Bolar Steak Casserole

You can cook this steak recipe using blade, chuck, flank, round or cubed steak, but my choice would be for the first one which is also know as 'bolar'. Hence the name.

This is one for slow cooking using either a casserole dish in a very slow oven, or one of those electric crockpots which were once so popular and which you may still have, lurking in the back of a cupboard somewhere. Cook this dish in it, and you may be tempted to use it more often.

Here's my list of ingredients (which you can vary) for six people. It may seem a little long, but the recipe is very simple.

• 1kg blade (bolar) steak (about 2.5 lbs), cut into 5cm squares
• 30ml good brandy
• 500mls white wine
• 3tbs olive oil
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 200g pancetta (bacon), cubed
• 2tbs sliced stuffed olives
• 4 chopped carrots
• 2 chopped leeks
• 6 sage leaves
• freshly ground salt and pepper

Put the steak, wine, brandy, thyme, olive oil, garlic and bay leaves in a casserole dish or crockpot and leave to marinate overnight. The next day add the remaining ingredients, mix well and put in the middle of an oven preheated to 110°C, 225°F and leave undisturbed for 4 hours.

For an electric crockpot, follow the maker's instructions for slow cooking a casserole.

Serve this dish with mashed potatoes and/or dumplings, and a side dish of buttered broccoli.

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