WOMBAT STEW or possibly SLOW COOKED KANGAROO THING

This was an experiment, based off one of those microrecipes Dad remembered from the back of a packet of Beef stock.

To make this, you'll need:

• Diced kangaroo, 500 grams (Beef may also be used, but I prefer Roo)
• Beef stock, 660mL (one pint)
• Tomato paste, 1 1/2 tablespoons
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup red wine (ALL of the wine!)
• 250 grams of mushrooms, diced
• Two carrots, peeled and diced
• Two onions, peeled and diced
• Two cloves of garlic crushed
• One stick of celery, diced
• 1 1/2 cups of rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mixed herbs
• Oil for frying stuff
• 2 - 3 teaspoons of cornflour
• Salt and pepper as desired
• One big-ass pan for cooking stuff in
• One less big-ass pan for cooking rice in.

First thing: heat up the pan and put in about 2 tablespoons of oil. Brown the kangaroo then set aside, on a plate or whatnot.

Next, using the same amount of oil, fry the onion and garlic until it's just starting to go translucent (about 3 minutes). Now, add about 3/4 of the stock, the mushrooms, carrots celery and the mixed herbs, and bring to the boil.

Boil for about ten minutes, then lower to a simmer. Whilst simmering, add the meat, wine and tomato paste.

Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, and taste frequently. Add salt, pepper, more ingredients as you see fit.

This is what it looks like, taunting you, smelling amazing, for thirty minutes

While this is simmering, cook your rice. If it finishes before the rest, I normally put it in a bowl with a lid in the oven on low to keep warm.

Anyhoo, back to the main event. After about 30 minutes simmering (you can probably do it in a bit less time if you desire, or in way less time in a pressure cooker), add the remaining stock and the cornflour. For this, I mixed the remaining stock with the cornflour in a cup and stirred the bejeezus out of it to break up any lumps in the cornflour before adding it to the rest of the dish, and then stirred the bejeezus out of that. My point being: avoid getting the cornflour to go lumpy.

Simmer for about ten more minutes or until you're satisfied that it's thick enough. Serve.

This is what it'll look like when it's finished. Now you may taunt it instead.

Enjoyed with: If you cook with wine, drink it with the meal. For this one we used a Rorlach Estate 2010 Shiraz