There are so many versions of Irish Stew. Some people say you should just have white vegetables in it, at Wickedfood cooking School we add 1 or 2T of barley in at the start with the stock, or  2 to 3 potatoes. Rachel Allen was brought up in Dublin. Encouraged by her family, Rachel went to the Ballymaloe Cookery School at the age of 18 and realised that she wanted to make food her career. After graduating from the school she cooked at the Ballymaloe House Hotel, eventually returning to teach at the school. This hearty, wholesome stew is Rachel’s interpretation and ultimate taste of Ireland.

3T  oil

1½kg stewing beef, cut into cubes

175g streaky bacon

12 baby onions, peeled

18 button mushrooms, left whole

3 carrots, cut into quarters or 12 baby carrots, scrubbed and left whole

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1T chopped thyme

2T chopped parsley

10 cloves of garlic, crushed and grated

2 cups red wine

2 cups chicken or beef stock

For the roux

50g/2oz butter

50g/1¾oz flour

1. Brown the beef and bacon in the oil in a hot casserole.
2. Remove the meat and toss in the onions, mushrooms and carrots, one ingredient at a time, seasoning each time.
3. Place these back in the casserole, along with the herbs and garlic.
4. Cover with red wine and stock and simmer for one hour or until the meat and vegetables are cooked.
5. To make the roux, in a separate pan melt the butter, add the flour and cook for two minutes.
6. When the stew is cooked, remove the meat and vegetables.
7. Bring the remaining liquid to the boil and add  1T of roux.
8. Whisk the mixture until the roux is broken up and the juices have thickened, allowing to boil.
9. Replace the meat and vegetables, and taste for seasoning.
10. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with mash (or champ as they do in Ireland).

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Thomasina Miers is one of Britain’s rising star chefs. This recipe is from her latest book Mexican Food Made Simple. Skirt steak, a cheap cut, is a favoured piece of meat in Mexico, thanks to its rich flavour. As long as you cook it quickly over a high heat, the meat will be tender and delicious.

Steak burritos. Photograph: Tara Fisher

600g skirt steak

3-4 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

juice of half an orange

1 chilli de arbol, finely chopped

sea salt and black pepper

4 wraps (corn tortillas, chappatis or other wraps)

1 tbsp olive oil

4 spring onions

about 150g warm cooked black beans

about 200g warm rice (optional)

salsa

1 avocado, peeled and mashed with the juice of a lime

3-4 tbsp crème fraîche

chopped coriander leaves

120g extra mature cheddar cheese (optional)

1. If the skirt steak is cut into thick slices, butterfly it out into thin steaks by cutting it down the middle with a sharp knife. Marinate the steak in the olive oil, garlic, orange juice, chilli and seasoning for 30 minutes.
2. Heat each tortilla in a hot, dry frying pan for about 10 seconds a side to make it soft and pliable.
3. Heat up a griddle or heavy-bottomed frying pan until smoking hot and add the olive oil. Top the spring onions and peel off the outer skin before chopping them up into 2-3cm lengths. Season with salt and pepper and put onto the hot griddle.
4. Pat the steak dry with some kitchen paper and add to the griddle pan. Sear for a minute on each side (or 90 seconds, tops). Leave to stand for a minute on a warm plate while you finish cooking the spring onions. They should be soft and slightly charred. When the spring onions are cooked, remove from the pan, add the reserved marinade from the steak and let it sizzle up before pouring over the warm beans. Chop up the steak into bite-size pieces across the grain (you can see the grain all running in one direction, so cut across these lines at a right angle).
5. Fill the tortillas with the steak, beans, rice, salsa and spring onions. Add some mashed avocado, a drizzle of crème fraîche, some coriander leaf and the cheese, and toast if you like, your burrito crispy. Eat up at once.

Mexican dishes are easier to make than to pronounce. Thomasina Miers shares her favourites … click here for more of her Mexican dishes.

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

One of the lasting impressions from the movie Julie & Julia was Julie’s frustration and eventual triumph over boeuf bourguignon from Julia Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This hearty beef stew is a centerpiece of one of the movie’s more appetizing food scenes. Here is the recipe, as it appears in the book:

As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavoured, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavour when reheated.

Vegetable and Wine Suggestions
Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairly full-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux-St. Émilion, or Burgundy.

1. Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 3mm wide and 3cm long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1L of water. Drain and dry.
2. Preheat oven to 220°C .
3. Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.
4. Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.
5. In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.
6. Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 180°C .
7. Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
8. While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.
9. When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.
10. Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Serves 6

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

A roast served with Yorkshire pudding, could be called the quintessential British Sunday dinner. With the wet cold weather this weekend, I made roast beef, served with roast potatoes, mashed butternut,  Jerusalem artichokes, and a delicious onion gravy.

1 x 2kg  beef sirloin roast
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1⁄4 cup oil

Gravy

3 onions , finely sliced

6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

2 cups red wine

2T butter, cubed

Yorkshire pudding

1 cup flour
1t salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1⁄2 cup beef drippings or oil

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C.
2. Season beef with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a roasting pan into which the meat will comfortably fit. Brown the meat on all sides, and set aside.
4. Add the onions and garlic, and fry until they just start to change colour.  Add the red wine and deglaze the pan.  Place the meat on top of onions, fat side up and place in the preheated oven.  Roast for 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat 170°C, and roast for a further 40 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven, transfer the meat to a cutting board, and allow to rest, covered with foil, while you make the Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Skim the fat off the cooking juices  into a bowl.

Yorkshire pudding

1. Increase oven temperature to 240°C.
2. Sift flour together with salt into a medium bowl. Make a well in center and add eggs. Whisk in milk. Mix until smooth. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.
3. Spoon 1⁄2t of fat into each cup of a nonstick muffin pan. Heat in oven for 15 minutes.
4. Remove pan from oven, divide the batter evenly between cup and bake until risen and brown, about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.

Gravy

1. Strain the cooking juices into a clean saucepan. Cook, whisking, until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter.  Serve immediately

Serves 8

See more roast recipes – click here

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Served with grilled mushrooms and a Béarnaise sauce. The meat can either be roasted quickly in the oven, or over a hot braai. Serve with mashed, roasted or baked potatoes.

±2,2kg beef sirloin
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2T olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C.
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper, and rub with oil.
3. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over a high heat. When very hot, sear the beef on all sides until browned.
4. Transfer the beef to a roasting tin. Roast, allowing 7 minutes per 500g for rare (internal temp. – 45 to 50°C), and 10 minutes per 500g for medium beef (internal temp. – 55 to 60°C).
5. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in a warm place, for at least ±10 minutes. (Or roast over hot coals on the braai for about 10 minutes on each side.)
6. Cut the meat into thick slices and serve with the grilled vegetables. Drizzle with the pan juices and serve with Béarnaise sauce.

To serve
Béarnaise sauce

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studios. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.