Ingredients
- 4 beef olives
- 60g plain flour
- ¾ pint beef stock
- 3 onions, finely chopped
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to season
- 750g floury potatoes (e.g. Maris Piper), peeled and sliced thinly
- 225ml vegetable stock
- 1 onion, sliced thinly
- 2 to 3 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Steamed vegetables, if desired
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C / 325 F / Gas Mark 3.
- Season the plain flour with a little salt and pepper, then lightly dust the olives with the flour, shaking off any excess. Next, pop a flame-proof casserole dish onto the hob and brown the olives over the heat; once browned remove them from the pan and set aside onto a plate or chopping board.
- Next, take the casserole dish off the heat, stir the remaining flour into the meat juices and then add the beef stock gradually whilst stirring continually to make sure that the flour paste is well mixed, similar to thick gravy, without any lumps.
- Place the browned beef olives back into the casserole dish, covering them with a layer of chopped onions, then pop the lid on and cook in the oven for 1 ½ hours.
- Now, it’s time to prepare the potatoes. Fry the onions and sprigs of thyme in the olive oil until softened and lightly browned (approximately 5 minutes). Next, spread a layer of sliced potatoes over the base of a 1 litre (approximately) oiled roasting dish, then sprinkle with a thin layer of onion. [NB: It doesn’t make any difference whether the dish is round or rectangular in shape.] Continue layering with potato and onions, ending with potato on the top, then pour over the vegetable stock and pop into the oven with the beef olives until the potatoes are cooked and the top is golden / crisp (approximately 60 minutes). [NB: Remember to steam some vegetables whilst the beef and potatoes are cooking in the oven (if desired).]
- Once the potatoes are cooked, remove from the oven and keep them warm until the beef olives are ready.
- Finally, serve on warmed plates, with steamed vegetables (if desired).