Sunday, July 15, 2012

20120715 Beef Stew with Carrots and Onions


It has been a long time since I last cooked something new. I used to cook to relax, but haven't been able to do so with a baby to care for. Even though Olivia is not a fussy baby, she needs attention from time to time. I like spending an hour or two preparing food in the kitchen without any thoughts in my mind, so am still learning how to enjoy cooking while there are interruptions here and there. As my husband was home today, I was able to spend an hour in the kitchen to prepare this stew. Okay, it didn't need an hour but I took my time. Oh how much I miss cooking! This stew tasted good. I took a risk and used rosemary and thyme together. The result was good as the stew was so fragrant. And the crunchy fresh French bread certainly went well with the stew. I've got to plan ahead and cook more again from now on.

INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp olive oil
900g stew beef, cut into 5cm cubes
400g carrots, cut into tiny cubes
5 small onions, finely diced
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thime
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly grounded black pepper
1 tbsp tomato puree
400g can of peeled tomatoes
3/4 cups red wine
1 cup beef stock

METHODS
1. Heat the oven to 150C. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven and brown the beef.
2. Add garlic and dried herbs to the beef, and fry until fragrant. Add wine and bring it to the boil. Then add the carrs, onions, tomato puree, and tomatoes. Use a wooden spoon to break the tomatoes, and top off the stew with beef stock.
3. Bring tge stew to tge boil, cover tightly with a lid, andcook in te oven for about 3 hours. Stir the stew halfway through cooking. Serve with boiled potatoes or crunchy french bread.

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