Today, there is a bit of chill in the air and I was thinking that yesterday I was mouthing off at how beer does not appeal to me on a sunny day, but somehow now that it is weekend, a beer stew might be a nice way of saying goodbye to the last of the cold evenings of winter, well that is me hopeful for a real summer. I found this nice little recipe for a Guinness Beef Stew and it makes for a real meal full of sustenance.
You will need the following ingredients:
2 pounds of beef, the leaner, the better
3 tablespoons of virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of flour
Salt and ground pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper for colour
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 large crushed clove of garlic
1 tin of plum tomatoes
1 ¼ cups of Guinness stout beer
2 cups of carrots cut into chunks
Sprig of thyme
Method
Cut beef into cubes of 2 inches (5cm) removing any fat and cover them with 1 tablespoon of oil in a bowl. Mix the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne together in a bowl and then toss the beef into it.
In a pan heat the remaining olive oil over high heat and brown the meat on both sides. Now add the onions, garlic and tomatoes to the meat and cover pan with lid. Let it gently cook for about 5 minutes.
Put the beef and vegetables into a casserole and pour some of the Guinness into the frying pan, bringing it to a boil and stirring it to blend with the meat juices that were left in the pan. Pour this and the Guinness that is left into the casserole dish covering the meat and add the carrots and the thyme. Stir it well and add more salt if you want to.
Cover the casserole with a lid and let simmer for 2 to 3 hours until the meat is tender. If you prefer you could also cook the casserole in the oven at 300 °F for 2 to 3 hours. Scatter with lots of chopped parsley.
This recipe will serve 6 to 8 people and can be served with some freshly baked bread. That is how I like mine. Have a good weekend and don’t forget to eat healthy and get enough exercise. Tomorrow is the Great Spar Race and it promises to be a very fun day for the family, a good stew afterwards could be an idea!
