The past week we've had snow, ice and now floods! It's cold and horrid outside, so what better thing to cook than Mums beef stew! I've quizzed my mum on where she got the recipe from and it turns out it was passed down by my great Granny Dorris, who was brought up on it. Her Father was a tug boat Captain so they would either have plenty of money or none at all depending on what came in on the ships. This recipe was for when cash was tight as it could be made into big pots; it was cheap and plentiful. The original recipe was intended for a shin of beef, and used real beef stock, however it has been adapted over the years for convenience.
I love this stew! and it's relatively guilt free as it's full of veg and low in fat.
Utensils
Medium-large good quality pot capable of holding 4L
OR
4L slowcooker
food processor with slicing attachment
OR
a Mandolin slicer
(I have made this by finely chopping the veg with a sharp knife but it takes a lot longer!)
Ingredients:
- 500g beef (we use casserole/stewing steak, but shin or even rump steak could be used)
- 2 large carrots
- 2 large parsnips
- 1 small swede
- 1 large onion
- 700g potatoes
- 25g pearl barley (pre-soaked to packet instructions) optional
- 4 beef stock cubes
- 2L water
Method
- Brown the beef in a pan with a dash of olive oil
- Scrub the parsnips and carrots, remove tops and tails but do not peel
- Peel the swede and cut into chunks small enough to process
- Peel the onion
- Pass all the veg above through the food processor so that it is finely sliced
- Add the sliced veg into the pot/slowcooker with the beef and stir
- Put on a medium heat and add the 2L of water (also add pearl barley at this stage if using)
- Season and cover, leave on a slow simmer for 1 1/2 hours
- After the stew has been simmering for around 1 1/2 hours, peel and dice the potatoes into 2cm cubes and add to the stew
- Add the beef stock cubes at the same time as the potatoes
- Continue to simmer and stir for a further hour or so, at this point the sliced veg will start to break up adding thickness to the stew.
And that's it! This can be left to simmer for hours, the longer you leave it the thicker the stew. It's also one of those meals that tastes even better the day after so can easily be made ahead.
Serve with fresh crusty bread.
