A testament to the power of low heat and time. It starts as an unprepossessing combination of chunks of stuff floating in red wine and stock. Ends as a bowl of rich, warm, comfort food. Eat it with dumplings, eat it with mashed potatoes or just dunk bits of crusty bread in it.
- 500g stewing beef (I like beef shin, but it works with any stewng cut except that extra-lean stuff)
- 3 tbsp flour, mixed with salt, pepper, a sprinkle of paprika and garlic powder
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp veg oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 stick celery, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 300ml red wine
- 1 beef stock cube
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 stalk of fresh thyme
- Salt & pepper
- Additions such as whole peeled shallots, trimmed chantenay carrots, button mushrooms
- Cut the beef into chunky cubes and dredge in the seasoned flour
- Melt the butter and 1 tbsp oil in a lidded casserole over a medium heat
- Brown the beef (in batches) in the hot oil, removing it into a bowl afterwards
- Turn the heat down and, into the empty pan, add 2 tbsp oil and the garlic, onion, carrot and celery
- Cook for 5 mins until softened, then add the crumbled stock cube and tomato puree
- Stir in and cook for a further couple of mins
- Add the red wine, turn the heat up and bring to the boil, stirring and scraping to get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan
- Boil for 2 mins and then add the beef, herbs, seasoning and enough boiling water to cover everything
- Put the lid on and cook over the lowest possible heat on the stovetop, or in the oven at 140C fan (160C)
- Cook for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t catch on the bottom
- Add the additional veg and cook for a further 40 mins
If cooking dumplings in the stew, add them with the extra veg
If you want to make this into a pie, leave it to cool and use ready-rolled shortcrust pastry to line a pie dish. Fill with stew, seal the pastry lid and brush with egg wash. Make a small hole in the pastry lid to let the steam out and bake at 180C fan (200C) for 30-40 mins until golden brown and crunchy.
Sophie cooks 