Hearty Beef and Ale Stew

Very easy to prepare. It does take quite a lot of time to cook, but not much mess in the kitchen, or time to do it. Just chop some vegetables, chuck it all in a big pot and leave to cook for hours. I thing nothing beats a stew in these wet, cold winter days. You could even bulk it up a little with some dumplings. I'm not making them today in my stew, I went for an easier option, chop some fresh crusty bread, spread with a lot of butter and dip in your stew.

Beef and Ale Stew

Ingredients

3 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 big onion
2 cloves of garlic crushed
500g of stewing beef (cut in cubes)
500ml of ale beer
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree'
300ml of beef stock
2 bay leaves
2 springs of fresh thyme
Olive oil
2 tbsp of plain flour
Seasoning


Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 hours
Total Time: £hours 15 minutes
Level: Easy
Serves two

Method

Chop all your vegetables. Leave all cut a bit chunky. As the stew will take hours to cook , you might end up with nothing in there, as it all melts and goes really tender. So if you leave it all a it chunky you can see the bits of carrots on your spoon , while eating. Put everything in the pot with the oil thyme and bay leaves. Leave to soften for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, season your meat. Now in with the meat and brown all over. When the meat is brown, add the flour and cook for another two minutes. Now it's time to add the ale, the chopped tomatoes and the puree. I add a pinch of sugar at this stage. Stir all well and add the beef stock. Bring everything to a boil and season. Put on a very low flame, cover and leave to cook for three hours. It will all look really liquidy at this stage, and a big portion. Bu this will all shrink away and thicken too. At this stage you can even decide to cook it in a slow cooker instead. The only difference is that you need to half all your liquids. The stock and the booze. Because it won't evaporate in there, therefore the result will be too liquidy for a stew.
Serve with warm bread and enjoy.