This recipe is influenced by the wonderful cooking of my late mum and also my paternal grandparents, who emigrated from Alsace Lorraine to London in 1916.

My mum was a great comfort food cook and believed that a casserole was a cure for everything, from the common cold to Third World debt. She saw braising steak as one up on stewing steak. It was a bit more expensive, better quality and “at that bloody price it should be tender and won’t need all day in the oven”.

This casserole is flavoured with caraway seeds, which I can remember my French grandparents putting in everything from cheese on toast to sauerkraut.

Gordon says: I’m absolutely with Louise about casseroles being the answer to all ills. This is the ultimate comfort food — meat, vegetables and gravy all contained in one big pot. This reminds me of a dish I used to make when I was training with Pierre Koffman. We used to add an Alsatian wheat beer, but the addition of cider chimes nicely with the russet apples. Beautiful.

Serves 8

Ingredients

8 pieces of braising steak (about 160g-175g each)

4 russet apples (or something similar)

1 white cabbage, shredded

10 shallots

Large clove crushed garlic

1 pint of dry cider

Teaspoon of honey

A couple of teaspoons of caraway seeds (depending on taste)

Method

1 Coat steak in seasoned flour and fry in olive oil for about 6-8 minutes.

2 Fry shallots and garlic for 2-3 minutes and then add cabbage, apple, honey and cider and bring to the boil.

3 Cook for 1½ hours on 180C-190C (375F), gas 5. Add caraway seeds and cook for half an hour or until the meat is tender.

4 Adjust seasoning and serve with mash and a seasonal green vegetable. We used to eat this with buttered noodles. In fact, when I was little I used to help my grandpa to make his own pasta. That was 45 years before it became as trendy as it is now.

Louise Convisser is from Hatch End

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