I was inspired by a lovely looking dish in Delicious Magazine – honestly it did look wonderful and I thought I’d explore the recipe. I changed it a little to make it more family (and budget!) friendly. This is a fantastic dish because it’s A LOT, but you can split it down into three family meals during the week. Or use it for a big party meal centre. It takes around 3½ hours from start to finish.

For 10-12 people or multiple meals for a family of 4-5, you will need:

• Guinness1.6kg diced casserole beef (can be a really cheap cut)
• 2 red onions
• 3 large carrots
• 3 sticks celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons tomato puree
• 1 heaped teaspoon English mustard
• 1 can Guinness (around 450ml)
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 litre beef stock (made with 2 cubes)
• Splash Worcestershire sauce
• Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 140°. Make sure you have a large casserole pan with a lid which can go on the hob and in the oven. Most are OK up to 180° but do check.

Put a good glug of oil in the pan and over a medium to high heat, fry the beef in two batches until it starts to brown slightly. Place to one side with the juice in a large bowl for later.

Dice the onion, carrots and celery to similar sized small cubes, finely slice the garlic. Add a little more oil to the pan and sweat these vegetables over a medium heat for around 15 minutes until soft.

Add the purée and mustard and stir in. Then add the Guinness, bring to a simmer and let it stay simmering for 5 minutes. Add the stock and tinned tomatoes to the pan together with the beef and it’s juices. Stir well.

Put the lid on and pop in the oven for 3 hours. Take out and stir occasionally.

For serving you have some options depending on the occasion. You can serve this as a stew with mash potatoes and greens. Or with a fork, mash up the beef slightly (it will fall apart) and serve with pappardelle or linguine pasta. Or do both! Half and half – you can separate out the broth, reduce it slightly over a high heat and return it to the meat for a truly rich pasta sauce. Or use the remaining sauce for a Minestrone soup base. Whatever way you use it, you’ll love it!