Feeds about 4 people

A drizzle of olive oil
A knob of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
2 onions, quartered and sliced thickly
8 button mushrooms, quartered
1 clove of garlic, crushed
6 streaky rashers (smoked or green – we use Gubbeen bacon)
1kg lean Stewing beef, in decent sized hunks.
6 rooster potatoes, quartered.
1 glass of red wine (for cooking!)
1 good squeeze of tomato puree or one tin of tomatoes
Salt, pepper & sugar
1 pint beef stock
2 tablespoons of mixed herbs (any of parsley, sage, rosemary or thyme)

Heat the oil in a pot and fry off the bacon and the beef. Then remove and set aside. Then add the butter, onion and garlic and when soft add the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Then add back in the beef, the bacon, the tomato, the mushroom, the stock, the red wine, salt, pepper and sugar. Give everything a good stir, turn down the heat to nice and low, cover and let simmer for a minimum of 1 ¼ hours. Add the spuds and simmer for another ½ an hour or until spuds are cooked. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve with crusty bread.