RICH BEEF AND ALE CASSEROLE

We do love a good stew and we’ve discovered that you don’t need to brown the meat in loads of fat. In this recipe we use lean meat and only a tablespoon of oil and the stew still tastes really rich and satisfying. Serve with some light mash that you soften with half-fat crème fraiche and
bulk out with some steamed leeks for a cracking good feast.

SERVES 6

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp flaked sea salt
• 2 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 1kg lean braising beef
• 1 bay leaf
• 500ml dark ale or stout
• 250ml beef stock, made with 1 beef stock cube
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 5 medium carrots (about 275g), peeled and thickly sliced
• 2 parsnips (about 300g), peeled, halved lengthways and sliced
• freshly ground black pepper

377 calories per portion

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Add the onions and fry them over a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, stirring regularly. Remove the pan from the heat.
Put the flour, salt and dried herbs in a large bowl and season with lots of freshly ground black pepper. Trim the beef of any hard fat and sinew, then cut the meat into rough 3cm cubes. Toss the meat in the flour until evenly coated, then tip it into the casserole dish with the onions.
Add the bay leaf, ale, stock, tomato purée and sugar. Stir well and bring to the boil, then cover with a lid. Carefully transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for 1½ hours. At the end of this time, take the casserole out of the oven and stir in the carrots and parsnips. Put the lid back on and return
the dish to the oven for a further 45 minutes or until the beef and vegetables are tender.


Recipe comes from my favorite book : link