Image

The winter days are coming along quickly and it’s starting to get chilly. If you are looking for a simple recipe to cook for the ones you love at this time of year, then here is just the thing. Stay cosy this Christmas with a Muffin-Topped Winter Beef Stew!

Ingredients That You Will Need For The Stew

1lb braising steak, cut into bite-sized chunks (not too big, but not too small either.)

2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with pepper and a little bit of salt (seasoned to your liking.)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, carefully chopped finely

3 c. carrot, cut into bite-sized chunks

2 large parsnip, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp sun-dried or regular tomato paste (but sun-dried tends to work best.)

10 oz red wine or extra stock (if you don’t consume alcohol.)

15 oz vegetable stock

Ingredients That You Will Need For The Topping

1 c. plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 c. cheddar, coarsely grated

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 c. milk

The Method

Heat up the oven to 300 degrees. Toss the beef in the seasoned flour that you prepared. Heat up the oil in a large flameproof casserole. (Be careful when you do this as it may spit!) Fry the beef over a high heat until browned all over, (it’s easiest to do this in batches, so you are sure you got every side, without there being a big pile of meat in the pan.) Remove with a slotted spoon (so any excess oil can be avoided) and set aside.

Add 2 tbsp of water and the onion to the pan (make sure you Cut It Fine, you don’t want big chunks of onion in there,) stir well over a medium heat, scraping up the crusty bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat and fry it gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions have softened.

Tip in the carrots, parsnips, and the bay leaf, then fry for 2 minutes more. Put the beef back into the pan, stir in the tomato paste (or sun-dried tomatoes,) wine if you are using some, and stock, then bring to the boil. Cover this and cook it in the oven for 1¾-2 hrs until the meat is really tender.

(This can be made up to 2 days ahead or frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost it thoroughly in the fridge before topping and baking.)

When the time is up, take it out of the oven and increase the temperature to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.

To make the topping, sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add half of the cheese. Mix in the olive oil and the milk, then stir it into the flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. (Add more milk, if necessary.) Spoon the dough over the meat and vegetables, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for about 15 mins until golden, risen and cooked through.

And there you have a perfect dish for the winter.