It was really hot here in LA today, but I made one of my favorite casseroles for dinner tonight anyway: Beef Hot Dish a.k.a. Beef Tater Tot Casserole. In fact, I doubled the recipe to have the second batch Saturday night.
Ingredients
½ pound ground beef (not ground sirloin, which is too low in fat)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ pound cremini mushrooms, rinsed, trimmed, and diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Wondra® flour
1 cup water
1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon beef stock base
½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
½ cup frozen peas
½ cup frozen corn
½ cup freshly grated cheddar cheese plus extra for topping
½ package frozen tater tots
salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°.
Brown beef in a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Blot pan with paper towel without disturbing any fond that developed.
Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, celery, and carrots to the pan. Add a pinch of salt. Sauté until the onions are translucent and just starting to brown (about 7 minutes). Add garlic and tomato paste. Sauté an additional minute. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add mushrooms and thyme to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms have softened, given up their liquid, and begun to color. Sprinkle with flour.
Whisk together water, bouillon base, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Add to pan. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Transfer to the mixing bowl.
Add beef, soup, and frozen peas and corn to mixing bowl. Add cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. I often add a dash of paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder at this point. Sometimes a splash of additional Worcestershire sauce. Mix well and transfer to a casserole dish. Top with more cheese and potatoes.
Transfer to oven and bake until potatoes are golden brown and mixture reads at least 160°. Should take about 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Wine Pairing
Duckhorn Merlot (Napa Valley) 2022
As has become my practice with young reds, I took the bottle out of the cellar unit about 90 minutes before dinner to warm slightly. About 30 minutes before dinner I opened and double decanted the wine to open it up.
Deep ruby color. Good bouquet of plums, blackberry, and blackcurrant. Black fruits and warm spice on the palate. Smooth tannins. Nice match.
Tips
America’s Test Kitchen ranked Better than Bouillon concentrate as its best buy chicken stock. I like all of its broth base concentrates much better than canned or carton stocks because it lasts much longer and you can make an enormous amount of stock from one jar. I get the reduced sodium versions. (AMAZON LINK)
I’m a big fan of All-clad pans. I used the D3 12-inch skillet for this recipe. (AMAZON LINK) It’s America’s Test Kitchen top-rated skillet.
Need to know the difference between a dash and a pinch? I love the Kalsreui micro measuring spoons, which range from a drop (1/64th of a teaspoon) to a tad (1/4th of a teaspoon), with smidgen, dash, and pinch sizes in between. (AMAZON LINK)