Great Nan’s steak with onion gravy

My husband's nana is 95 years old. She has seven children, all who grew up to become exceptional adults. Having to raise many children in Oakleigh, Melbourne, she always cooked simple and affordable meals everyday for the whole family to enjoy. 

I had the pleasure of learning some of her recipes and her steak with onion gravy is one of my favourites. Great nan cooked me this dish for lunch when I visited her earlier this year (2017) and she shared with me her recipe which is quite simple. She uses a cheap cut of beef steak (oyster blade), cook it for a long time in a very low heat, and she serves it with onion gravy, mashed potatoes and boiled peas.

This steak is so tender that my baby who was only around one year old ate it. If you try this recipe and love it, please send me a comment as I will make sure to let great nan know.

Great Nan’s steak with onion gravy 

This recipe will feed 4 hungry adults

Ingredients:

Steak With Onion Gravy Sauce

• Four Oyster Blade Beef Steak (any cheap beef steak) 
• 1 large onion, chop finely 
• Some water 
• Traditional Gravy powder (we use gravox) 

Mashed Potatoes

• 4 large potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into small even pieces 
• A generous knob of butter 
• A bit of milk 
• Salt & Pepper

Method:

For the steak:

1. In a large non stick pan/pot, heat up a good splash of olive oil and brown the beef steak on all sides. 

2. Lower the heat to the lowest, add some water and cover with the lid. Leave to cook for at least an hour until the meat is soft, regularly checking and turning the meat. If there is no more liquid, add a bit of water, cover with the lid and continue cooking the meat until it is very tender.

3. Once the steaks are cooked and tender, set the steaks aside on a plate. 

4. Then on the same pan, heat up a splash of olive oil and sauté the onions until soft. Add a bit of water and a table spoon of gravy, mix well until gravy thickens. 

4. Put the steak back to the pan with the onion gravy, mix well.

For the mashed potatoes:

1. Boil the potatoes in a big pot (around 15 mins) until cooked through (you can pierce the potato with a fork easily when the potatoes are cooked) 

2. Drain the potatoes in a sieve and put the boiled potatoes back in the big pot. 

3. Add the knob of butter in to melt and start mashing (for very smooth mashed potato use a hand blender, for a coarser texture use a metal masher, I actually prefer the coarser mashed potato). Add the little milk, salt & pepper and stir well. 

4. Place mashed potatoes on a plate with the steak onion gravy on top and enjoy this meal with some simple boiled or steamed vegetables