Not reactive as such, but worth recording.  This recipe came to me originally on a Waitrose card – I enhance and improve it every time I make it.  This was about 1.25 – 1.5kg of good quality stewing steak, which was turned into 10 generous portions (4 x 2 servings in boxes for the freezer, the rest in, er, us :).

Take 6 or so clementines, small oranges, satsumas, whatever you have.  Sometimes I boil them first, sometimes I don’t, but either way, whizz them up in a food processor.  No need to peel, thankfully.

Take a large number of shallots – I used loads, cos we love them.  Put them in a bowl, and cover with boiling water; this makes them easier to peel.  I always keep the water and put it in the soup pot, as it is nicely flavoured.  After about 5 minutes, or when your fingers can cope, fish them out and peel them.

Cut up some carrots into batons, or thick slices – whatever you like, really.

Cut the steak into mouth size bits, and brown it in batches in olive oil,  in a big casserole.  Set it aside as it’s done.

Then into the oil put the shallots and carrots, and stir them about for a bit, until the shallots start to brown. Add the meat back into the pan, and add the orange mush, a glass of ginger wine, a tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar, and some water – the shalloy water would do nicely here!  You don’t want it swimming in liquid, obviously.  Season with salt and pepper, and add two or three star anise.

The recipe suggests an hour in the oven – I much prefer to do it slowly, so gas mark 2 for about 3-4 hours.

It goes awfully well with mashed potato and cabbage – trust me on this.