Ingredients

• 4 x 175g/6oz rib-eye steaks (ideally all cut from the same piece of rib-eye by your butcher)
• 1 x 750ml bottle red wine
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 2 carrots
• finely chopped
• 2 celery sticks
• finely chopped
• 1 large onion
• finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• chopped
• 6 ripe tomatoes
• chopped
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 litre/1¾ pints chicken stock
• 2 tbsp creamed horseradish
• 50g/1¾oz butter
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• vegetable oil
• for deep-fat frying
• 100g/3½oz plain flour
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 150ml/¼ pint full-fat milk
• 2 onions
• cut into 0.5cm/¼in-thick slices
• 500g/1lb 2oz new potatoes
• boiled until tender
• 50g/1¾oz butter
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• The day before you want to serve the steaks
• place them into a large mixing bowl
• pour over the wine and add the thyme. Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge overnight.
• When the steaks have marinated
• preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3.
• Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the carrots
• celery and onion and fry for 6-8 minutes
• or until softened and golden-brown.
• Add the garlic
• chopped tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce and stir well to combine.
• Lay the marinated steaks on top of the vegetables and season
• to taste
• with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour over the marinade and the stock and bring the mixture to the boil.
• Cut a circle of greaseproof paper slightly smaller than the diameter of the casserole. Place it inside the casserole to cover its contents. Transfer to the oven for 1½-1¾ hours
• until the meat is very tender
• but not falling apart. Remove the meat from the casserole
• cover and set aside to rest. Keep warm.
• Meanwhile
• take a ladleful of sauce from the casserole and pour it into a bowl. Whisk in the creamed horseradish until well combined. Strain the mixture back into the casserole through a fine sieve
• discarding the sieve contents.
• Strain the whole casserole through a fine sieve
• collecting the strained liquid in a clean saucepan. Simmer until it has thickened to the consistency of double cream. Season with salt and pepper
• then stir in the butter and parsley. Set aside and keep warm.
• Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180C/350F. Alternatively
• heat the oil in a deep-sided
• heavy-based saucepan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns golden-brown when dropped into it. (Caution: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
• In a large bowl
• mix together the flour and smoked paprika until well combined. Pour the milk into a bowl.
• Dust the onion slices with the seasoned flour
• then dip them into the milk. Finally
• roll them in the seasoned flour again to coat.
• Carefully lower the onion slices into the hot oil and fry for 1-2 minutes
• or until crisp and golden-brown.
• To serve
• place one of the braised rib-eye steaks onto each of four serving plates. Spoon over a little of the sauce. Garnish with the deep-fried onions. Serve the new potatoes in a large bowl
• dotted with the butter.