Beef Casserole: A British Favorite

Maybe I should say “favourite” under these conditions–LOL. But any way you spell it, you’re bound to love it.

This is another entry in what I call, “The food of my people,” and it’s another one that doesn’t disappoint. The British have mastered the art of the understatement and this recipe is a perfect example of it.

The mere thought of “beef casserole” doesn’t conjure up many exciting thoughts. In fact, it sounds rather humdrum. However, the taste is far from humdrum. It’s savory, delicious and has just the right amount of piquantness to make your taste buds sing.

A Natural With Beef

One of the subtle flavors in this beef casserole is–wait for it–horseradish. Well, actually horseradish cream sauce.

While the Brits love a gravy, more often than not you’ll see them use horseradish cream with a roast beef. The good news is, this product is also sold here. I can find it in my local grocery so I’m sure you can find it in yours.  It’s either in the aisle where other prepared condiments, i.e., Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, are sold. Otherwise you’ll find it over by the service deli.

I’m sure there’s recipes for it on the net if you want to make it yourself, but to me it’s easier to buy it. It’s potent too so don’t expect a wishy-washy taste. When I open one and take a sniff, my sinuses are immediately clear!!!

Worcestershire Or Soy Sauce

The British recipes for this type of stew call almost invariably for Worcestershire sauce. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan unless there’s only a scant amount of the stuff.

Whenever anything calls for more than a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce in a volume such as this one, I substitute soy sauce. I just find the flavor to be more pleasant. They’re pretty much interchangeable for what they are used for even though they taste different.

The Recipe

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Beef Casserole

Rich beef casserole that’s perfect for chilly nights

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs 31 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: British

Keyword: beef recipes, beef stew, british recipe, comfort food, horseradish, stew recipe

Servings: 8

Calories: 434kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 3 tbs oil
• 3 1/2 lb beef chuck stewing meat also braising beef in UK
• 3 large onions roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves crushed or finely chopped
• 10 oz beef stock
• 2 tbs flour
• 10 oz dry white wine
• 3 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbs light brown sugar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb fresh mushrooms halved
• 3 tbs Dijon mustard
• 3 tbs creamed horseradish sauce
• 3-4 tbs heavy cream optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a deep, heavy-based, flameproof, lidded casserole over a high heat. Add the beef, in batches if necessary, and fry for 4-5 minutes, or until browned all over. Remove the meat from the casserole using a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Heat the remaining oil in the pan, add the onions and garlic and fry, stirring well, for 4-5 minutes, or until softened, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the casserole using a wooden spoon. Stir in the beef stock.
• In a large bowl, whisk the flour with a little of the wine until smooth, then gradually pour in the remaining wine, whisking until combined to a smooth batter with the consistency of thick cream.
• Return the browned beef to the casserole, then pour over the wine and flour mixture. Bring to the boil, stirring until thickened, then add the Worcestershire sauce and sugar and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover the casserole with the lid, reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering, and simmer very gently for 2 hours, stirring from time to time (may also be cooked in a 325F/160C oven).
• After 2 hours, add the mushrooms, return the mixture to the boil, then cover again, reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering, and simmer for a further 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender.
• Mix the mustard, horseradish and cream (if using) a bowl until well combined. Just before serving, stir it into the beef casserole.

Notes

Soy sauce may be used instead of Worcestershire sauce.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 434kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 340mg | Potassium: 1090mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 83IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 5mg

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Lemon Drizzle Cake: A Food Of My People

Lately I’ve been hearing my ancestral voices.  Britain and my relatives have been on my mind for a while so I guess that’s the reason. I really wanted to be there in late August for my youngest nephew’s 40th birthday (I still can’t believe it), but it just didn’t work out.

Naturally, lots of foods I grew up with were constantly in my head too. Since I love the taste of lemon to excess, the first entry just had to be lemon drizzle cake. I joked around with people I gave some to by saying it was a “food of my people.” The joke is that no one actually considers Britons as “ethnic” in any way, but I guess we are to some degree. Anyway, the joke fit and the cake is scrummy!!!

Weigh Weigh Weigh

That bears repeating; loudly–WEIGH INGREDIENTS.

Before I started weighing ingredients when I baked, I didn’t get consistent results. The major reason is flour. A “cup” of flour can vary wildly by how it’s measured. Unless a recipe is specific and tells you to “lightly spoon into the cup,” it’s sort of up to you. If you dip-and-sweep, that weighs a heck of a lot more than lightly-spooned flour. This produces very inconsistent results.

However when you weigh your ingredients, 8 ounces of flour is always 8 ounces of flour so you get the same results every time. Another added benefit is that weighing is much less labor intensive; it goes very quickly. And there’s less cleanup too.

So do yourself (and your baking) a big favor and buy a digital kitchen scale, Many are under $10 and once you start weighing and seeing the results, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

A Nice Extra Touch

If you grow lemon verbena or lemon balm, add a tablespoon to the cake batter. That idea is not mine; it comes from Britain’s goddess of baking Mary Berry.

The added herb also adds a small pop of color to the cake and will make it even more lemony.

The Recipe

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Lemon Drizzle Cake

This cake is a British favorite!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: British

Keyword: british cake recipe, easy dessert recipes, lemon cake recipe

Servings: 12

Calories: 384kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 8 oz butter at room temperature plus extra for greasing
• 8 oz sugar
• 10 oz self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 4 tbs milk
• 2 lemons finely grated zest only

For the glaze:

• 6 oz sugar
• 2 lemons juice only

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Grease a 13 x 9-inch pan with butter and line the pan (up the sides too) with parchment and grease that with butter too.
• Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat for 2 minutes, or until well blended. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and level the top.
• Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the cake has shrunk a little from the sides of the pan and springs back when lightly touched with a fingertip in the centre of the cake.
• To make the glaze. Mix the sugar with the lemon juice and stir to a runny consistency.
• Leave the cake to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then lift out, with the lining paper still attached, and place on wire rack set over a tray.
• Brush the glaze all over the surface of the warm cake and leave to set. Remove the lining paper and cut into slices to serve

Notes

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Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 189mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 560IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 1mg

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