Coulis is French for a soup, stew, or liquid thickened with pieces of vegetables or meat.
2-1/2 lb joint of topside beef
2 tablespoons dripping
Plate of mixed root vegetables (sliced)
1/4 pint brown ale
1/4 pint stock
Bouquet garni
1 teaspoon tomato puree
Kneaded butter or 1 dessert spoon arrowroot (mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water)
Chopped parsley
For Tomato Coulis
1 lb tomatoes (skinned, seeds removed and sliced)
1 Spanish onion (sliced in rings)
1 tablespoon oil or dripping
Brown the joint of beef all over in the hot dripping in a flame proof casserole. Take out the meat. Put in the prepared vegetables, cover and sweat them for 7 minutes. Then replace the meat, pour brown ale and stock, add bouquet garni and tomato puree. Cover tightly and braise on top of the stove for about 1-1/2 hours or until tender. When beef is cooked, make the tomato coulis by frying onion rings until just brown in the dripping in a frying pan. Then add the prepared tomatoes. Season, cover pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes only until tomatoes are just soft. Slice the beef, strain gravy and thicken with kneaded butter or arrowroot. Dish up tomatoes and arrange slices of beef on top, spoon over a little of the gravy and serve the rest separately. Dust well with parsley.