London Calling: cheese-topped beef casserole with potato and caramelised onion.

That's blown it. Last year when London broiled in 41-celsius heat - and we had a cool summer - I joked that should this admittedly most unlikely scenario be repeated this summer we would move to London. 

In other words, if Melbourne Australia could not even reach the temperature heights of foggy, rainy London then there's no further point living here.

Cor blimey (as the Cockneys say): it's March 1. Summer's over. Melbourne did not reach 41 degrees. If my word is any good at all, we should be off to London on the next steamship. Not sure now that I can move five people to Blighty and leave this wide brown land behind. 

While I was contemplating the consequences of promises rashly made I cooked up this insanely delicious casserole, a kind of hybrid combining a conventional beef casserole with a caramelised onion and golden onion topping. 

French onion beef casserole with garlic-butter potatoes and cheesy caramelised onion .

Brown a batch (1kg) of diced oyster blade steak in a large casserole pan and set aside. In the same pan, sweat a diced onion, a large chopped carrot, two chopped celery sticks and a cup of chopped mushrooms. 

Return beef to pan; sprinkle the whole lot with a tablespoon of flour and stir to coat.

Add a 40g pack of dried French soup mix and enough water to just cover the contents of the casserole and bring to a simmer, then transfer to oven. 

Bake for at least two hours and up to four hours (I like to cook oyster blade longer on a lower heat).

Now the potatoes: melt 50g of butter in a frypan and brown three or four red royale potatoes, cut into slices, on each side. Add to casserole 30 minutes prior to end of baking and top with caramelised onions: 

- melt a tablespoon of butter in a frypan and add a large chopped onion and three or four garlic cloves. Fry very gently, stirring, so that the onion and garlic soften but do not burn. While softening, add a tablespoon each of brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon or two of beef or vegetable stock. Stir. Add to potato topping on casserole. 

Return casserole to oven. Bake uncovered for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven, add a layer of grated three-cheese mix and bake another ten minutes.