Last week, a Le Creseut casserole dish was delivered to my house. You know the ones, top of the range pots and pans that come with the associated price tag. I could tell you the excuses and reasons behind this - spending more time in the kitchen, should have the best tools you can, not spending on a lot else at the moment - but actually there are only two things that led to this purchase:

• An old episode of Inside the Factory
• A bit too much wine

I don’t even think I’ve made a casserole or stew before, apart from one ill-advised slow cooker experiment that ended in a separated ugly mess. I remember them fondly as kid-food, the kind of thing you eat after you’ve been out in the cold all day: soft veg, melt-in-the-mouth beef, my dad mopping up the last bits of gravy with a slice of bread.

So I gave it a go, and lo and behold, chunks of veg and meat went in the oven and a steaming glorious smelling stew/casserole came out. (What’s the difference between stew and casserole by the way?)

I used this recipe with adjustments depending what I had in the cupboards. It was amazing. I’m sure it would have been just as good in a £10 dish but I’m telling myself otherwise.