Slow cooker beef and mushrooms with creamy mashed potato

With tender beef steaks, mushrooms, rich juices and some creamy mash, this hearty dish aims to please! Serve it up in one go or enjoy the leftovers with some white bread the next day. Enjoy!

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 10g dried shiitake mushrooms
• 400g Swiss brown mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 6 shallots, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 10g fresh thyme sprigs, tied with kitchen twine
• 2 x 1kg beef blade roasts
• Plain flour, for coating
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup (125ml) dry white wine
• 4 (about 700g) brushed potatoes, peeled, cut into 5cm pieces
• 4 parsnips (about 550g), peeled, cut into 5cm pieces
• 60g butter, cubed, at room temperature
• 1 cup (250ml) thickened cream, warm
• 2 tsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to serve

Method

1. Using a clean coffee grinder or spice mill, grind shiitake mushrooms to a powder. (If you don’t have a spice mill, choose sliced rather than whole dried shiitake mushrooms, and don’t grind them to a powder.) Transfer to a slow cooker and add sliced Swiss brown mushrooms, shallots, garlic and thyme and toss to combine.
2. Season beef generously with salt and pepper. Lightly coat beef in flour, shaking off any excess. Heat a large heavy frying pan over high heat. Add oil, then add 1 piece of beef and cook, turning once, for 6 minutes or until well-browned on both sides. Remove beef from the pan and set on top of the mushroom mixture in the slow cooker. Repeat with second piece of beef and discard the oil.
3. Add wine to pan and cook, stirring to scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan, for 2 minutes or until reduced by half. Pour reduced wine into the slow cooker and cover. Turn slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours or until the meat is tender. Leave the beef to rest in the slow cooker for 20 minutes. Discard the thyme stems.
4. Meanwhile, in a large pot, combine potatoes and parsnips, cover with cold water and season with salt. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes and parsnips are cooked through. Drain in a colander. Place the colander with vegetables over the pot. Place pot over medium heat for about 2 minutes to dry the vegetables.
5. Using a potato ricer or wire sieve, pass the vegetables into a heatproof bowl. Stir in butter and then fold in enough cream (typically about 3/4 cup) to reach the desired consistency. Season the mash with salt. Keep warm until ready to serve.
6. Transfer beef to a cutting board. Carve thin slices of beef. Return sliced beef to the accumulated juices in the slow cooker for 1 minute. Serve beef slices with the mash, cooked mushrooms and more beef juices. Top with parsley.