Easy Slow Cooker Beef & Potato Curry

Things have got awful busy for us this year but in a good way. It was totally unexpected, me getting the job in my children’s school canteen but I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I have felt life, as I knew it, slipping away from me at home but I’m slowly trying to implement new routines so I can keep on top of things. One of my greatest life savers has been my trusty slow cooker. I picked up a piece of stewing steak on special one day and tucked it away in the freezer, forgetting about it but when I stumbled across it, I thought of nothing better than throwing it in the slow cooker. To mix things up from a basic stew, I made this easy and very simple Beef & Potato Curry using pantry staples.

After dredging the meat in seasoned flour (I put it in a plastic bag to make less mess), I fried it in a little olive oil. Sometimes I do this step and sometimes I don’t. It doesn’t make too much difference to me but it does add a little caramelisation and flavour to the meat when you do.

If and when my slow cooker ‘dies’, I’m going to get one with a browning plate built in. This will make this process a whole lot easier.

Next, the really easy part. Combine one tablespoon of beef stock, curry powder (to taste), salt and pepper. Add a cup of water and stir until dissolved. I do love Indian food but I’m the only one in the house that does. I’m happy to sacrifice those lovely, spicy tastes for the whole family and I no longer buy all the spices to make my own curry powders. A simple, supermarket curry powder is fine in this recipe.

Put meat in the slow cooker.

Add a couple potatoes which have been chopped in large pieces. (We don’t want them to dissolve in the slow cooker but to keep their shape.)

Set and forget. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Serve with rice (which I just happened to already have pre-cooked in the freezer) and dinner is done. This is a tasty stew with a curry flavour and the meat just melts in your mouth. You could try it with any spices, for example Moroccan, Spanish or Mexican and add any other vegetables you like.  This beats any packet mix, hands down.

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Easy Slow Cooker Beef & Potato Curry

A simple meal for the slow cooker that you can set and forget. Using stewing steak and pantry staples, your mid week dinner will be ready to eat when you are with little cooking on your part.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes

Servings 4

Author Anne

Ingredients

• beef stewing steak
• 3 large potatoes chopped in large pieces
• plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging meat
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs beef stock powder
• 1 tbs curry powder
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup water
• rice to serve

Instructions

1. Add diced meat to plastic bag filled with seasoned plain flour and ensure each piece of meat is coated well in flour.
2. Fry in a little olive oil until golden.
3. Put fried meat in slow cooker.
4. Combine stock and curry powder, salt and pepper with 1 cup of water.
5. Add diced potatoes.
6. Cook on high for 4 hours or slow for 8 hours.
7. Serve with boiled/steamed rice.

Recipe Notes

Can add other vegetables as desired.
Instead of curry powder, use Moroccan, Spanish or Mexican seasonings.

 

Moroccan Chicken & Chick Pea Stew

This was popped in the slow cooker at lunch time and was steaming hot ready for dinner time. I just love the slow cooker so much since I’ve had the kids. Sometimes I’ll brown the meat but other times, I just bung it all in. This stew is great for that using chicken thighs and tinned chick peas plus some basic pantry spices. You can use whatever vegies you have on hand but I used sweet potato, carrot and cauliflower.

Moroccan Chicken & Chick Pea Stew

4 chicken thighs, diced
420gm can chickpeas, drained
2 small or 1 large onion, diced finely
1 sweet potato, diced finely
2 carrots, chopped
cauliflower florets
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1/4 tsp ground chilli/cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 cloves garlic, crushed
salt & pepper
1 tbs lemon juice

Combine all ingredients and cook in a slow cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Alternatively, cook in an oven proof casserole dish for an hour in a 180 deg C oven or on the stove top on simmer until carrots are soft.

Serve with cous cous or rice.

Serves 6.

Bouillinade (Fish & Potato Stew)

“‘Bouillinade’ is a traditional recipe from Languedoc, a region in France that borders Spain. Therefore olive oil and fresh herbs are the main ingredients to most dishes from this area. It’s rare to find sheep or cattle grazing in the fields here, so dairy produce is not in abundance. One of the reasons why the people who live in this area of France tend to have a higher life expectancy than their counterparts in the north.” (Excerpt from http://www.traditionalfrenchfood.com/fish-and-potato.html)

I had a couple of frozen fish fillets lurking in the freezer and the last of my potatoes so what better way to use them up for a warm, hearty fish and potato stew. There are many versions of this recipe on the Internet but this is how I did it.

Bouillinade (Fish & Potato Stew)

3 or 4 fish fillets, cut into small pieces
6 to 8 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 onions, sliced
3 to 4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried dill
1/8 tsp dried chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 cup chicken or fish stock
grated cheese to finish
salt & pepper
2 tbs butter
Extra virgin olive oil

Fry onion, garlic, herbs and spices in 1 tbs butter until soft. Place onion mixture on the bottom of a baking dish and cover with a layer of sliced potatoes. Continue with a layer of fish, alternating with potato, seasoning with salt and pepper, and finish with a layer of potatoes. Pour over cup of stock and a drizzle of olive oil. Cover with foil and bake in a 180 deg C oven for 30 mins (or until potatoes are soft). Remove foil, sprinkle with grated cheese and remaining tablespoon of butter and return to the oven until cheese has melted.

Serve with a side of green vegies or a salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices. (This could also be done in the slow cooker.)

PS I had my 4 year old son helping me assemble it so it looks like a bit of a ‘dog’s breakfast’ but it tasted pretty good.