I was talking to my mother-in-law the other day about some of the recipes we cooked when we first got married. A version of this Warming Braised Steak with Tomatoes & Onions was one of her mainstay recipes she used in her early days of marriage. It has been passed to her son and now I cook it for our family. I do have an admission to make and I am a little embarrassed to say this. I didn't know how to cook when I first got married. That was nearly nine years ago now and I look back and cringe at my inability to put together a meal. Well let me say I could cook biscuits, cookies and cakes and the basic spaghetti, lasagne and stir fry but I think that was about my repertoire. My hubby had to show me in what order to cook vegetables. Failure. I didn't bring much to the marriage in the way of a gourmet cook that's for sure. I sure hope I have improved over the past 9 years in the kitchen department. I am quietly confident that I possibly have. I hope!

It's funny how some recipes stay in your cooking repertoire over the years. Hubby first made this dish for me in the early days of our marriage just as his mum did. It's an easy one to put together and makes use of a budget piece of barbecue steak. I cook this braised steak when I have no idea what to do with the piece of steak defrosting on the bench top. I have tweaked this recipe a little to the original that hubby's mum use to make but it still tastes just as good. It's a great dish to cook when the wind is blowing outside and the temperature is dropping. It's comfort food and warms the belly nicely.

This dish makes great use of some unhappy looking tomatoes in the fridge, a brown onion or two and a few pieces barbecue steak. You could also use chuck, blade, or flank steak here. Anything that will break down nicely in a slow simmer. The Worcestershire adds a lovely acrid kick and the allspice sends warming vibes over the body. This dish is simplicity in a pan but tastes like you have been slaving over the stove for hours when in fact you have not. Serve the braised steak over a heaping mound of creamy mashed potato or polenta or if you are being healthy a simple bowl of steamed vegetables will also do the trick. Don't forget to have a crusty loaf of bread on hand to mop up the juices at the end and if you can't help yourself finish of by licking the plate clean... or not!

Warming Braised Steak With Tomato & Onions

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 35-45 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredient:

500g BBQ steak (chuck, blade or flank would also work here), finely slice into thin pieces.
2 x brown onions, sliced finely
pinch of salt
6 x medium roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoon rice malt syrup (or honey)
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped - to garnish

Instructions:

In a large fry pan add a tablespoon of olive and heat over a high heat. Add in the strips of beef and cook to brown and caramelize the outside of the meat. This should take around 5 minutes. Remove from the pan into a bowl and set aside.
In the same pan add another tablespoon of olive oil and add in the onions and pinch of salt. Cook these over a medium heat until soft and translucent and almost caramelized. This will take around 10 minutes or so.
Add in the garlic and tomatoes and cook for a minute or so.
In a small jug mix together the water, worcestershire, tomato paste, all spice, rice malt syrup and vinegar. Mix all the ingredient together to combine.
Add the meat back into the tomato and onion mixture and pour in the tomato paste mix.
Stir together and bring the mixture to a boil. Place a lid on and reduce the to a slow simmer. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the beef in tender.
Serve with rice, mashed potato or steamed veggies. Garnish with parsley.

Cooks Notes

Don't forget the crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Depending on the cut of meat you use as to how long it will take for the meat to turn tender.
This dish could be done in the slow cooker. Simple follow the first two steps of cooking the beef and onions and then add everything into the slow cooker with an extra 1/2 cup water and cook for 2 hours on high, 4 hours on low.