DARK STICKY BEEF STEW
I thought it was about time I introduced you to our weekly Family Dinners! We are all in hospitality related industries; all die hard foodies (even if most of us have a mild form of Recipe OCD & couldn’t follow a recipe to save ourselves!), and all enthusiastic partakers in the odd glass of ‘hops & the grape’. Despite these seemingly obvious hindrances, we’re all pretty nifty in the kitchen & many an interesting twist has been created over the years to dishes in the sanctuary of Family Dinner.
Hospitality people work while most of you are playing, so our family dinners tend to happen on odd days & more often than not, odd times – but its a chance to catch up & an opportunity to try out some interesting recipes & wine & beer pairing.
If your like us, your looking forward to summer, these bitterly cold days of late winter are dragging on a bit & we’re all dreaming of the heat of summer; new seasons crops of fresh fruits & vegetables where all the exciting alfresco Australasian fusion cuisine takes things to a whole new level.
For now though, at least in this part of Australia, we’re still looking for warming slow cooked European style dishes. Not such a bad thing when you’ve got some sweet recipes to play with & a reason to try a Wirra Wirra 2008 Church Block Cabenet Sauvignon-Shiraz-Merlot; blends like this do really well with rich stews. Some of us like to mix things up a bit so a couple of us tried ‘LittleCreatures Pale Ale’; it worked well with this meal & both choices paired nicely.
This week we messed around with the time honored Dark, Sticky Beef Stew & added a Gremolata to kick the flavours up another notch & a big old loaf of fresh crusty bread. It’s a really simple meal and very economical but just the thing if your wanting some big punchy tastes with your comfort food. This recipe works well with Lamb too.
DARK, STICKY BEEF STEW – (Serves 4)
800g Chuck Steak
Sea Salt & Freshly ground black pepper
1 small handful of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large red onion, peeled & roughly chopped
8 field mushrooms, torn in half
1 Red Capsicum, seeded & chopped into strips
2 Carrots, chopped & diced
1 Parsnip, peeled, & grated
1 dessertspoon Vegemite
2 heaped tablespoons pearl barley
285 ml rich dark ale (Guinness)
565 ml Stock
18 chippolata sausages
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C. Put beef into a bowl & season well with a good pinch of salt & pepper. Finely chop your rosemary leaves & add to the bowl with the flour. Mix around so that the meat is completely covered. Fry the beef in a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a hot casserole-type – do this in batches so the pieces get a nice bit of colour, then remove from the pan and put to one side.
Turn the heat down, then fry your onion, mushrooms, capsicum & carrots for about 5 minutes until softened and slightly coloured. Add the beef back to the pan along with the parsnip, vegemite, pearl barley, ale and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, then add chipolata sausages.
Place a lid on the casserole dish & cook in the oven until meat falls apart. Take lid off casserole dish and reduce the liquid until a nice thick sticky gravy consistency.
GREMOLATA
Finally chop some flat leaf parsley, a clove of garlic and the zest from 1 or 2 lemons (or try oranges) – we used 1 lemon & 1 orange. Mix this up and sprinkle over the top of your stew as garnish (or stir into stew just before serving).
So, tell me what are your thoughts on beer & food pairing?
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32 Comments and Pings on FAMILY DINNER
Family dinners sound like fun! This lovely stew looks like the type of thing I would love to serve at a family dinner at home also — very warm and comforting! I bet the Gremolata on top adds a nice punch of flavor!
My mouth is watering and I don’t even eat meat! I remember eating slow-cooker pot roast and loving it, but this looks even more delicious Anna.
I have yet to try Vegemite! I can’t wait to get to your neck of the woods so I can have some one of these days.
.-= Ameena´s last blog ..Cake Anyone =-.
Wow – such a great recipe for when it’s cold outside! Today is a sweltering 93 degrees so no, won’t be making this tonight but our weather is coming your way so hold on! But I will promise to tackle this once winter is here. And I have to say that I’ve always loved the idea of Family Dinners – we aren’t chefs but have friends who like to eat good food – I want to put them all to work in the kitchen and then sit down together and eat!
.-= SMITH BITES´s last blog ..52 Sundays august 29- 2010 =-.
Love the addition of vegemite! It really adds that extra kick. When I was little, my dad would make mashed potatoes with a spoonful of vegemite in them, I’m sure your way of using it is much ,much tastier!
.-= InTolerantChef´s last blog ..Apple Pie =-.
That looks tasty Anna. Any meal that gets people together and gathered around a table eating something warm and comforting is always No.1 in my books.
Not a beer girl, but wouldn’t say no to a lovely drop of red from one of your surrounding local wineries
.-= cityhippyfarmgirl´s last blog ..Travels with Sourdough =-.
Sounds delicious Anna! What a great way to come together to try food.wine pairings, I love the concept!
.-= Loll´s last blog ..Sausage and mash- South African style =-.
All this information is so helpful. I grow my own vegetables, prepare them, and lose weight for my efforts. I am also well liked by my neighbors because I share.
Family dinners are always fun! I have great memories from our family Sunday dinners where each one of us was responsible for a dish!Sometimes my dish would be great and sometimes an utter disaster!
I am not a beef eater but that dish looks amazing!
.-= Priyanka´s last blog ..Car damage and skybox views! =-.
What a lovely idea – having a regular time (even if it’s an odd regular time
) to catch up with friends and people you love is so important. As is gremolata 
.-= Hannah´s last blog ..Rawganic Chocolate with Hibiscus and Lucuma =-.
church block is such a classic! gotta say, South Australia wines tend to be my favourite. (i’m a sugar addict.) don’t really know much about beer and food pairing, i’ll have to start experimenting
.-= Angela (the diet book junkie)´s last blog ..sushi weekend =-.
Looks and sounds good! … not too sure about vegemite though! Mainly cos I don’t like the stuff!
.-= Iron Chef Shellie´s last blog ..Taste of Melbourne 2010 =-.
hi Anna,
thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a comment so that i was able to find your lovely blog. i’m loving your recipe. to be honest, i’m not a huge lamb fan so am glad you used beef instead. also, i do love a hot bowl of stew on a cooler day. yours looks delicious. thank you for sharing.
I have never cooked with vegemite, do you think this would work in the slow cooker?
.-= jess´s last blog ..French Toast =-.
Your family dinners sound like lots of fun! And this recipe is so right for this weather. Even though its Spring in a couple of days, I’m still wearing thermals!
.-= Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella´s last blog ..Lebanon and Beyond- Randwick =-.
Sounds delicious, and am loving the idea of using Guiness in it.
This really looks good, although I’m unfamiliar with a few of the ingredients. However, here in the middle of the US, we’re just heading toward winter so it’s something to look forward to.
Sounds like a great family meal! Nice touch to add the gremolata too.
.-= lisaiscooking´s last blog ..Gnocchi with Pesto =-.
Mmmmm, what time should I come over????
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What’s For Dinner
http://www.mawhats4dinner.com
.-= Alex aka Ma What’s For Dinner´s last blog ..First Day Jitters =-.
Sounds Yummy Anna,
Your recipes are out of this world. Now my challenge is to convert the measurements into US standards. I know, we’re kind of odd man out here. LOL
Thanks,
Val
.-= Val Wilcox´s last blog ..Are Competing Commitments Holding You Back =-.
Anna, I love it! Guinness and Vegemite beef stew? With pearl barley? My idea of heaven..
Yummy! You need to share these dishes more often, this looks sooo good! In fact, I’ve got the perfect plan – you bring the gremolata and I’ll bring the petit fours!
.-= Julie M.´s last blog ..Daring Bakers Challenge- Ice Cream Petit Fours =-.
Holy cow. STICKY beef stew? You got me at sticky, sister. It sounds absolutely heart and soul warming! I’m now sad that I didn’t bring my jar of Marmite with me!
hahaha! i like the “dark & sticky.” i’ve never had vegemite.. but i’m planning on having it one day!!!
.-= boogie´s last blog ..Zucchini Lasagna =-.
Oh Anna thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe… watch out…
I have heard oenloves veggiemite or you hate it. I must say i have not tasted them yet. Love your week dinner, it is a real hearty delicous dish.
.-= Happy Cook´s last blog ..Paneer Makhani =-.
oh my – I bet that made your house smell divine also!
.-= Lisa (bakebikeblog)´s last blog ..Road trippin’ =-.
Hey Anna, that’s a nice family meal! Rustic European food is so comforting while the weather is still chill and crisp;) Oh, and I saw that you have vegemite in there. I’ve heard a lot about that stuff (big smile)…
.-= Stella´s last blog ..A Good Cashew Cream =-.
we foodies are a rare breed, especially those of us who work in the industry….I always attribute becoming a chef to my mother dropping me on my head when I was a child….lol…
Your sticky beef stew is inspiring…wow….maramite and guinness, just incredible!
hope you are enjoying this glorious labor day weekend!
.-= Chef Dennis´s last blog ..Sensational Summer Shrimp Cakes!! =-.
Hello, I found your blog on google and read allot of your other recipes. I love what you have tosay . I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work . Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Anna, I love it! Guinness and Vegemite beef stew? With pearl barley? My idea of heaven..
Awesome
Glad you love this type of food too. Enjoy!
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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 29th, 2010 at 11:00 pm and is filed under Beef, Family Dinner, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.