Spiced Beef & Prune Casserole with Toasted Pecans

It’s quite scary how the weeks are flying by with the only consolation being is that spring will surely soon be here. I’m pretty excited about all the daffodils & crocuses coming out especially after seeing my first snowdrops last night which always remind me of home, where they grow in the woods. Although, I have to say, one thing London does well is parks. With spring & parks in mind we went for a lovely walk round Hyde Park. We did have the intention of being healthy, but unfortunately on the way we ended up in Café Concerto on High Street Kensington having hot chocolate, scones with cream & chocolate cake...Hmmmmm on reflection i actually fail to see this was unfortunate in any way. Anyhoo it was freezing & it’s a proven fact that you burn more calories when it’s cold outside. We then finished up the week by heading to China Town for dinner with friends where i tried a dish i’ve been meaning to for so long...duck tongue salad. It was delicious. Well maybe not delicious but it really was very nice. The tongues have a piece of cartilage in the middle that you have to nibble round & the texture is a little odd, a bit gristly but quite appealing. The houseboy did not agree with me on this one but really when does he...?

With this weeks recipe there are no nasty surprises, so do not be put off by the idea of prunes, granted they are mostly associated with oldies & failing constitutions, but used in the right context they are delicious. I always serve this casserole with mashed potatoes & green beans, but it would be equally nice with new potatoes & most green veg. Ideally it’s best made the day before, firstly because it will taste so much better & secondly its not the quickest dish to cook-but hugely worth it.

Ingredients:
• 900g good quality strewing beef diced
• 225g onions-thinly sliced
• 2” knob of fresh ginger-grated
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1tsp mace
• 1tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 bottle of red wine
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 450ml beef stock
• olive oil
• 100g pecans (to serve) & 250g prunes which are optional.

Set your oven to 130C. Start by tossing the beef in seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Heat a frying pan until it’s really hot & sear the meat in small batches (small batches will stop the pan cooling down) sprinkling the spices over as you go. Set the meat aside & allow the pan to cool a little. Take the onions, garlic & ginger, add to pan & gently cook for 5 minutes, add a splash more oil if necessary. Next step is to deglaze the pan with red wine, bring to the boil & reduce to about half. Add the stock along with the soy sauce, then finish off by placing the meat & onion mixture into an oven proof pan/casserole dish. Make sure the lid fits tightly, if not you can add a double layer of wet greaseproof paper to make sure the meat doesn’t dry out. Cook in the oven for 2-3 hours, you want the meat to be tender but not falling apart, as you will most likely be reheating it again. While the casserole is bubbling away, pan fry the pecans in a little oil & paprika. When you serve the dish up, just sprinkle some on top-the textures & flavours work really well together.