Summer beef casserole...

Ingredients - serves 4 - 6

500g diced beef or braising steak
1 onion, peeled & chopped
2 tins Essential chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small glass red wine
10g basil
10g parsley
1 clove garlic, crushed, finely chopped
grated zest of a small lemon

Method

1 In a casserole, heat the olive oil and brown the diced meat on all sides, add the onion, turn down the heat and cook a further 5 minutes to soften the onion. Add red wine, turn up the heat and reduce by half then add the tins of chopped tomatoes (partially drained so there’s not too much liquid) and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook at a very low heat for 1 ½ - 2 hours or until very tender. Remove bay leaf and discard.

2 Chop garlic, basil, parsley and grated lemon zest together to very fine. Scatter the gremolata over the beef stew immediately before serving with rice or pasta.