Winter just makes to crave for two things, noodle and stew. I can’t explain why noodles but stew? Its just the ultimate comfort food to eat on a cold wintery night. A spoonful of this succulent fall apart beef and a bite of bread with a thick layer of butter will take you to food heaven. TRY IT!  I have made stews before but this recipe used the least amount of ingredients but has the richest taste! The ale (or stout) is the key ingredient for this recipe. It turns this stew into a really thick and hearty meal! Also it is so simple to make that you can’t really go wrong. You can freeze them and have them a couple of days/ weeks later!

This recipe is from: Jamie’s Ministry of Food

3 fresh or dried bay leaves

500 g quality diced stewing beef

500 ml ale, Guinness or stout

2 sticks celery

2 medium onions

2 carrots

olive oil

1 heaped tablespoon plain flour

400 g tinned chopped tomatoes

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

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.

Tip: The meat should be cut into approximately 2cm cubes. Packs from most supermarkets are normally about that size. In stew recipes, you’re often told to brown off the meat first. But according to Jamie Oliver, the meat is just as delicious and tender without browning it first!

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