Beef & Guinness stew with carrots

• vegetable oil↗2 tbsp tbsp
• stewing beef↗1kg kg

  cut into large chunks

• onion↗1

  roughly chopped

• carrots↗10

  cut into large chunks

• plain flour↗2 tbsp tbsp
• can stout↗500ml ml
• beef stock cube↗1
• pinch of sugar
• bay leaves↗3
• big thyme↗

  sprig

• Creamy parsnip

  mash, to serve (see recipe below)

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat the oil in large lidded casserole dish, brown the meat really well in batches, then set aside. Add the onion and carrots to the dish, give them a good browning, then scatter over the flour and stir. Tip the meat and any juices back into the dish and give it all a good stir. Pour over the stout and crumble in the stock cube. Season the stew with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Tuck in the herbs and bring everything to a simmer.

2. 2

   Cover with a lid and place in the oven for about 2½ hrs until the meat is really tender. The stew can now be chilled and frozen for up to 3 months – defrost completely before reheating until piping hot. Leave the stew to settle a little, then serve with creamy parsnip mash for a true celebration of winter vegetables.