Easy Peasy Beef Stew

My easiest ever beef stew! This Easy Peasy Beef Stew takes just 15 minutes prep time and only uses 1 pan, but produces fabulous results every time. Plus, get lots of ideas for adapting this basic beef stew recipe to make it even more delicious! (Serves 4-6, depending on appetite and accompaniments.)

Course Main Course

Cuisine British

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 2 30

Total Time 2 45

Servings people

Calories 237kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion finely diced
250 g chestnut mushrooms quartered (See Note 1)
2 cloves garlic crushed or grated
800 g diced beef (usually sold as ‘diced beef’ or ‘stewing beef’ in supermarkets)
1 beef stock cube (I use Kallo Organic Beef Stock Cubes)
2 tablespoons cornflour (AKA cornstarch in the USA)
900 ml boiling water
4 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste (See Note 2)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 160C / 140C fan / gas mark 3 / 325F.
Place the olive oil and diced onions in a flameproof, ovenproof saucepan (See Note 3.) Gently fry the onions for 5 minutes, with the lid on, until softened but not brown. Stir occasionally.
Turn up the heat to high and add the chopped mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms for 4 minutes, stirring regularly. (See Note 4.)
Turn the heat right down and add the garlic. Fry for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally, then add the beef. (See Note 4.)
Meanwhile, mix together in a jug the crumbled stock cube, 2 tablespoons cornflour and a little cold water to make a paste, then add the 900ml boiling water and to make a simple gravy.
Add the beef gravy, thyme, bay, salt and pepper to the pan, stir and then turn up the heat. Bring to the boil, then put a lid on the pan and place it straight into your preheated oven. (See Note 3.)
Cook the beef stew in the oven for 2.5 hours, checking occasionally to make sure the stew is not getting too dry. (If it is, add a little more boiling water and return to the oven.)
Serve the stew with mashed potatoes and all your favourite vegetables!

Notes

I recommend cutting the mushrooms into roughly equal sized chunks – depending on the size of your mushrooms this may mean halving, quartering or cutting into eighths.
Because there is already salt in the stock cube, I only add black pepper here.
I use a Le Creuset-style cast iron casserole dish*, (AKA dutch oven) which can go on the hob and in the oven. If you don’t have a pan that can go on the hob and in the oven, simply start this stew in a regular saucepan and then tip it into an ovenproof dish to go into the oven.
After much experimentation I have come to the conclusion that it does not make a difference whether or not you brown the beef before such a long slow cook (so I don’t do it!) but it makes a big difference to the mushrooms (which is why I fry the mushrooms properly before adding the rest of the ingredients!)
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition