Shipwreck Casserole

Ingredients

• 700 g (1½ lb) ground beef
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 4 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 3 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 can (398 ml / 14 oz) pork and beans or kidney beans, drained
• 1 can (284 ml / 10 oz) condensed tomato soup
• 125 ml (½ cup) water
• 1 tbsp butter, for the dish

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and butter a deep 3-litre (3-quart) casserole dish.
2. Crumble the raw beef and season it with half the salt and pepper.
3. Layer in the dish: half the potatoes, half the onions, half the carrots and celery, half the beef, then all the beans. Season lightly.
4. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes, onions, carrots, celery and beef, seasoning as you go.
5. Whisk the tomato soup with the water and pour it evenly over the top.
6. Cover tightly with a lid or foil and bake for 1¼ hours.
7. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more, until the potatoes are tender when pierced, the top is browned at the edges and the beef reads 71°C (160°F).
8. Rest 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

• The name: everything goes into the dish raw, "all hands on deck", which made it a busy harvest-day supper.
• From scratch: use 375 ml (1½ cups) tomato sauce with 1 tsp sugar in place of the soup and water.
• Serving: pickled beets and fresh bread.
• Make ahead: assemble a day ahead, cover and chill; bake from cold, adding 15 minutes.