Slow cooked autumnal food - just the job after a stroll under the beech trees by the River Dart on Dartmoor. We were there this weekend and failed to find a single mushroom of any culinary value but returned with an appetite for a dish such as this. To avoid the consequences of a wrong wild mushroom identification turn to the dried variety - they generate a very good stock liquid into the bargain.

Ingredients - serves 4 600g braising steak - leave in one large piece 2 onions 2 cloves garlic. crushed 20g dried porcini 10g dried chanterelle 100g chestnut mushrooms, sliced 25g butter 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp plain flour 1 glass red wine 1 tbsp brandy 2 bay leaves 1 sprig thyme 1 sprig parsley celery leaves salt, pepper

Method

1 Place the dried mushroom in a bowl with 500ml of hot water and leave to stand for an hour then rinse and reserve them and strain the mushroom liquid through muslin or kitchen paper to rid it of any grit. Tie the herbs and celery tops together in a bundle.

2 Preheat the oven to 140°C
Peel and cut the onions into wedges and fry off with garlic in the oil and butter until golden brown in a casserole pan, remove with as slotted spoon. Season and brown the meat in the same pan then add the flour, scraping around the meat to incorporate into the butter and oil. Pour in the wine and brandy and incorporate - it will thicken quickly, keep stirring to avoid lumps - and follow with the strained mushroom liquid which will give you the beginnings of a rich sauce. Return the onion to the pan together with porcini, chanterelle and the bundle of herbs and once the sauce is gently bubbling pop the lid on and transfer to the oven.

3 After 1 1/2 hours add the chestnut mushroom to the pan and turn them into the sauce - return to the oven for a further 1 1/2 hours of this gentle cooking. Remove the herb bundle and discard, taste sauce and check seasoning. Divide the steak into portions and serve together with plenty of sauce over creamy potato and celeriac mash.