I love slow cooking and try and make something in the slow cooker every other week. It’s great if you’ve got other things to be getting on with. All the prep and initial cooking is done at the start, everything can then be washed up and put away and in several hours time you’ll have a big pot of deliciousness waiting for you. I also like it because the quantities are quite large so whatever is left over can be boxed up and frozen for another day when you even less time to cook!
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
3 carrots, cut into bite size chunks
2 bay leaves
1/2 pack of thyme
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 beef stock pots/cubes
900g beef for braising
2 tsp cornflour
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
Vegetables of your choice, ideally something green
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion and celery, stir and cook until softened. Then add in the carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Cook for a few minute to soften further.
Add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, stock pots/cubes and 600ml boiling water. Season with just black pepper. Pour into the slow cooker.
Wipe the pan clean, add a little oil and fry the chunks of beef until nicely browned. Do this in batched to ensure even browning. It’s a good idea to rest the beef on kitchen towel to remove excess fat. Add the beef to the slow cooker.
Turn the cooker to high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
About 30 minutes before serving, the gravy will need thickening. Mix the cornflour with a little cold water then add 2 tbsp of the cooking liquid. Stir this back into the slow cooker and switch to high for 30 minutes.
Stir in the parsley and check the seasoning.
Serve with your choice of vegetables!
The Fiendish Foodies 