Stew

My favourite stews have all had really thick broth. I love to have a nice warm bowl of stew and end by dipping fresh bread in the soup left over. Everything in this recipe is optional and the amounts are suggested so feel free to change things in and out but this is a good starting point.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of gravy powder
• 2 stock cubes
• 500ml of boiling water
• Lamb or Beef diced
• Mixed Herbs (rosemary is good with lamb)
• 1/4 bottle of red wine
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Parsnip
• Mushrooms
• Onions

Recipe:

If you like a nice strong flavour, the first thing to do is put the wine in a pot with a lid on a low heat on the cooker and add the chopped meat. After than you can start chopping everything else up. The smaller the pieces, the less time they take to cook.

Add the gravy powder and stock cubes to the 500ml of boiling water and dissolve.

Pour the gravy in with the meat and add all the rest of the ingredients including the herbs if you have them. The ingredients should ideally be slightly higher than the water level but not much. Add boiling water if the level is too low.

Cook on a simmering heat for as long as you can, the longer the better. If the pieces are all less than 2cm then an hour would be fine as a minimum. Don't use the hob if you are leaving the house. Get a slow cooker or put it in an oven proof pot on a very low heat in the over.

To get a very thick stew, cook for the last half hour just below boiling with the lid off. This evaporates the water and causes the mix to thicken but itn't necessary. There you have it!