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

1. Cut the beef into chunky cubes and dredge in the seasoned flour
2. Melt the butter and 1 tbsp oil in a lidded casserole over a medium heat
3. Brown the beef (in batches) in the hot oil, removing it into a bowl afterwards
4. Turn the heat down and, into the empty pan, add 2 tbsp oil and the garlic, onion, carrot and celery
5. Cook for 5 mins until softened, then add the crumbled stock cube and tomato puree
6. Stir in and cook for a further couple of mins
7. 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
8. Boil for 2 mins and then add the beef, herbs, seasoning and enough boiling water to cover everything
9. Put the lid on and cook over the lowest possible heat on the stovetop, or in the oven at 140C fan (160C)
10. Cook for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t catch on the bottom
11. 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.