Beef and Tomato Stew

This is a recipe which I came up with while in one of my creative culinary moods and am pleased to say it turned out even better than I had expected on the first occasion.

You will need:

1lb (450g) of preferably shin of beef, but stewing steak will suffice (one-inch cubed)
2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice

6 closed cup mushrooms (quartered)
1 large onion (halved then sliced)
6 garlic cloves (chopped)
Large handful of flat-leafed parsley (roughly chopped)
15 to 20 basil leaves (roughly torn)
1 red chilli pepper (deseeded and finely chopped)
1 tbsp plain flour
Salt/freshly ground black pepper
Generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil

Put the flour in to a mixing bowl and season well with black pepper only. Pop in your beef and stir well until all the beef is well coated. In a large - preferably non-stick - saucepan, heat up your olive oil then seal the beef in it. Carefully spoon the beef out on to a plate and sweat down the garlic and onions on a gentle heat for a few minutes, to soften but not colour them. Re-add your beef and all remaining ingredients except the salt. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer for 2 1/2 hours on as low a heat as possible, stirring frequently. Taste a bit of the beef to ensure it is tender, then season with salt and serve with a chunk of freshly baked bread, or some boiled new potatoes.

NB It is important to add the salt only at the end. Otherwise, the salt will draw the moisture out of your meat during the cooking process and possibly make it less tender.

Learn more about this author, Gordon Hamilton.
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