Tag: stew

Beef Stew – Quick & Slow

I’ve bought a slow cooker, to prep meals for when we all come home at night.  First day I made the fastest slow cooked meal ever – before going to work I loaded the cooker in about 5 mins and turned it on. Got back at 6 to a stew all ready to eat. Yessss!

1lb lean beef
1 large Onion , diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 parsnip, diced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 can plum tomatoes
1 can equiv of water

seasoning.

Set on low for 8 hrs – might need to thicken the sauce a spot.

Beef Goulash / Gulyas – Hungarian

serves 4-ish

1 kg stewing beef in 1″ cubes
4 big/spanish onions, chopped
4-6 smoked streaky bacon slices- diced, or a few lardons.
3-4 tablespoons sweet smoked paprika
salt, pepper to taste
1 green pepper, diced
1 tomato
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp sugar
oil to fry beef with

Seal the beef a few cubes at a time to get some colour on it without drying it out. keep the beef in a bowl until ready to add it back in. (a spot of water to deglaze the pan in between batches works, save the water with the beef.

Fry off the bacon/lardons then add the onion till the onions are soft. Take off the heat for a couple of minutes and add the paprika, and browned beef + deglaze. Mix it all up.

Add enough water to cover the meat (not too much – the consistency you want the sauce) Add the diced green pepper, the whole tomato (it melts, along with the onions and pepper – no point dicing).  Add the salt & pepper too – but don’t over do it, you can season it fully at the end.

Simmer covered on very low heat for about 2-3 hours. Check, every now and then that it’s not getting too dry or sticking on the bottom. Once its cooked up, add some lemon juice for a spot of tang, salt/pepper to taste and a teaspoon of sugar if needed.

You can cook dumplings on the top if you like. Serve with mash, a dollop of sour cream, and a chopped green herb of your choice.

Irish Stew (Lamb)

I never tried this until meeting Deird & Denise. Denise used to cook a bucket of this at a time. Denise likes this cooked down, so that the potatoes are mushed in to the juices. I like it a little less cooked, with a thin ‘gravy’ and firmish potatoes. To get it right, stew the lamb for an hour or so before the veg goes in.

1/2 Leg of lamb

2lb potatoes

1lb carrots

a handful of rosemary

Cut the meat from the bone, and dice.  brown the meat a little in a big pan

Add water to cover, and simmer gently for an hour

Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot

cook till the potatoes are cooked, and falling apart.

salt, to taste