Beef and Chestnuts

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds upper side of round beef, ¾ inch thick
• 6 rashers of bacon, ⅓ inch thick (without bone or skin)
• 1 ounce butter
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup cream
• 1 clove garlic, bruised
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 head of celery, chopped
• 15 chestnuts, peeled
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 2 tablespoons salad oil
• ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• a pinch of cayenne
• ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
• ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons Cre-fydd Sauce (or substitute with 1 tablespoon port wine and 1 teaspoon mustard)

Directions

1. Rub the beef with a mixture of salad oil, lemon juice, salt, white pepper, cayenne, mustard powder, nutmeg, garlic, and Cre-fydd Sauce. Cover and let marinate for 24 hours.

2. In a stewpan, melt butter and sauté the chopped celery, carrot, and shallots.

3. Add the marinated beef to the pan, pour in 3 cups of cold water, and place the fowl on top with 2 ounces of butter spread over the breast and the bacon laid on top.

4. Arrange the peeled chestnuts around the fowl. Bring to a boil, baste the fowl with gravy, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 2.5 hours.

5. Mix 1 tablespoon of baked flour into ½ cup of milk and boil for 10 minutes. Stir in the cream.

6. Serve the fowl on a hot dish with bacon around it, pouring the white sauce over. Place the beef on another hot dish, pour the gravy and vegetables over, add lemon juice, and serve immediately.