we are having cool weather an d I made a pot roast just the other day. this weekend we are supposed to have 90F weather! Who would have known? At any rate, that cool rainy day's dinner was very good; and something I usually make in autumn or winter. When October and November come round I will try your recipe, Rhonda. It looks mighty good!
























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  4. Wow Rhonda, this looks great. I will be giving it a try. Thanks for the detailed instructions.

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  5. Yum, that looks absolutely delicious, I will definitely be trying it in the near future, when I read beef & vegetables I thought it was an ordinary casserole with cubed beef, but was very interested when you put the vegies as a filling for the beef. Thank you, you've inspired me to try something new.

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  6. Hi-this is Linda, from Texas, USA.
    Although we are in the beginnings of high heat temperatures, this looks so delicious to me. Yum.
    Thank you for sharing the pictures and recipes.

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  7. Reminds me of my mum. Thanks for the memories.
    It looked good too.
    cheers Kate

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  8. Dad used to make a dish similar to this on Rhonda, he called it Beef Olives, thankyou for the memories I am going to give this dish a go,
    Regards Katrina

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  9. Oh yum, I'll make this next week. A good tip about the browning of the meat as I often miss this because I hurry. Thank you. Have a lovely weekend.
    Ingrid

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  10. This looks delicious and very economical Rhonda. I'll store it away for a wet and windy day up here in the North, however as Chel says I might try it out in my slow cooker. Thanks for sharing a great idea.

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  11. Food similar to what I have been making for myself. I freeze leftovers in meal sized portions and always have something on hand. Skirt steak is amazingly good but sometimes hard to find down here in Sydney. Once, after being knocked back several times, I asked the butcher if he had any. "Lady, I'm a proper butcherhr, of course I have it. How many slices?" So I bought some extra. Mum used to simmer skirt steak, opnions, garlic and mushrooms on the side of her slow combustion stove in Blue Mountains. She made marvellous pies which my sons used to rate as 12/10. One son now follows her example and slow cooks the meat etc. He is teachin his 11 year old son various forms of cooking and

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  12. Rhondsa, I had tremendous trouble editing my typos. I could do one and just one and I could not finish my comment. He is teaching his 11 year old son cooking and has been for years. Meat pie with skirt steak is the latest. Grandson now loves to read cookbooks and find what he will do next. BBQ, casseroles, biscuits, cakes. No desserts much as they do not usually eat them.

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    1. I'm sorry you're having problems with your comments. I wonder if anyone else has this problem. In the meantime, Jan, empty your cache and reboot your computer. That might fix it.

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  13. Looks very yummy! Will tuck it away for next fall!

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  14. This looks delicious Rhonda. I love making casseroles but never think to stuff a piece of steak like this. Thank you for your recipe.

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  15. It does look delicious and it must be nice looking forward for winter.
    Coffee is on

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  16. Hi Rhonda
    love the look of this for the wet cold season. I have tried quite a few of your recipes and I love how much fun it is to cook good food from scratch like I remember my grandmother. I am still working out the comment section so hopefully I will get it right soon.
    Bernie

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  17. I am going to try this as it reminds me of something my grandmother made, perfect for this cold wet week we are having in Brisbane.

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  18. reminds me of German rouladen but with a more savory, less piquant filling. looks yummy!

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    1. First prize to you, lonibelle! It's based on rouladen. Hanno's mum taught me how to make beef rouladen when we lived in Hamburg. This is my interpretation of it 35 years later. :- )

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  19. I thought of rouladen, too! When I make them, I put up a kind of assembly line for the filling, because I usually cook at least eight or ten and freeze all but two. They are one of my favourite meals to have in the freezer.

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  20. Sounds wonderful Rhonda, I must try this this weekend

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  21. Once again thank you Rhonda for another great recipe. Will definitely try this when our winter rolls around again. Your meatball recipe is the best ever!!

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    1. I'm really pleased you're enjoying the meatballs. :- )

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  22. Gosh, this has made my mouth water. It's far too hot here at the moment for such meals but it will be on my list for the autumn. Actually it's so hot and I am dieting, as it's easier to do so in such weather.
    Thank you for this recipe and I hope that you will continue to share them with us.

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  23. That looks very nice and warming. Might be summer here but some days so far, we have been eating winter food!

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  24. That sounds divine! I'm hungry just reading the recipe. Comfort food :)

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  25. Hi Rhonda
    This is the first time I have commented - I really enjoy your blog. I relish the differences and similarities between Australia and England. I will try your recipe when winter comes around. Glorious weather here now so preparing bacon and blue cheese salad for tonights supper. Thanks for a great blog
    Penny

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  26. Comfort food at its best! Sounds perfect for the cool rainy day we're having here on Vancouver Island in Canada.And summer solstice just a week away...sigh! Hope warm weather is around the corner for the veggie garden!

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  27. Good morning Rhonda, and happy Friday. Love this idea, I don't think I have ever seen anything similar to it, it sounds totally delicious. I am making Cabbage Rolls on Sunday, just the perfect weather for it. You really do look for warmth and comfort in cooler weather, don't you? Have a lovely weekend.
    Fi

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  28. That looks so delicious Rhonda. I've never stuffed meat for slow cooking like that before. Will definitely be giving it a go.
    Have a lovely day.
    Kate

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  29. Oh, my goodness, this does sound good. We are just about into summer now here in Indiana and the temps will be in the 90's (very high for so early in the summer) for the next several days with more hot humid weather yet to come so I will put this aside for safe keeping and make it sometime in late October or early November when it begins to get nippy around here.

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  30. that looks awesome & delicious, my oven died last week so don't have a way to slow cook anything yet. don't like doing too much on the stove top as it uses up the gas too fast. though will try this, looks too simple not to
    thanx for sharing
    selina from kilkivan qld

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  31. We do beef stew, but use a nice chuck roast(cubed) and put all the ingredients in the crock pot together. We put it on low for about 7 hours and it is extremely tender and delicious. If we add cabbage or brussel sprouts , we put that in after it has simmered a few hours. We also put in a couple of shallots at that time.(also fresh garlic)Really good flavor. We do use round steak for Swiss steak.

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  32. Yummy, Mum used to make similar they were called Beef Olives. Must make some.

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  33. A big thumbs up Rhonda. I cooked this for my hard working husband and it was DELICIOUS xx

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