Beef Stew

Beef Stew (Jamie Oliver)

• 500g or about 1 lb diced stewing beef
• 500ml beer
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 medium onions
• 2 carrots
• olive oil
• 1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
• 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

3 bay leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

If using the oven to cook your stew, preheat it to 350ºF • Trim the ends off your celery and roughly chop the sticks • Peel and roughly chop the onions • Peel the carrots, slice lengthways and roughly chop • Put a casserole pan on a medium heat • Put all the vegetables and the bay leaves into the pan with 2 lugs of olive oil and fry for 10 minutes • Add your meat and flour • Pour in the booze and tinned tomatoes • Give it a good stir, then season with a teaspoon of sea salt (less if using table salt) and a few grinds of pepper • Bring to the boil, put the lid on and either simmer slowly on your hob or cook in an oven for 3 hours • Remove the lid for the final half hour of simmering or cooking • When done, your meat should be tender and delicious • Remember to remove the bay leaves before serving, and taste it to see if it needs a bit more salt and pepper • You can eat your stew as it is, or you can add some lovely dumplings to it.

** This recipe is taken from the Jamie Oliver website but I make it from the "Food Revolution" cookbook he published last year.  I usually omit the flour and add potatoes, a sweet potato, rutabaga, or parsnips (whatever i have lying around) just before I pop it in the oven.  And if there's no beer around here, I use chicken stock. The approximate serving size is correct.