Today's recipe comes from French cuisine – a delicious beef stew with mustard and brandy. The touch that the two types of mustard and the brandy give the meat is really special; the extra flavour that the wine provides is the icing on the cake for a unique taste, the aroma alone of which will take your palate to heaven. Although this is a French recipe, we wanted to give it a Spanish touch, which is why we use Betis olive oil as the basic cooking fat and brandy from Jerez instead of cognac. However, remember that you are the chef now, and you can modify the ingredients to whatever suits you.

Preparation:

First of all, peel and finely chop the onion. Next, cut the bacon into strips. Fry the bacon in a frying pan in its own fat until it becomes crispy. If there is not much fat on the bacon, use a few drops of Betis olive oil. Remove the bacon and leave it on a plate covered with kitchen paper to absorb the excess fat.

Fry the onion in the remaining bacon fat over a low heat for approximately 15 minutes, until it is soft and transparent. When the onion is done, remove it from the pan and leave it on a plate. Meanwhile, pour some flour over another plate and then coat the meat chunks in the flour. Increase the flame to medium-high and brown the flour-coated beef until it is nice and golden. Remove the meat from the heat, season it with salt and pepper and mix it with the onions.

Next, pour the brandy into a saucepan over a medium heat and allow it to reduce a little while stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the Dijon mustard and one tablespoonful of the wholegrain mustard and stir until they have dissolved. At this point, pour in the stock, add the meat and onions and cook it all over a low flame for an hour (making sure that the pan is covered).

Peel and chop the carrots into thick slices and add them to the stew. Cover the pot again and cook for another 30 minutes.  Chop the mushrooms and then sauté them in Betis olive oil in another pan until they have softened and browned (around 5 minutes). After this, throw them into the stew as well and allow them to cook for another 5 minutes with the lid on.

Finally, add the wine and the last of the wholegrain mustard and cook the stew for another couple of minutes with the lid off. The only thing left to do is to serve the stew and let your taste buds enjoy this delicious dish.

Note: serves a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6.