Beef & Guinness Stew
Glossy, mahogany-dark gravy clinging to the beef over a soft white drift of mash, with bright green parsley scattered over each bowl just before it hits the table.
Ingredients
Serves 4- 800 gdiced beef chuck or braising steak, cut into 4cm pieces
- 500 mlbeef stock
- 2 tbspplain flour
- 2carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 2parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 200 gpearl onions or shallots, peeled
- 2 tbsptomato purée
- salt and black pepper
- 4sprigs fresh thyme
- 1large onion, diced
- 3garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbspvegetable oil
- 440 mlGuinness stout
- 3bay leaves
- 10 gflat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
- 800 gmashed potato (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C / 140°C fan / Gas 3. Pat the beef chunks bone-dry on kitchen paper and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large cast-iron casserole over a high heat until it shimmers.
- Brown the beef in three batches, 3–4 minutes per side, until each piece is deeply mahogany on every face. Don't crowd the pan; all at once and the pan cools, water leaches out, and you've stewed the meat instead of searing it. Transfer each batch to a plate as you go, leaving the dark stuck bits behind in the pan.
- Add the last tablespoon of oil and drop the heat to medium. Cook the diced onion for 6–7 minutes, stirring through the fond, until softened and translucent. Stir in the crushed garlic for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the tomato purée and thyme and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until the purée darkens a shade and smells sweet rather than raw. Scatter over the flour and stir for another 2 minutes to cook out the chalky taste.
- Pour in the Guinness slowly, scraping the base of the casserole vigorously with a wooden spoon as it foams up; every brown speck lifting off the bottom is going into the gravy. Tip in the beef stock and stir to combine.
- Return the browned beef and every drop of resting juice to the casserole. Drop in the bay leaves and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover tightly and transfer to the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Add the carrots, parsnips and pearl onions, pushing them down into the liquid. Replace the lid and cook for a further 45–60 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the beef pulls apart at the nudge of a spoon.
- Fish out the bay leaves and thyme stems. If the sauce is thinner than you'd like, set the casserole over a medium heat on the hob and simmer uncovered for 10–15 minutes, stirring now and then, until glossy and clinging to the meat.
- Divide the stew between four bowls. Serve with the optional mashed potato and parsley if using.
Per serving
- kcal
- 795
- protein
- 41.6g
- fibre
- 7.6g
- carbs
- 39.3g
- fat
- 49.2g
Cook this in Chop it
Get the app to scan your fridge, plan the week, and shop in one tap.