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Stout beef
stew
This wholesome dish
is pure comfort food! With minimal preparation,
you can treat yourself to an hour or so with a
good book while it cooks. It's flavours work
wonderfully well with a scoop of mashed potato,
mixed with a little wholegrain
mustard.
Serves:
6
Takes: 1 hr
45 mins
Ingredients:
1.5kg (3lb) stewing
steak, trimmed of any visible fat and cut into
chunks
Light olive oil 2
tbsp
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
4 tbsp plain flour
2 Bay leaves
450g (1lb) carrots, peeled and chopped
600ml (1 pint) beef stock
440ml can Guinness
2 tsp English mustard
1. Preheat the oven
to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive
oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Add
the onion and fry until softened.
2. Put the flour onto a plate and season to
taste. Add the steak and coat with the flour.
Add the floured steak chunks to the casserole
and fry until browned all over.
3. Add the bay leaves, carrots, stock and
Guinness and stir. Cover and place in the oven.
Cook for 1 hr and then remove the lid and cook
for a further 30 mins. Season to taste and stir
the mustard into the stew. Serve piping hot
with mashed potatoes and
peas.
Top tip:
For a more hearty stew add some cubed potato
along with the carrots. Suitable for
freezing
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Lamb, leek and potato
pie
Lamb,
leeks and potato in a rosemary pastry pie
-ultimate family comfort
food
Serves:
6
Preparation
time: 10 mins
Cooking
time: Approx 2½
hrs
Ingredients:
2¼lb Lamb, cubed, about 3/4in
pieces
3tbsp Plain
flour
25g Unsalted
butter
2tbsp Vegetable
oil
2 Rosemary
sprigs
1pt Lamb
stock
3 leeks, thickly
sliced
400g potatoes,
peeled and cut into rough 2-3cm
chunks
Rosemary pastry:
250g Plain
flour
150g Unsalted
butter, diced
2tbsp Freshly
chopped rosemary
2-3 tbsp Cold
water
1 egg,
beaten
1.
Season the pieces of lamb and dust with the
flour.
2. Heat the oil
and butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and fry
the pieces of lamb and one of the leeks in
batches, for 3-4 mins each.
3. Return all of
the lamb and leek mixture to the pan. Add the
rosemary and stock, bring to the boil, cover
and simmer gently for 1.5 hours until the lamb
is soft and tender.
4. Add the
remaining leeks and the potatoes, simmer
uncovered for about 15 mins until the potatoes
are cooked and the sauce has thickened. Remove
from the heat and season to taste. Leave to
cool.
5. To make the
pastry, place the flour, butter and rosemary in
a food processor and process until the mixture
resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the processor
is still running add enough water to form a
smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and chill
until ready to use.
6. Preheat the
oven to 180ºC/356F/gas 4. When the lamb mixture
is cool, transfer it to a 1.5-2 ltr pie dish
and place a pie funnel in the
centre.
7. Roll out the
pastry large enough to cover the dish, allowing
an extra 3/4in all the way round. Brush the rim
of the dish, with some of the beaten egg and
lay the pastry over the dish, pressing the
edges with a fork. Cut a slit in the pastry
over the pie funnel, so the funnel pokes
through to let the steam out. Decorate with any
scraps of pastry. Brush the top with the
remaining egg.
8. Bake for 40-45
minutes until golden. Serve with shredded
cabbage.
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