Slow-Cooked Beef Stew

I love the flavour of slow cooked beef, and I love eating stews this time of year when it starts getting cooler. But I hate overcooked, mushy vegetables. This recipe takes a bit more work in the kitchen, but in the end gives me the best of both, tender, fall apart beef and cubed root veggies which still have their shape and texture.

slow-cooked beef stew

You will need:

• 2 pounds beef - I get a mixture of oxtail and stewing beef or skirt cut into cubes. 
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups water
• salt and pepper

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 small, or 1/2 large swede, peeled and chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
• any other veggies you want to add
• water
• Worcestershire sauce

  

  Assorted veg and herbs for an Autumn stew

• 2 tablespoons corn flour/corn starch
• 1 tablespoon cool water

1. Place the beef into a slow-cooker along with the onion, garlic, bay leaves, and water. Set on low and leave to cook for at least 6 hours, but let it go for as long as you can. I will usually put it all in the pot the night before and leave it to slow cook overnight and through the day. Otherwise, put it all in the pot in the morning and let it cook through the day.

2. About 45 minutes before you're ready to eat, remove the beef from the slow cooker to a tray and strain the stock into a large pot. Add in all the chopped vegetables, topping with water if needed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 15 - 20 minutes or until the vegetables are all cooked.
Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce. 

3. Make a thin paste using the corn flour and water and add to the pot, stir until it begins to thicken. Remove the ox-tail bones from the meat, shred, and add it all to the pot.

4. Let simmer a few more minutes until it is all piping hot.

Serve in a bowl with thick slices of bread.

Alternately, leave the potatoes out of the mix of root vegetables and make a separate pan of mashed potatoes. Serve the stew over the mash.


 The beef: I like using cheaper cuts of beef as they will be cooked for a long while. Skirt steak has very long muscle fibres that can become very, very tough if not cooked properly. Make sure to cut against the grain of the muscle when cubing. It should be either slow-cooked for several hours, or cut into strips against the grain and flash fried for a few seconds.

Ox tail provides a depth and richness to a stew. It can be quite fatty, and that can overwhelm a dish, which is why I use a combination of both skirt/stewing steak and ox-tail.

My son who does not eat stews, gravies, or any root veg besides carrots and potatoes gets a deconstructed stew with a serving of beef, a serving of mashed potatoes, some of the cooked carrots and peas.

5 Meals Using Leftover Bolognese Sauce

Simmering pot of bolognese sauce

Spaghetti bolognese is a very popular dish in my house. The kids like how it tastes, and I like how I can eke a few meals out of a few inexpensive ingredients, making it a very useful for frugal cooking. I also like that I can slip a few extra veggies in but I don't tell the boys that.

Invariably, I always cook about twice as much sauce as we need for one meal. This isn't a bad thing because a bolognese sauce can be used for so much more than just ladling on spaghetti.

1. Lasagne

I use the exact same sauce for a lasagne that I use for a spaghetti bolognese.

You will need:

• Box of non-cook lasagne sheets - these can be layered in the sauce and don't need to be pre-cooked. 
• Tub of ricotta cheese
• Ball of mozarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh herbs - thyme, basil, and oregano (if you can find them, otherwise dried will work)
• Milk
• Black pepper to season

Method:

• Place the ricotta, a tablespoon or so of grated parmesan, a bit of grund black pepper, and the finely chopped fresh herbs (or dried) into a bowl. Add just enough milk to loosen the cheese enough to spread easily. 
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• Ladle a small amount of sauce into a casserole dish. Cover over with the lasagne sheets, spoon a bit more sauce over the top. Add a layer of the ricotta mixture. Then repeat with sheets, sauce and ricotta. 
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• Finish up with a layer of sauce over the top then shred the mozzarella and spread that plus another tablespoon or so of grated parmesan over the top.
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• Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4. Bake the lasagne for about 30 - 45 minutes, until it is hot and bubbling, and the cheese is melted and browned across the top.

 2. Pasta bake

Similar to a lasagne, but without the fuss of layering.

You will need:

• Cooked pasta - I use farfalle or penne, but anything you have in the cupboard would work.
• Mozzarella or a combination of favourite cheeses
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:

• Cook the pasta, drain and combine with the sauce. 
• Stir in chunks of cheese
• Spoon into a casserole dish and sprinkle the top over with parmesan, if desired. 
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350f/180c/gas mark 4 for about 30 minutes, until the top is browned and the dish is hot and bubbling. 

3. Pizza

A quick meal that can be as easy or as complicated as you desire.

Home made pizza

You will need:

• Pizza bases, make your own or buy ready-made
• Favourite grated cheeses
• Assorted meats and vegetables for toppings
• Fresh thyme and basil, roughly chopped
• Ground black pepper
• Olive oil

Method:

• Place the base on a baking sheet
• Spoon some of the sauce and spread over the pizza base. 
• Add on any toppings you want
• Add on a bit of cheese
• Sprinkle over some of the fresh herbs, a bit of black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350f/180c/gas mark 4 for about 10 - 15 minutes. 

For an even quicker, child-friendly, mini-pizza lunch idea, spoon a bit of the heated sauce over slices of bread (I will sometimes use a round cutter to create rounds of bread, add a bit of cheese, and tuck under a medium-hot grill for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

4. Jacket potato

This makes a nice lunch-time meal, or a simple mid-week evening meal

You will need:

• Baking potato, one per person
• Favourite cheese, optional

Method:

• Bake whole potatoes in the oven or microwave until soft inside
• Spoon over some of the heated sauce, and sprinke with a bit of cheese if desired. 
• Serve with a fresh salad

 

5. Omelette

This works equally well for any meal in the day.


You will need:

• Eggs
• Butter
• Cheese

Method:

• Whisk 2- 3 eggs until frothy, add in a touch of milk if desired
• Melt butter in a skillet over a medium-high heat
• Pour in the egg mixture and let cook untilnearly set all the way through
• As the eggs cook, gently lift at the sides to allow more of the uncooked egg to run underneath.
• When nearly cooked through, spoon some of the heated sauce over one half of the omelett, sprinkle over some of the cheese. 
• Fold the other half of the egg over the sauce and serve immediately
• You can have this as is for breakfast or brunch, or add a green salad for a complete lunch-time or evening meal.