Nutrition for Shorter Days 

Serves: 6 
Preparation time: 20 minutes 
Cooking time: 6–8 hours (slow cooker) 

Ingredients:

1 kg diced beef (stewing cut) 
3 tbsp plain flour 
2 tbsp olive oil 
3 carrots, diced 
2 onions, diced 
2 leeks, sliced 
2 celery sticks, diced 
½ medium swede, finely diced 
2 parsnips, diced 
3 garlic cloves, crushed 
2 tbsp tomato purée 
300 ml red wine 
500 ml beef stock 
2 bay leaves 
3 sprigs fresh thyme 
Salt and black pepper, to taste 

Method:

Coat the diced beef lightly in the flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and brown the beef in batches until well coloured, then set aside. Add the onions, leeks, carrots, celery, swede, and parsnips to the same pan and cook gently in the meat juices until starting to soften. Stir in the garlic, followed by the tomato purée, then deglaze the pan with the red wine, scraping up any browned bits from the base. Transfer the vegetables and liquid into the slow cooker along with the browned beef. Pour in the beef stock, add the bay leaves and thyme, then cover and cook on low for 6–8 hours until the beef is tender and the vegetables have softened into the sauce. Adjust seasoning before serving.

Tip:

This casserole is a personal family favourite that I make dozens of times over autumn and winter it  pairs beautifully with creamy mashed potatoes or steamed seasonal greens. The flavour deepens overnight, so it makes excellent leftovers.