Traditional beef hot pot recipe.

Oh there is no way a picture of a hotpot can look pretty. But there is nothing pretty about a hotpot, delicious but not pretty. This has to be one of my favourite Autumn/Winter dishes. In fact anything that has scalloped potatoes on top wins me over. We made this a few weeks ago and it was the perfect transitional dinner. Not too wintery but it had that comfort that sometimes you just need this time of year.

I don't know a lot about meat but after some research I found that using braising steak was the perfect cut of meat. I've not had beef that I've really loved (up until now) so I felt cautious about making this. We popped to the supermarket and found a good cut of braising steak for £1.71. I couldn't believe how cheap it was and it tasted so good. The gravy inside thickens up a treat and the potatoes are beautifully soft and golden. Anyway enough of my chat you need to get making this,

Serves two hungry people.

You will need:

250g  braising steak,

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 small onions, peeled

2 carrots, peeled, cut into chunks

1 tbsp plain flour

500ml fresh beef stock

1 pack of baby mushrooms, halved

Oregano

500g potatoes, cut into 5mm/¼in slices

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/Gas 3.

Trim the fat off the steak. Cut the steak into 5cm chunks.

Season the meat with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat the oil in a pan.

Fry the beef until browned all over, then remove from the pan and set aside. (You may need to do this in batches.)

Add the onions to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly 

browned. 

Add the carrots and mushrooms and cook for a further minute.

Stir in the flour, until everything is well coated, then gradually add the stock, stirring until smooth. 

Add the browned beef back in, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring to the boil. 

Transfer into a oven proof dish.

Arrange the potatoes on top. Dot the surface with the remaining butter and sprinkle the oregano over the top.

Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for one hour.

Remove the lid and increase the heat to 200ºC/Gas 6 for 30 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread.