By Lyn Funnell
This is a recipe from an old cookbook, Sussex Recipes, published in 1937.
My variation is further down.
1lb of beef, sliced
1lb onions, chopped
8oz celery, chopped
8oz olives, chopped
1lb potatoes, sliced
Cloves
Mixed spice
Tarragon vinegar
Place a layer of onions on the bottom of a large casserole dish, with some of the olives and celery.
Put thin slices of beef on top and sprinkle with a little spice and vinegar.
Add slices of potato over the meat, with some more celery and olives.
Repeat until all the ingredients are used up.
Pour enough water into the casserole to nearly cover.
Cook in a low oven for 3-4 hours. The vinegar renders salt unnecessary.
The fun of cooking is using what you have available, and sometimes you have to change the ingredients.
I didn’t have any beef so I used pork. But you could use lamb or chicken. They would work just as well.
See my pork recipe;
I like to use the celery leaves as I think they add a lovely flavour.
The only olives I had were in a tin and stuffed with chorizo. I just chopped them in half and I didn’t use 8oz. They added a delicious flavour.
I didn’t have any tarragon vinegar but I had cider vinegar, which worked perfectly with the pork.
You don’t need cloves as they’re included in mixed spice.
Half the cooking time is plenty, if the potato slices have gone soft when you poke them with a fork.
But the casserole will stay in the oven for longer on a low heat if you’re not ready to serve it.
