Sticky Onion Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 800g beef chuck, cut into 3cm chunks
• 600ml hot beef stock
• 1½ tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 400g onions (about 3 large), thinly sliced
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 25g butter
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 crusty loaf, to serve
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Creamy mashed potato, to serve
• Steamed savoy cabbage or purple sprouting broccoli, to serve

Method

1. Pat the beef chunks thoroughly dry and toss with the flour and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over a medium-high hob until shimmering, then brown the beef in batches for 3–4 minutes a side until a deep mahogany crust forms — don't crowd the pan or it'll steam. Set aside on a plate.
2. Drop the heat to medium-low, add the butter and let it foam, then tip in all the sliced onions with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring every few minutes, for 12–15 minutes until soft, slumped and beginning to catch and caramelise at the edges — you want deep golden, not pale.
3. Stir in the dark brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and let it bubble for 2–3 minutes until glossy and sticky, scraping up the browned bits from the base of the pan — that's where the flavour lives.
4. Return the beef and any resting juices to the pot, stir through the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, then pour in the hot stock. Tuck in the thyme sprigs and bay leaf, bring to a gentle simmer, then clamp on the lid and drop the heat to its lowest setting.
5. Braise gently for 2–2½ hours, stirring once or twice, until the beef pulls apart at the nudge of a fork and the sauce has reduced to a glossy, spoon-coating gravy. If it's still loose, lift the lid for the final 10 minutes and let it bubble down.
6. Fish out the thyme stems and bay leaf, taste and adjust the seasoning — a touch more salt or a splash more balsamic if it needs lifting. The onions should have all but melted into the sauce.
7. Serve straight from the pot, spooned over buttered mash with greens alongside and torn crusty bread for mopping every last sticky drop.