Underground Casserole
Based on:
TypeMain course
Serves4 people
DateAugust 24, 2026
Casserole as a cross-section of an underground hospital, complete with vegetable tunnels under a potato lid.
A comforting oven casserole built as a cross-section of an underground hospital: layers of mashed potatoes and beef stew, with carrot and zucchini tunnels underneath. The hospital silhouette is visible: a rectangular dish with a tunnel structure of vegetables under the potato lid.
Ingredients
- 1 kg floury potatoes
- 800 g beef stew meat
- 2 onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 large carrots
- 2 zucchinis
- 200 ml beef stock
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp paprika powder
- 50 g butter
- 100 ml milk
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Peel the potatoes, cut into pieces, and boil for 20 minutes until tender.
- Cut the stew meat into cubes. Finely chop the onions and garlic.
- Heat olive oil in a casserole. Brown the meat on all sides. Add onion, garlic, and paprika, cook for 3 minutes.
- Add flour, stir, then add tomato paste and stock. Let the meat simmer gently for 1.5 hours until tender.
- Cut carrots and zucchinis into long strips, 1 cm thick and 10-12 cm long (for the tunnels).
- Drain the potatoes. Mash with butter, milk, salt, and pepper until smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Spoon the stew into a rectangular oven dish.
- Lay the carrot and zucchini strips in straight and slanted lines over the meat, like tunnels in a hospital cross-section.
- Cover everything with mashed potatoes, but leave the vegetable tunnels partly visible at the side by leaving a strip open.
- Bake for 25 minutes until the potato is golden brown.
Serving notes
- Serve from the dish so the vegetable tunnels remain visible.
- Optionally serve with extra gravy for comfort.