Stew (The Eighth Wonder of the World)

This is firstly fab, because you only need to cook once in a serious sort of way and then you get to eat a plethora of different dishes all week without actually having to do too much hard work.

This is secondly fab as you can use cheap cuts of meat and piles of veg to make this glorious heavenly heaven.  Good cuts are: brisket, shin, leg, chuck, blade, silverside.

I used brisket

Quantities are extremely flexible, as are the ingredients.

Once you have your meat (in one large chunk or lots of teeny chunks),

Choose your veg:

Lots of onions, carrots, swede and leeks are a must.

Garlic

You could also put in mushrooms, parsnip, celeriac and potato.

Find the biggest pan you own, heat a glug of oil or beef dripping, and when it's really hot, throw in the meat and fry until browned all over.

Meanwhile finely slice some onions.  Remove the meat to a plate and turn down the heat.  Gently fry the onions until golden then add a couple of cloves of crushed garlic.  Meanwhile, finely slice the leeks and add them to the pan (make sure you rinse the leeks carefully to make sure there's no grit left in them).

Fry until soft, then add the other veg chopped into small chunks and fry for a few minutes.

Add either a generous splash of sherry, vermouth or red wine, or a can of beer or Guinness.  Next, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a large blob of tomato puree, optional large blob of mustard and fresh or dried mixed herbs.  Put the meat back in and cover the whole lot with beef stock.

Put a lid on and simmer for about two hours.  (if you have an oven proof casserole dish you can bung it in the oven on a very low heat and leave for a few hours.  Check it every now and then and top up with water or stock if it gets a bit low - keep the meat and veg covered with liquid.  Add the mushrooms after an hour or so.

That's it.

Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes or parsnips, bread or pasta.  Oh my goodness I want it just writing about it.

If I'm using a large chunk of meat I like to cut the whole thing up into bitesized pieces before serving so it's easier to dish up, and also easier to eat!

So, next, here are all the lovely things you can do with your stew.

(All these are quantities for one person, multiply as necessary)

1. Other ways you can eat your stew as stew

Add barley - sooo nice and very good for you, just shove a handful in and boil for about 10 mins until tender.  (You can also put this in at the beginning of making your stew)

Add dumplings - stir together:

1.5oz/40g self raising flour

0.75 oz/20g grated suet

A pinch of fresh or dried rosemary

Salt and pepper

3tbsp cold water

 

Make four blobs, add them to the pan of hot stew, cover with a lid and simmer for about 20 mins.  Keep checking that the liquid level doesn't get too low, top up with water if it does.

2. Chilli

To half a portion of stew add:

Half a tin of beans

Red pepper, cut up small

3tsp tomato puree

A pinch of paprika

0.25 tsp cumin seed

0.25 tsp coriander seed

1 tsp mustard

Salt and pepper

and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.

Serve with rice, in a wrap or with polenta.

Here is how to make polenta in five minutes if you have a microwave: (ooo I'm branching out with the microwave!)

240ml water

60ml polenta/cornmeal

Salt and pepper

A large knob of butter

3 tbsp milk

Stir the water and polenta together and microwave on high for 1.5 minutes, add the milk and butter and salt and pepper, whisk well and microwave again for 1 minute, stir, 1 more minute.  Either eat as is, or stir in a hefty handful of grated cheese and then eat it.

3. Soup

Heat up one portion of stew (just the vegetables, not the meat) then blend until smooth.  Add stock or milk to get a more soupy consistency if it's a bit thick.

4. Pie

Stir 1tsp of plain flour into 2tbsp of cold water and stir into one portion of stew.  Place into an oven proof dish and top with a pastry lid - puff pastry, shortcrust pastry or suet crust will all work.  Bake for 20 minutes at 200C.

5. Pie 2

Add the flour as above but top with mashed potato instead of pastry.  Cook the same, until the mash is toasty and golden.

6. Risotto

120ml risotto rise

Splash of sherry/vermouth/wine

400ml stock from the stew

100ml water

Optional grated cheese/parmesan

Melt a large knob of butter in a pan, add the rice and fry for a minute, stirring all the time.  Add a splash of sherry/vermouth/wine, fry another minute then add the stock.

If you have nothing else to do then you can add the stock a few tablespoons at a time, stirring until it's absorbed each time.  It will take about 20 minutes...so, the easier option is to bung all the stock in at once and just stir it every now and then, leaving you free to wash up, lay the table, have a glass of wine... Cook until the rice is tender, top up with water if necessary.

You can throw in a handful of frozen peas if you want, season with salt and pepper and optionally add a handful of grated cheese or parmesan to serve.

7. Curry

To one portion of stew, add a large tsp of curry pastoe (Indian or Thai) (you could also mix your own spices, but the pastes are soo much easier and can be kept in the fridge for quick curry emergencies!).  Add half a sachet of creamed coconut or a small tin of coconut cream and heat through.  Serve with rice, naan bread, mango chutney, all the usual stuff.

Tadaaa, a whole week of hassle free suppers!