Pepperpot beef for the mountain men

This is a lovely warming casserole that my sister Diane submitted to Eating ideas.  She made it recently for a party to celebrate the homecoming of her husband, Peter and his mates who had rather impressively climbed 5 peaks in 5 days.  Even more impressively, they raised over £6,000 – every penny of which will be going to Marie Curie Cancer Care & International Teams (India Quest / Frontline Developments) who, among other things, are working to support kids into education in rural south east India.  I definitely couldnt do it but hats off to them for climbing  Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Snowdon, Carrauntoohill and Donard in just 100 hours!

If you, like me, are impressed and would like to donate, you can do at the following links:.www.justgiving.com/fivepeaks-it  www.justgiving.com/fivepeaks-mc

Anyway, before I get carried away with gushing praise for my brother-in-law and his mountain climbing friends, I really should tell you how to make my sister’s rather lovely dish  You won’t even have to climb a mountain to work up an appetite!

To make it you will need:

5lbs of stewing beef (cut into cubes)

plain flour seasoned with ground ginger (for dusting)

vegetable oil (for frying)

5 x 400g tins tomatoes

3 tblsps soft brown sugar

5 tblsps red wine vinegar

3 tblsps sweet chilli sauce

3 tblsps worcestershire sauce

3 garlic cloves (chopped)

2 bay leaves

3 red and 2 yellow peppers (deseeded and chopped)

rice and creme fraiche or greek yogurt to serve

Instructions

Toss the beef in the seasoned flour

Brown the meat  in small batches in vegetable oil and place in a large ovenproof dish.

Place the tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, chilli sauce, worcestershire sauce and garlic in a blender and blitz briefly.

Pour the sauce ove the meat, tuck in the bay leaves and bake in a preheated oven ((180C) for 1 hour

Remove the casserole from the oven, add the peppers and return to the oven for 30 minutes or until the meat and peppers are tender.

Serve with rice and a spoonful of creme fraiche or Greek yoghurt