Chilli beef casserole | Auckland Food | Wineries and Restaurants in Auckland

This week's dish is a classic winter warmer that is delicious served with creamy mashed potato or kumara and any seasonal green vegetable.

The chilli is optional, as is the amount you add. I used a single, long red variety for medium heat, because the small ones are generally the hottest.

Keep in mind that capsaicin, the substance that gives them their power, is concentrated in the seeds. Leave them in if you want the full effect, or scrape them out with a knife tip if you prefer more subtlety.

salt and white pepper
3-4 Tbsps plain flour
800g beef blade steak, trimmed, cut in 4cm cubes
2-3 Tbsps vegetable oil
4 strips pancetta or thinly sliced bacon, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, cut in 2cm pieces
1 long red chilli, de-seeded, chopped, or to taste
2 small red onions, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsps balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 cup red wine
cup and a half beef stock

Set oven to 180C. Season flour and toss with the meat in a strainer held over a large bowl until each cube is thoroughly coated. Heat some of the oil in a frypan and lightly brown the meat, adjusting heat so it doesn't burn. Work in batches and don't crowd the pan.

Heat a little more oil, add the pancetta. Cook, stirring, until it begins to turn golden, then stir in carrot, chilli, onion and oregano. Toss to mix, then add balsamic vinegar, pushing firmly with a wooden spoon to incorporate all the brown bits stuck to the pan.

Add sugar and red wine and boil for 2 or 3 minutes to reduce a little, then transfer to a casserole. Put the meat in and the stock. Season lightly, transfer to the oven and cook for up to two and a half hours. Check seasoning and the meat's texture (it should be very tender) after two hours, and keep an eye on the level of the cooking liquid. You might need to add more stock.

Serves 4

Wine match

This is a hearty dish that deserves to have an equally robust wine sitting in the glass beside it, and that leads us to South Australia's sun-soaked Barossa Valley. Peter Lehmann has long been known as the Baron of the Barossa, and the wines that carry his name are well-made and realistically priced.

Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz 2008 has a typically savoury bouquet with impressions of dark-fleshed plums and cracked black pepper to the fore. It's weighty, rich and delicious, with plenty of ripe fruit to emphasise the sweet-edged flavours of the red onions in the dish. It sells in the mid-$20s.