First off, thanks to Noakes and Co for this recipe, which I’ve adapted from their Raising Superheroes cookbook. The recipe in the book is actually a stew for toddlers which I came across when searching for some new recipes for my baby boy. And you know when you make stuff for your little people you have to do quality control, right? Well, I did serious quality control with this recipe – one spoon for you, one spoon for me, one spoon…until I just decided it would be better to just make a family-sized version of the stew with a few tweaks. Like, a non-pureed version.
Secondly, you do not need a pressure cooker for this stew, you just need 90-120 minutes for cooking time. Hoooooray for you if you don’t have a pressure cooker this recipe is for you! (But I mean, you still need to get yourself one, at some point, you are not completely off the hook, see!)
The actual preparation time is quick so you can quite easily prepare it early in the afternoon and still have it ready for an early dinner if need be. The great thing about stews is that they are difficult to mess up. You’ll usually score an A+ with whateverrrrr you add. They are often my go-to meals for weekends because I can finish up any lonely looking veggies in my fridge before I re-stock with fresh goods.
Having said that, you need to adhere to a few basics! Here are my top tips for an AMAZING stew: Always brown the meat. Add in garlic or spices or herbs when browning the meat as it releases and imparts all sorts of rich flavours to your stew. If you don’t have beef or chicken stock, use wine. Red wine for beef stews and white for chicken stews. Tomato paste or tomato puree can also add an incredible flavour to stews. Long slow cooking times equal tender and tasty stews. There you go!
Happy stewing, eating and wine drinking guys!!
Easy Beef Stew
Author: Just Easy Recipes
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 90 mins
Total time: 1 hour 40 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped or diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
fresh thyme, 3 stalks or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
500g beef, cubed
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large sweet potato
3 carrots, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
On medium heat and in a medium-sized pot, fry the onion in the butter until soft.
Add the garlic and thyme cook for one minute.
Dust the meat in the flour and then add to the pot and brown the meat.
Add the tomato paste, sweet potato, carrots, chicken stock and salt
Put the lid on the pot and allow to simmer on low heat for 90 minutes (you can increase to 120 minutes to increase tenderness of the meat)
Take the lid off and increase the heat to medium and allow to boil for 5 minutes uncovered to reduce the liquid and thicken the stew.
Serve with rice, mash potato or pasta or enjoy just as it is!
