Beef stew

Nick Fielden's family butcher, Todmorden Indoor Market does this fabulous thing ... you hand over £20 and he hands you a Value Pack of various cuts of meat - all are excellent - today the stewing steak came out of the freezer, and was turned into this.    Tomato puree, olive oil, garlic and wholegrain mustard from me at The Mediterranean Pantry.  Veg from Garry outside and another Todmorden market special.

It takes a while for the steak to cook to soft rich yumminess, so settle yourself in for a couple of hours of chilling doing what every you do best - and then you can serve up this to a grateful table.  The vegetarian had halloumi (available from The Crumbly cheese) fried at the last minute.

Onion
Celery
Olive oil
Garlic
Stewing steak
Beef stock
Potatoes
Leeks
Carrot
Cabbage
Veg stock
Tomato puree
Grainy mustard

1.  Sautee onion and celery in olive oil for a few minutes, then add the steak and some crushed garlic.
2.  Add the steak, turning the pieces over until each side is a bit browned, then pour in beef stock and simmer.
3.  Cut the potatoes into chunks, toss in olive oil and put in a roasting tin.
4.  Prep the veg and then cook in a little olive oil in a wide frying pan.  Start with the leeks, when they are a bit soft add the carrots and a pint or so of veg stock, simmer.
5.  Add tomato puree to the stew, stir it around a bit - add more stock, water or red wine if its looking too dry.
6.  Add cabbage to the veg mix.
7.  This will probably have taken about 15 minutes - so, turn the heat off the veg and make a cup of tea.
8.  15 minutes later put the potatoes in a medium hot oven to roast - for about an hour and 15 minutes.
9.  Now is the time you get to read that book, do the crossword, put your feet up and watch the soaps .. or whatever (check on the stew now and again to check it hasn't gone dry).
10.  one hour later - pop the veg in the oven to warm up - stir a big spoonful of grainy mustard into the stew - and toss the potatoes around a bit.  15 minutes to dinner ...
11. Serve, scoff ... 2 of us ate enough for 4, but that's another story