Beef Stew

The past few days have really been cold and since i was stuck at home taking care of my little girls with little time on my hands to cook, i decided to make what i call a one-pot meal. This is basically putting everything into 1 dish and letting it simmer/cook!

This week I made beef stew which was also ideal since the weather was so cold that you really felt like something hearty to warm you up before you tuck into bed.
Here is what you need to serve 4 :

500g - 1Kg beef rump. ask your butcher to cut it into chunks
2 tablespoons kunserva (Maltese tomato paste)
1 large onion
2 carrots, peeled & chopped into slices
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 handful peas
1 teaspoon mixed spices
1 beef cube - crumbled
700 ml hot water

Start off by browning the beef in a pot. Stir the beef chunks until they are brown on the outside.

Next add the thinly sliced onion and stir. Make sure the onions are cooked before adding any other ingredients.

Next add the kunserva, vegetables, spices, cube and water. Cover the pot until it reaches a boil then lower the heat, tilt the lid to one side to allow the steam to be released and allow the stew to cook for a further 1hr.

Mix the pot occasionally to make sure that the ingredients do not stick to the bottom of the pan. If the stew is too thick for your taste, add a little more water and stir. You cannot overcook the meat, so don’t worry too much about the cooking time. The more the meat cooks, the softer it will become.

I like to serve this stew on a bed of rice. If you want something a little more rustic, then serve it with a loaf of Maltese bread!