Beef pot roast

by Ed Halmagyi

Ingredients

  • 700g piece beef chuck
  • salt flakes and freshly-milled black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 4 cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 leek, diced
  • 2 sticks celery, thickly sliced
  • 16 button mushrooms, sliced
  • 400g can diced tomatoes
  • 1L beef stock
  • 8 new potatoes
  • salt flakes and freshly-milled black pepper
  • ½ bunch parsley, chopped
  • steamed greens, to serve

Instructions

1 Preheat oven to 140°C, Set a large lidded ovenproof saucepan over a moderate heat and fry the beef chuck in butter for 5 minutes, turning often, until well-browned. Set aside.
2 Add the cloves, bay leaves and leek to the saucepan and cook for 3 minutes, then add the celery and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are softened. Pour in the tomatoes and stock and return the beef. Fit the lid and bake for 1½ hours.
3 Baste the meat well and arrange the potatoes in the saucepan. Return to the oven and bake for another 1½ hours, until the meat is very tender. Season ith salt and pepper, ix in the parsley. Then serve with greens.