Beef and honey stew

Honey gives a comforting sweetness to this slow-cooked stew. 

Ingredients

• 30g/1oz plain flour

• 450g/1lb braising steak, cut into 2.5cm/1in cubes

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 onion, roughly chopped

• 2 carrots, roughly chopped

• 2 leeks, roughly chopped

• ½ medium turnip, roughly chopped

• 1 tbsp honey

• 550ml/1 pint beef stock

• 2 large potatoes, cut into chunks

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

1. Place the flour in a freezer bag then add the cubes of meat and shake well to coat.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan and brown the meat on all sides. (Do this in batches as adding too much meat at once makes the meat steam rather than brown.)
3. Fry the onion in the same pan you used for the meat, adding more oil if needed. Once the onion is browned, add the carrots, leeks, turnip, honey and beef stock and return the meat to the pan.
4. Add everything to a slow Cooker or Römertopf and simmer the stew over a very low heat for at least six hours – the longer it cooks, the better it will be. If you have no slow cooker or Römertopf you can also use a tagine.
5. About 40 minutes before serving, add the potato to the stew (adding them at this point means they keep their shape). Season, to taste, with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper before serving. Sometimes I add dumplings made with flour and stale bread (semmelknödel) instead of potatoes.

By Polly Findlay, From The Hairy Bikers: Mums Know Best