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)
• 2 tablespoons salad oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
• ⅛ nutmeg, grated
• 1 small piece of garlic, bruised
• 3 tablespoons cream sauce (or substitute with 1 tablespoon port wine and 1 teaspoon mustard)
• 1 ounce butter
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 head of celery, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 15 chestnuts, peeled
• 2 ounces butter for fowl
• ½ pint milk
• ½ pint cream

Directions

1. Mix salad oil, lemon juice, salt, white pepper, cayenne, mustard, nutmeg, garlic, and cream sauce. Rub into the beef and cover for 24 hours.

2. In a stewpan, melt butter and sauté celery, carrot, and shallots until soft.

3. Add the beef to the pan, pour over the marinade, and add 3 cups of cold water.

4. Place the fowl on top of the beef, spread 2 ounces of butter on the breast, and lay the bacon over it.

5. Arrange the peeled chestnuts around the fowl. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer for 2.5 hours.

6. Mix 1 tablespoon baked flour with ½ pint of milk and boil for 10 minutes. Stir in the cream.

7. Serve the fowl on a hot dish with bacon around it, pouring the white sauce over. Serve the beef with gravy and vegetables.