Smoky Beef & Bean Stew

Ingredients

• 700 g beef braising steak, cut into 3cm cubes
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 400 ml beef stock
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• salt and black pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp chipotle paste
• 2 x 400g tins kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• sour cream, cheddar, and spring onions, to serve
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve
• Steamed long-grain rice, to serve
• Pickled jalapeños, to serve
• Flour tortillas, warmed, to serve

Method

1. Pat the beef dry on kitchen paper and season generously with salt and black pepper — water means steam, and steam means no browning. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over high heat until it shimmers.
2. Brown the beef in two or three batches, 4–5 minutes a side, until deeply crusted. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and the meat boils in its own juices instead of building that dark fond on the base. Lift each batch out to a plate as it's done.
3. Drop the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, and red pepper to the same pot and cook for 7–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and just catching at the edges. The vegetables will pull up the stuck bits as they release their water.
4. Stir in the garlic, chipotle paste, tomato purée, cumin, and smoked paprika. Cook for 60–90 seconds, stirring constantly, until the spices smell toasted and the paste darkens — bloom them in the oil so they taste of themselves rather than dusty. Watch the garlic; once it's fragrant and pale gold, move on. Burnt garlic turns the whole stew bitter.
5. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, red lentils, and beef stock, scraping every brown scrap off the base — that's flavour, not mess. The stock breaks the tomatoes down so they taste of fruit and smoke, not tin. Bring to a boil.
6. Return the beef and any resting juices to the pot. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for 60–70 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the beef pulls apart with a fork and the sauce is thick and glossy the colour of dark brick.
7. Stir in the kidney beans and cook uncovered for a further 10 minutes to thicken. Taste, season, taste again — adjust the salt and pepper now, not at the table.
8. Spoon over steamed rice in warm bowls, top with soured cream, grated cheddar, and sliced spring onions, scatter with chopped parsley, and bring the pickled jalapeños and warm flour tortillas to the table alongside.