The BEST Beef Stew

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!