winter warmer recipe: slow braised beef & guiness stew

I love this recipe for winter. The Guinness brings so much to the table adding such lovely depth of flavour. Think roasted coffee and hoppy chocolate tones. sigh!

Ingredients

800 g chuck steak, cut into 4 cm cubes

4 tablespoons plain (all purpose) flour

4 tablespoons olive oil

300 ml Guinness

2 brown onions, sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 celery stalk, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 fresh bay leaves

2 tablespoons tomato paste (concentrated purée)

250 ml beef stock

Method

Toss the beef in the flour and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat half the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole dish then cook the beef in batches over medium–high heat for 5 minutes, or until browned all over. Remove to a bowl.

Pour the beer into the pan and give it a good stir to deglaze the pan. Let the beer bubble away for 2 minutes to bring up all the goodness from the bottom of the pan.

Pour the beery pan juices over the beef.

Heat the remaining olive oil in the pan, then sauté the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and bay leaves for 10 minutes, or until soft and fragrant.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Return the beef to the pan, along with all the beery juices.

Pour in the stock and pop on the lid. Cook over low heat for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender and the sauce is lovely and thick.

Serve with potato mash, ribbons of thick cut pasta or on a bed of creamy polenta…