Ingredients

• 1kg/2lb 2oz feather blade steak
• trimmed and cut into 250g/10oz pieces
• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 bannana shallots or 1 medium onion
• sliced
• 2 celery sticks
• trimmed
• sliced
• 2 carrots
• thickly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves
• crushed
• 250ml/10fl oz red wine
• 500ml/17fl oz beef stock
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp English mustard
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 3.
• Season the beef on both sides with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan. Fry the steak pieces over a medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each sides
• or until browned. Transfer the beef pieces to a casserole dish. (You may need to do this in batches.)
• Return the frying pan to the hob and reduce the heat. Add the remaining oil and gently fry the shallots
• celery and carrots for 6-8 minutes or until golden-brown and softened. Stir in the garlic
• cook for a further minute and add the mixture to the casserole.
• Deglaze the pan with wine and allow to bubble for a few seconds
• stirring constantly and pour over the meat and vegetables. Stir the stock and the tomato purée. Strip the thyme leaves from the stalks and scatter into the pan
• add the bay leaf and mustard and stir until well combined. Bring to the boil and remove the dish from the heat.
• Cover the surface of meat and liquid carefully with a piece of greaseproof paper. Place a lid on top and cook in the oven for 3-3½ hours or until the beef is very tender. Skim any fat away from the surface that appears during cooking.
• Transfer the meat to a plate. Strain the cooking liquor and vegetables through a sieve into a large non-stick frying pan. Press the vegetables with the bottom of a ladle to extract a rich purée and stir into the cooking liquor. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper
• to taste.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer for 3-5 minutes
• or until the sauce is well reduced
• thick and glossy. Add the beef to the liquid and heat through for 3-4 minutes
• spooning over the sauce to glaze. Serve with some green vegetables and mashed potatoes.