The BEST Beef Stew
A perfect recipe for winter evenings - the magic for me is definitely the red wine!
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Ingredients
2tbsp olive oil
3tbsp plain flour
1kg stewing steak, cut into 4cm pieces
50g unsalted butter
2 onion, peeled & cut into 1cm dice
3 carrots, peeled & cut into 1cm dice
2 celery sticks, cut into 1cm dice
1 small swede, peeled & cut into 1cm dice
2tbsp redcurrant jelly
500ml red wine
500ml beef stock
2 sprigs of thyme
3 cloves of garlic, peeled & finely chopped
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground salt & pepper
To serve
Mashed potato
Crusty bread, to mop up the gravy
Method
1. In a large casserole dish, heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Spread the flour in a shallow bowl, season the beef and dredge in the flour; shake off any excess.
2. Add half of the meat to the casserole and cook over a moderate heat until browned. With a slotted spoon transfer the meat to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining tablespoon of oil and floured meat, brown all over and transfer to the bowl.
3. Melt the butter in the casserole dish, add the onions, carrots, celery and swede and cook over a moderate heat until the onion has softened, about 7 minutes.
4. Add the redcurrant jelly and the wine and bring to the boil over a high heat, stirring to scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the casserole. Add the stock and bring to the boil, add the browned meat and any of the accumulated juices with the thyme, garlic and bay leaf.
5. Cover and simmer over a low heat until the meat is tender, about 1 ½ hours. Remove the lid and cook for a further 15 minutes until the sauce slightly thickens. Discard the thyme sprig and bay leaf and season to taste.
6. To serve, place the stew onto warmed plates and serve with mashed potato and some crusty bread to mop up the delicious gravy. Enjoy!
