Beef Stew

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Put the pan on the hob with a good glug of Cooking Oil (as needed) and add the Beef Chuck (14 oz), turning often until browned all over. You may need to do this in a couple of batches as they need space - otherwise, they'll steam and stick to each other.

Remove the beef and put into a bowl.

Put the Balsamic Vinegar (1 Tbsp) in next, together with the Onion (1) and Garlic (2 cloves) and cook over a low heat until the onion softens. It'll take 5 minutes or so and add more oil and/or a splash of water as needed to keep the garlic from burning.

When the onions are softened but not browned, tip the beef back into the pan and add the All-Purpose Flour (1 Tbsp), stirring all the time. Once all combined, add the Red Wine (1 1/2 cups), the Canned Tomato Purée (2 Tbsp), the Bay Leaf (1), Dried Thyme (1 tsp) and the Chicken Stock Cube (1), stirring all the time, and then top up with some water.

Bring to a simmer and add the Potatoes (2) and Carrots (3) - this will probably decrease the heat, so bring back to a simmer and then - if using a different pan for the oven, transfer into the ovenproof pan.

Put a lid on the ovenproof pan or your casserole dish and put into the oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from oven, stir and season with Salt (to taste) and Ground Black Pepper (to taste), and return for another 30 minutes.

While this is cooking, saute the Streaky Bacon (3 slices) in a pan, and then the Mushroom (1 handful) in the same pan in the lovely bacon juices. Remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the bacon and mushrooms, and sprinkle with chopped Fresh Parsley (to taste).