You couldn't ask for a more comforting meal then a big bowl of hearty beef stew, especially on a frosty winters evening. It really takes me back to my childhood, especially crinkle cut carrots, to me they just taste better in a stew/casserole. You will need a special kitchen tool for that though so if you don't have one straight cut will do the job in this recipe. If your looking to warm your family up with a lovely meal but without the fuss then give this recipe a try... I like to serve mine with a jacket potato for even less hassle as I just pop it in the oven with the casserole, yummy.
Prep time 20mins
Cooking time 2.5hrs
4tbsp plain flour
1/2tsp salt and ground black pepper
1tsp mustard powder
500g diced beef
4tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, one diced and one sliced (we're going to add the sliced on bit later)
2 celery sticks, sliced
2 garlic gloves, crushed
2 tbsp dried thyme (or a couple of fresh sprigs)
2tbsp dried parsley
2bay leaves
1tbsp paprika
2tbsp tomato puree
187ml red wine (one of the mini bottles)
700ml beef stock
1tbsp honey
3tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1tbsp butter
Small handful of freshly chopped parsley (approx 5tbsp once chopped)
In a bowl mix together 3tbsp of plain flour, (keep the 4th tbsp for later in the recipe) the salt, pepper and mustard powder and then toss the beef in the flour mixture.
Heat a deep sauce pan and add 2tbsp of olive oil on a medium to high heat and brown off the meat, you can do this in batches if required, remove and set aside.
In the same pan add the remaining 2tbsp of oil and on a medium heat add the onion, diced carrot and celery, add 100ml of water, this will deglaze the pan and all the residue from the floury meat will be removed from the bottom and not burn... gently sauté for 10 mins until the onion, carrot and celery are nice and soft.
Add the garlic, dried thyme, parsley, bay leaves and paprika and cook for a couple of minutes, please add a splash more water if the pan gets to dry.
Now add the tomato puree, stir and cook for a mother minute.
Next we add the last tablespoon of plain flour and cook it for a minute, stirring well.
Pop the beef back in and stir again.
Now add all of the red wine and turn the heat up to high, the mixture thicken straight away so don't let it catch on the bottom of the pan, to avoid this just stir it around every now and again after 1 minute add the beef stock and stir well.
Add in the honey and Worcestershire sauce, sliced carrot and 1/4tsp extra of salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then cover and allow to cook 2hours on a low heat, checking every 30 mins to make sure there's still plenty of liquid, top it up with hot water if at any point it begins to get too thick.
You can transfer this in to a casserole dish with a lid and pop in an oven that's been preheated to 160c, check it half way through and top up with water if its lost to much moisture.
After 2 hours your beef should be lovely and tender, the sauce may need reducing abit, this will depend on your preference, I like my stews to be like a lovely thickish gravy, so just take the lid back off and turn the heat up until its reached the required consistency... if you cooked your stew in the oven just pop it back into the original saucepan and reduce using the same method.
Once you have thickened your sauce, add the butter, this will enriched the stew even more and give it a silky luxurious taste.
Serve your stew with your preferred potatoes and veg and then sprinkle with the fresh parsley!!
Chuck in some extra veg at the point you add the sliced carrot.. maybe some button mushrooms or diced swede for some added goodness.
