Recipe I - Carbonnade à la Flamande

Ingredients:
700g-1kg of stewing pork or beef, two onions, two slices of white bread, a couple of bottles of dark beer (Orval, Chimay, Rochefort 8, etc...), a slice of gingerbread or some five-spice, a bay leaf, thyme, mustard, cornflour (optional), salt and pepper.

Instructions:
Put the onion in a stewpot, fry until sweating, salt and add the meat, fry until sealed. Add the beer (pour slowly and try to avoid too much froth), put the other ingredients in except the cornflour. Cook the whole thing on a low heat for up to three hours. If the sauce is not thick enough, add some cornflour. Roux is often suggested, but I think it is too fatty.

Serve with a generous portion of chips and mayonnaise.

Unpretentious and utterly delicious!