Food | The Humble British Stew

For me a hearty stew is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food. 

You can make a stew with pretty much any meat and veg you like, but I think beef is my favourite. 

Towards the end of last week I had some veggies and leftover's in my fridge and decided to make them into this delicious and tasty meal.

Ingredients wise, it's kind of tricky - I just used what I had to hand, and for me no one stew is ever the same. But if you're a stew first-timer, for this one the specifics were:

• 457g Lean Casserole Steak 
• olive oil
• knob of butter
• 1 onion
• salt & pepper
• tbsp plain flour
• 2 leeks
• 4 carrots
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• splash of worcestershire sauce
• glass of red wine
• dried mixed herbs
• bay leaves (fresh or dried)
• 250ml organic beef stock
• any other leftovers (see below)!

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C (I have a fan oven).

First I peeled and roughly chopped the onion.

And did the same with the leeks and carrots. I like to keep my veg fairly chunky for stews - it has such a long time to cook and if you cut them too small you will end up with mush.

Next, I seasoned the flour with salt and pepper.

And tossed the beef in to lightly coat it. I don't bother with "browning" the meat. This is a one-stop-pot,  minimal fuss kind of meal.

With the prep done, the cooking commences! In the butter and oil, I fried the onion for 3-4 minutes.

Then I added the meat and veg.

Along with the chopped tomatoes....

.....worcestershire sauce, stock, red wine, herbs and bay leaves. Bring it to the boil and pop into the oven for 3 hours.

When you're near the end of your cooking time you can add any other leftovers that are pre-cooked/need minimal cooking.

Mine were:

- 3 chestnut mushrooms
- 1/2 can baked beans
- some roasted butternut squash
- some cooked puy lentils

In they all went! Is it just me or is it unbelievably satisfying to clear out the fridge and not throw anything away?!

After popping it back in the oven for another 20 minutes. It was ready!

We had ours on it's own in big bowls, but some really fresh, warm bread to mop up the juices would be lovely too.

Seriously yum and comforting! This would serve about 6 on it's own or more with sides - mash, bread etc.

What are your favourite winter comfort foods? And what are your favourite ways to use up leftovers? Please do tell!