FOOD: BEEF STEW

Beef stew is one of those meals that is so easy to make and requires no fuss at all that I make this a lot during the autumn and winter months. I was never 'taught' how to do this and I have never read a recipe on how it should be done. This is just my way of doing it - and as Dave will actually lick his bowl clean and go back for second helpings, I imagine that I haven't got it that wrong.

You can add dumplings to this recipe if you want to but I don't. I think they're is a lot of vegetables and meat going on in there anyway without adding excess to the mix. 

INGREDIENTS


Beef (diced, in strips - however you want)
Potatoes
Mushrooms
Onion
Carrots
Parsnip
Broccoli
1 sachet of Bouquet Garni
Gravy Granules
Brown Sauce

Fill a massive pot with water and gently bring it to the boil whilst you peel, slice and dice all of the vegetables that you want to use. You can use as many or as few of each vegetable as you like, or even add other vegetables (that is the wonderful thing about a stew - you can do as you like with it) and place them all in the water of the pot. Add the sachet of Bouquet Garni (this is a little sachet of herbs that add flavour but if you're unsure about using it then leave it out).

Whilst this is happening heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and leave it get very hot. When you think the pan is going to be hot enough, place your beef in for a small amount of time each, making sure that all of it is lightly cooked on the outside (this is probably best done a bit at a time). I believe its called 'searing' but don't quote me on that! What it does is seal the beef so that it doesn't boil into a chewy mess.

Add all of the beef to the pot and reduce the heat so that it all simmers away nicely. You can now leave it for as long as you like. I always leave mine for 2 - 3 hours but I have left it alone all day before now and it's been even better because everything just falls apart and it's delicious.

Closer to the time that you want to eat add a small amount of gravy granules and stir in. Repeat until you get the gravy to the consistency that you personally like (although be aware that gravy will thicken over time so best not too make it so you can stick a spoon in it). Then I add a squirt of brown sauce (Dave insists I do this as it adds a little bit of a kick apparently).

I always leave the pot for another hour as this makes the gravy sink into the vegetables and meat but you could serve it straight away after adding the gravy if you wanted to.

Ladle it into a bowl and serve with warm crusty bread or sliced bread and butter (I didn't have any crusty bread - sob - hence the bread and butter in this picture). Season with salt and pepper now (I rarely season anything because of all the salt already present in most foods but this just a preference) then sit back and enjoy!