Marcus Wareing’s classic beef hot pot

So, here we go with his beef hot pot!

Ingredients, serves 6

• 1.5kg chuck steak, diced
• 150g plain flour seasoned with salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled & sliced
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
• 1 litre hot beef stock
• 2tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 3-4 potatoes (about 700g total weight)
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• Sea salt & black pepper

Method: 

• Heat the oven to 160degrees fan /180degrees/ gas mark 4
• Coat the meat with the seasoned flour. Put a large non stick frying pan onto a high heat and pour in enough oil to cover the bottom.
• Heat oil until hot and fry the meat in batches until well coloured on all sides (add more oil if needed)
• Remove the meat from the pan and fry the onion, carrots and garlic until coloured.
• Put the meat back into the pan with vegetables, pour in the stock and bring to the boil.
• Add salt, pepper and half the thyme (at this point, Marcus says to split across 6 ramekin dishes, I made 1 large hot pot so ignored this stage). 
• Peel the potatoes and slice into 3mm slices. Arrange the slices on top of the beef and vegetables, overlapping slightly.
• Brush the potatoes with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper and the rest of the thyme.
• Cover the dish with foil (or lids if your ramekins have them) and bake for 1 hour.
• Uncover foil and bake for a further 45 mins until the meat is tender when pierced with a sharp knife.

Serve hot with green vegetables such as broccoli or green beans as I did, and if you’re feeling indulgent, a glass of hearty red wine!