As we head into winter next month, the best part of this time of the year for me is the food, like stews and soups. Being a warm climate for 9 months out of the year pretty much, we miss out on good old fashioned hearty fare so I make the most of it the first sign of cooler weather. You can’t beat a simple stew to warm you from the inside out and this recipe is a great base for so many other dishes.
Nature’s got a great way of telling us to use what’s in season and all your root vegetables like carrots, sweet potato, parsnips and suede are all good for stews and are available now in the southern hemisphere. The best way to cook your stew is by slow cooking and using cheap cuts of meat like chuck or blade steak for example.
I don’t use a lot of meat in my cooking only because it’s so expensive. I bulk it out with a lot of vegetables. One small piece of meat was enough for 2 adults and 2 children.
I don’t always dredge my meat in seasoned flour only because I might be running short on time. It is a crucial part of a good stew though. I put a couple tablespoons of plain flour in a ziplock bag, season well with salt and pepper and throw the meat in and give it a good shake so all pieces of diced meat are well coated.
After browning the meat in a little extra virgin olive oil, I add the quartered onions just to brown them up as well. There are some slow cookers on the market now with browning plates already in them. I might http://intactnews.org/node/138/1319461990/acquisition-erectile-dysfunction-circumcision have to look at getting one. This does make a basic stew a little more time consuming to make. You could brown the meat and onions in an ovenproof dish on the stove top to reduce the steps or even in the saucepan you would cook it in.
Pop the meat, onions and all your vegetables into the slow cooker (or the utensil your cooking it in), add a couple bay leaves and 1 cup of stock. I always like to add pumpkin to my stews because it breaks down and forms part of the sauce. If you wanted to change your basic stew into something exciting like an Indian curry or Moroccan ‘tagine’ for example, you would add your selection of spices to the oil before adding the meat.
Lots of juice for mopping up with some crusty bread. Nothing better on cool night. Here’s hoping we get a few more before September when the weather warms up.
Basic Stew
- diced meat (beef, pork, chicken thighs, lamb etc)
- plain flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
- extra virgin olive oil, for frying meat
- any vegetables, preferably root vegetables that will hold their shape ensuring they are all cut roughly the same size (I throw whatever I have in the crisper including fresh tomatoes)
- bay leaves
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup stock (any kind)
- Toss diced meat into seasoned flour and fry in a little olive oil until sealed and brown.
- Add onions and toss until caramelised.
- Add meat and onions to slow cooker with all the vegetables and stock.
- Cook for desired time, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with mashed potato and/or crusty bread.
* This recipe can be adapted for slow cooking in a saucepan on the stove top or an ovenproof dish in the oven.
