Winter has finally come to Sydney and its the perfect time for comfort food like stewed beef and mashed potatoes. Even the cheapest cuts of beef become meltingly tender when slow cooked in a rich sauce of the best red wine, vegetables and herbs. These simple ingredients and just a little preparation and some long, slow, cooking will give you the most delicious stew you have have ever tasted.

Slow Cooked Beef in Red Wine

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chuck steak, trimmed and cut into pieces
• 2 Tblsp Olive oil
• 1 knob of butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 sticks of celery, leaves removed and finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 x 400g can of diced tomatoes
• 1 Tblsp of tomato paste
• 1 cup good dry red wine
• 1 Tblsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 2 medium bay leaves
• 2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 sage leaf, chopped
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 Tblsp of McCormick’s Chicken Seasoning
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Prepare the carrots, celery and onion

   

2. Trim and cut the beef into pieces and dry with kitchen paper
3. Place the flour, chicken seasoning, salt an pepper into a plastic bag
4. Dredge the beef pieces in the seasoned flour and set aside onto a plate
5. Using a large heavy based casserole pan, heat the olive oil and the knob of butter over a high heat
6. When the butter foams, the beef pieces in batches until well browned sprinkling the beef with chicken seasoning and freshly ground pepper
7. As the meat is well caramelised, remove with a slotted spoon to the slow cooker and cover
8. Add a little more olive oil to the casserole pan and add the onion
9. Lower the heat to medium low and cook for 8 minutes until well caramelised and transparent
10. Add the chopped vegetables, seasoning them well with salt and freshly ground black pepper
11. Cook for a further 10 minutes
12. When the vegetables have softened, stir through the tablespoon of tomato paste and cook for 1 minute
13. Raise the heat to medium high and stir in the dry red wine
14. Allow to boil for 5 minutes until the wine has nearly evaporated
15. Stir through the tomato puree,chicken stock and the Worcestershire sauce
16. Pour the vegetable tomato mixture over the browned meat in the Slow Cooker and stir through (add a little extra water to ensure that the meat is fully covered)
17. Sprinkle with the chopped rosemary, sage and the pinch of nutmeg.
18. Add the bay leaves and the whole garlic cloves and push them into the sauce
19. Cover and set the Slow Cooker on low and cook for 10 hours
20. When the stewed beef is cooked set the Cooker to warm and prepare some mashed potatoes to serve alongside the rich beef
21. Serve with crusty sourdough bread and your favourite red wine.