This recipe can be halved, as it will feed a mountain of people, but I find it easier to make up more than a basic family quantity as you can freeze the leftovers for use at a later date.

Ingredients

• 2 kilograms pre-cut beef steak and kidney mix
• 2-3 large onions, peeled and diced
• 250-500 grams mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup beef-flavoured gravy powder
• 3 cups mild-flavoured beef stock or water
• ½-1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method

1. Turn the slow cooker on to low to pre-warm while gathering and preparing the ingredients.
2. If wishing to brown the ingredients then heat a good dash of oil in a frying pan and brown the beef steak and kidney mix over a high heat. Do this in small batches to prevent the beef and kidneys from stewing. Set aside. Add extra oil to the pan and cook the onions until golden. Stir 1 cup of stock or water into the pan and scrape all the sediment off the base of the pan as this will add heaps of flavour.
3. Into the pre-warmed slow cooker put the beef and kidneys, onions, mushrooms, gravy powder, stock or water and pepper. Stir to mix and cover with the lid.
4. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, or until the beef is tender.
5. Serve as a cobbler, under a savoury scone topping (as pictured), as a pie under flaky puff pastry case, as cottage pie-style, under a mashed potato crust or simply as is with vegetables and plenty of mashed potatoes to mop up the gravy with.

Cooks Tips

Variations: - Add ¼-½ cup tomato paste. - Use 2 cups red wine and 1 cup beef stock. - Use 1½ cups beef and 1½ cups beef stock. - Stir in a dozen oysters, shelled of course, just before serving to have taste of the past, when oysters were so cheap they were put in meat dishes to stretch the meat! - Add 1 tablespoon curry powder and ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce for a twist. - Beef steak and kidney is now sold all diced and mixed ready to go. If you are buying the beef and kidney separately, allow about 1.5-1.75 kilograms beef to 250-500 grams kidney. - Both beef and lamb kidneys can be used, though the former offers the more traditional flavour.