beef stew

beef stew

Ingredients

• 3tbsp sunflower oil
• 1.6kg chuck steak, feather or braising steak, trimmed, kept whole
• 3 large red onions, chopped
• 3 carrots, diced
• 4 sticks celery, diced
• 250g bacon lardons or diced pancetta
• 2 bay leaves
• 2tbsp tomato purée
• 2tsp sugar
• 30g dried mushrooms, soaked in 350ml boiling water for 10 mins
• 700g large vine tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 bottle Chianti or red wine
• 1 good-quality beef stock capsule or cube
• 800g baby potatoes
• 40g flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped

For the spicy Parmesan baguette:

• 100g light butter
• 40g hot peppadew peppers, drained
• 3tbsp Parmesan, grated
• 4 small pre-baked baguettes

Method

1. In a large flameproof casserole dish, heat 1tbsp oil. Add the joint of beef and brown all over, transfer to a large plate. Add the remaining oil to the empty pan, add the onion, carrot, celery, bacon and bay and cook for 10 mins. Add tomato purée and sugar and cook for 1 min, stirring.
2. Drain the mushrooms through a sieve lined with kitchen paper, reserving the water. Lift the mushrooms out of the sieve to leave behind any grit and add to the pan with the drained water. Add the tomatoes, wine and stock, bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook over a very low heat for 3 hrs, stirring occasionally. Remove the beef from the pan, and using forks and a carving fork to hold it, tear the meat into shreds. Return meat to the pan. Add the potatoes and cook for a further 1½ hrs, loosely covered.
3. For the baguettes, whizz the lighter butter with the peppers and Parmesan. Heat the baguettes according to pack instructions. Slash at regular intervals, and spoon in a little butter into each slash. Bake in a hot oven for 10-15 mins until deep golden and crisp.
4. Stir the parsley through the stew and serve with the baguettes.

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