Slow Cooked Beef & Barley Stew

Ingredients

• 900 g beef chuck, cut into 4cm chunks
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 litre good beef stock
• 150 g pearl barley, rinsed
• 3 tbsp plain flour, divided
• 3 carrots, cut into chunky pieces
• 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
• 300 g swede, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 medium onions, roughly diced
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• Fine salt and black pepper

Method

1. Pat the beef chunks dry with kitchen paper. Season generously with salt and pepper, then toss with the 2 tbsp flour until each piece is lightly coated.
2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based casserole over a high heat until it shimmers. Brown the beef in three batches, 3–4 minutes per side, until deeply mahogany. Lift each batch out to a plate.
3. Drop the heat to medium and add the onions. Cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring and scraping, until they're soft and lifting the brown fond off the base. Add the garlic and cook for just 30 seconds until fragrant. Sprinkle over the remaining 1 tbsp flour and stir for 1 minute to cook out the rawness.
4. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a full minute until it darkens from red to brick; this drives off the tinny edge. Splash in the Worcestershire sauce, then pour in the beef stock in three additions, stirring constantly so the flour goes silky, not lumpy.
5. Return the beef and any resting juices to the pot. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes; you want lazy bubbles, not a rolling boil, or the beef tightens up.
6. Add the carrots, parsnips, and swede. Stir to submerge them in the broth, re-cover, and cook for another 30 minutes.
7. Stir in the rinsed pearl barley, replace the lid, and cook for a further 35–40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to stop the barley sticking to the base. The stew is ready when the barley is completely tender and the liquid has thickened to a glossy, spoon-coating consistency and the beef yields under gentle pressure.
8. Fish out the thyme stalks and bay leaves. Taste the stew and add salt or black pepper if needed.