Stew it

The past couple of days, the weather has been more rainy and wet than hot and dry.  I would wake up to bright sunshine and a few minutes after that the sun would be eaten up by dark clouds and it would rain and the temperature would drop.

Days like that are perfect for staying at home.  It suits me fine when I am not working now, but I don't plan to spend all my days at home, watching tv or stalking people on facebook.  I do hope I could find a job soon, not only to have something worthwhile to do with my time, but also to earn some income.

Being jobless takes some getting used to.  I've been employed ever since I finished school so having all this free time makes me think of food.  This is especially so when we are thinking of setting up a food business of our own.  I spend the time thinking of menus and recipes for our little cafe.  I also like to watch food programmes for ideas and that was where I came across a very simple recipe for beef stew.  Last Sunday, it was a cool and wet day, so when I saw that stew I knew I just had to cook it then.  

The original recipe from a program called Nigel Slater's Simple Supper, calls for a small bottle of beer so I replaced it with beef stock instead.  The best part about the dish is that I didn't have much chopping to do and the preparation was very simple.  I only had to chop the onions and carrots since the meat was bought already cubed.  And after three simple steps and a few hours later, the dish was done.

The stew was really yummy simply served with steaming hot rice.  The gravy was luscious and flavourful, the meat was fork tender and having a mouthful of rice with that was just so comforting.  The best part is that the leftover stew was used in another delicious dish the next day.  I simply pulled the meat apart, spooned everything into a baking dish, cover the whole thing with ready made puff pastry and baked in the oven.  As it was baking, the meat pie made the whole apartment smell so good and once it was ready, I could not wait to cut the crispy top and dig in.  And yeah, it was as good as it smelled.

Beef Stew

600g beef, cubed

2 or 3 large onions, sliced

2 large carrots, cut into chunks

2 tbsp flour

a sprig of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

500ml beef stock (I used 1 stock cubed dissolved in hot water)

3 tbsp mustard

salt and pepper

butter for browning the meat

Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper.  Heat some butter in a pan.  Brown the beef cubes until just golden around its edges and set aside.  Lower the heat and fry the onions in the same pan until soft and they start to brown.  Add the carrots and fry for a few more minutes.  Sprinkle flour into the mixture and cook for about one or two minutes.  Add the thyme and the stock.  Then add the mustard and mix well.  Lastly, add the beef.  Cover the pan and turn the heat down to low.  Let everything stew, stirring it from time to time.  Cook until the meat is tender and check the seasoning.  You might need to add more mustard or pepper to taste.  I also addded frozen peas and let it cook for a few more minutes before serving.  Serve it with rice or crusty bread.