Low and Slow Ras Stew

1. Heat oven to 160°C / 140°C fan / 320°F / gas 2
2. In a bowl, toss the beef in Shemin’s Ras El Hanout.
3. Heat the oil in a large oven proof pan with a lid. Sear the beef in batches over a medium – high heat so it is brown on all sides and set aside. Then add some more oil if needed and fry the onion and cook for 5 mins to soften. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Then stir in the tomato paste.
4. Next, stir the beef back in and add the stock and chilli powder if desired. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to the boil and then pop into the oven, covered, for 2 hours.
5. Add the potatoes and carrots and continue cooking for another 60 minutes or until desired texture. Taste and add extra salt, pepper if needed and garnish as you see fit.

Tips:

• To bring out even more flavour – refrigerate the stew overnight, as it marries and deepens the flavours of the ingredients. It really works!
• This stew comes out fairly thin and we loved it like that. But if you like a thicker stew you can put the vegetables in earlier and then puree some of them. You can also whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it’s cooking. Or mix one teaspoon of cornflour with a tablespoon of room temperature water and add to your stew. Use cornflour to thicken your stew towards the end of cooking, as cooking it for a long time can break down the starch and your stew will thin out again. Another way is to transfer the pot to the hob for half an hour on low at the end with the lid off.
• You can change what ingredients you include in your beef stew depending on your tastes, as well as what is available. Aside from the meat, you can use a wide range of root vegetables too, like celery, parsnips, turnips, celeriac, and sweet potatoes