Beef in red wine with melting onions

Ingredients
25g butter
2 large onions, sliced into rings
6 garlic cloves, halved
3 tbsp plain flour
600g piece beef skirt or slices of shin, cut into large chunks
2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
3 bay leaves
400ml red wine
1 tbsp tomato purée
300ml strong beef stock
250g mushrooms, halved (we used small Portobello mushrooms)
chopped parsley, to serve (optional)

Method
1. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas
2. In a large, heavy-based flameproof casserole dish with a lid, melt the butter
over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, cook for 10 mins until starting
to brown, then transfer to a small plate.
Put the flour in a large plastic food bag with plenty of black pepper. Add half
the beef, shake to coat, then remove, leaving some flour in the bag. Add the
rest of the beef and shake to coat in the remaining flour.
3. Heat the oil in the same casserole dish you cooked the onions in (there’s no
need to clean it first). Add the beef and bay leaves, and fry until the meat is
browned all over. Pour in the wine and return the onions to the dish. Add the
tomato purée and stock, stir and return to a simmer. Cover with the lid and put
in the oven to stew for 1 hr.
4. After 1 hr, add the mushrooms and return to the oven for another hour.
Taste the meat – if it’s tender, remove from the oven. If it’s still a little firm,
cook for 30 mins more and test again. Serve scattered with parsley, if you like.