Beef and Stout Stew

Ingredients:

900g lean stewing steak, cubed
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp plain flour
2 large onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp tomato purée
360ml stout (Guinness, Murphys etc)
260g carrots, chopped
chopped leaves from 1 sprig thyme
1 tsp chopped parsley
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
generous pinch of cayenne pepper

Method:

Add the beef to a bowl with 1 tbsp vegetable oil and toss to combine. Meanwhile sift the flour in another bowl and season with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Toss the beef in this then shake off any excess flour.

Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat then add the beef and fry until browned on all sides. Now add the onions and garlic and fry for 2 minutes. Meanwhile mix the tomato purée with 4 tbsp water and form a smooth paste before adding to the frying pan and blending to combine.

Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and allow to cook gently for 5 minutes. Add 120ml of the stout into the pan, bring to a boil and use to deglaze the pan. Now pour in the remainder of the stout and add the carrots and thyme.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer then cover and allow the stew to simmer for about 150 minutes, or until the beef is very tender. Stir every so often to make certain the ingredients do not stick to the pan.

Adjust the seasonings, transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with parsley.