Beef and cranberry daube (recipe for 10 people)

Trim the beef and cut into 4cm/1½ in cubes.

For the marinade: Place the carrot, onion and celery in a large bowl with the peppercorns and finely grated orange zest. Add the garlic, thyme, and olive oil and mix well. Stir in the prepared beef, cover and leave to marinate overnight.

For the daube: Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil and 25g/1oz of the butter in a large casserole.  Drain the beef and vegetables and reserve the marinade.  Brown the beef in small batches in the hot pan until the meat is well browned on each side.  It may be necessary to add more butter to the pan between batches. Remove the beef from the pan, lower the heat, add the vegetables and fry for 2-3 minutes, remove and keep on one side.

Add the flour to the pan and cook stirring continuously until the mixture becomes brown.  Add the vinegar, redcurrant jelly, red wine, port, stock and reserved marinade. Bring to the boil and boil for 1-2 minutes.

Return the beef and vegetables to the pan and add the bay leaves and seasoning.  Cover tightly and cook at gas mark 4/180ºC for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven to gas mark 3/160ºC and cook for a further hour.

Heat the remaining one tablespoon of oil and 25g/1oz butter in a clean frying pan and fry the peeled shallots or pickling onions until golden brown. Remove them from the pan and keep on one side.

Once the meat and vegetables have had 1½ hours cooking time stir in the shallots, orange juice, dried and fresh cranberries. Cook for a further hour or until tender. 

Remove the bay leaves, taste and adjust the seasoning and stir in the mandarin segments. Bring back to the boil and then serve garnished with fresh bay leaves.