Ingredients: Serves 6
 2-2 ½ lb or 900g–1.25 kg beef, trimmed and cut into cubes about 1 inch/ 2.5 cm in size
2 tbsps plain flour sieved with ½ tsp salt and plenty of ground black pepper
3-4 tbsps sunflower oil
2 onions, skinned and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, skinned and finely chopped
1 ½ pints/850 ml stock and ¼ pt/140 ml red wine
Contents of 1 x 15 oz/420 g jar of pickled walnuts drained of their preserving liquid, and the walnuts chopped
4 oz/112 g soaked and de-stoned prunes, chopped
Method:
Toss the cut-up meat in the seasoned flour. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole and brown the floured pieces of meat, a small amount at a time, removing the meat to a warm dish as it becomes browned.
When all the meat has browned, lower the heat a bit under the casserole and add the sliced onions, cooking them until they are soft and transparent-looking. Add the chopped garlic, replace the browned meat in the casserole. Stir in the stock and wine, and the chopped pickled walnuts and prunes. Stir till the liquid comes to simmering point, then cover the casserole with its lid and cook it in a moderate oven at 350oF/180oC/Gas mark 4 for 45 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely before storing the casserole in the fridge.
Before serving, take the casserole out of the fridge and into room temperature for an hour, then re-cook it in a moderate oven, as above, for a further 45 minutes. Stick a fork into a piece of meat to check that it is tender.
By cooking it twice, as with all casseroles and stewed dishes, the flavour is so much better than if it has only had one cooking.
Ingredients: Serves 6
 About 1 ½ lbs. / 675g leftover roast lamb, trimmed of any fat or gristle and briefly minced in a food processor
6 tbsps olive oil
2 onions, skinned and finely diced
1 fat clove of garlic, skinned and finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsps Worcester sauce
About 1 ½ lbs / 675g potatoes, weighed when peeled, boiled, drained and steamed, then very well mashed
and beaten, when mashed, with a wooden spoon
2 tbsps finely chopped parsley
4 tbsps flour, sieved onto a plate
1 tsp salt
A good grinding - no less than 15 grinds - of black pepper
Method:
In a sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and fry the diced onions until very soft. Add the finely chopped garlic and cook very briefly. Take the pan off the heat, tip the contents into a large bowl and, when quite cooled, mix in the minced or minced lamb, tomato puree and Worcester sauce, mixing all very thoroughly. Then mix in the mashed potatoes and chopped parsley, again, mixing very thoroughly - you may find this easiest done with your hand.
Divide the mixture into even sized balls, about the size of a golf ball. With the palm of your hand flatten each into a patty shape. Dip each patty into seasoned flour.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan and, when very hot, fry the lamb patties trying not to move them around in the sauté pan. After about 45-50 seconds, turn over each patty and fry on its other side for the same length of time. Put the fried patties onto a large, warmed plate lined with a couple of thicknesses of kitchen paper, to absorb excess olive oil.
These are good with a tomato salad dressed with a lemon and caper vinaigrette, and with leeks in a creamy white sauce.
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