Beef casserole with a hint of sweet

Serves:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1kg lean stewing beef, diced (I use gravy beef)
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 carrots, peeled, thickly sliced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• half a teaspoon chilli powder or flakes (optional)
• half a cup plum jam
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 and half a cups (375mL) beef stock
• chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Method

Preheat oven to 160C.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Add half the beef and cook until browned all over. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining oil and beef and transfer to the plate.

Add the onion to the frypan and cook for 2 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, carrot, tomato paste, flour and chilli (if using). Stir well and cook for another minute. Add the plum jam, lemon rind and juice and beef stock.

Bring to the boil, then carefully pour into a large ovenproof casserole dish and cook for 2 hours until the beef is tender.

Serve garnished with the parsley and some creamy mashed potato, rice or couscous.

Notes:

• Spring may be here, but thats not to say that we wont have some cold nights. Make this hearty casserole on a lazy Sunday afternoon (or 1pm Friday afternoon when your schedule is clear!) and enjoy during the week. Even better a day or so later.
• The hint of heat from the chilli and sweet from the plum jam give this casserole a beautiful flavour.
• I bought gravy beef and valiantly (or pig-headedly) trimmed all the fat and yucky bits off myself. Next time I will pay the extra dollar or so per kilogram, buy the diced beef and relieve myself of a good 20 minutes of irritation.
• Recipe created by Melissa Hughes for Kidspot.

.

Serving Suggestions

Note