So Cocoa Beef Stew
19th November 2014
<p>As the nights draw in and the temperature drops we’ve been looking forward to warming comfort food in the evenings and what better to come home to than this beef stew, made all the more delicious by the addition of <em>Willies World Class 100% Cacao</em>.</p> <p> </p> <p>Ingredients</p> <p>Serves 4</p> <ul> <li>Beef stewing stew</li> <li>2 Parsnips</li> <li>1 Suede</li> <li>3 Potatoes</li> <li>4 carrots</li> <li>1 onion</li> <li>4 cloves of garlic crushed</li> <li>1 can of ale</li> <li>125ml of red wine</li> <li>3 bay leaves</li> <li>4 tbsp of Willies 100% Cacao grated</li> <li>1 tsp of wholegrain mustard</li> <li>1 ½ pints of beef stock</li> <li>1 tin of plum tomatoes</li> <li>1 tbsp of tomato puree</li> <li>Salt and pepper to season</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>Method</p> <p> </p> <p>Prepare all your vegetables into 2cm cubes, crush the garlic cloves and dice the onion. Heat a large saucepan on the hob with a little oil, dust the beef stewing stew in a little plain flour. Gently fry the beef in the pan until it is seared, now add the garlic and onion and stir until the onion begins to soften. Pour in the can of ale and the red wine so the meat absorbs the flavour, bring to the boil and reduce slightly. Add the vegetables in to the saucepan and pour over the 1 ½ pints of stock, tin of plum tomatoes and the tbsp of tomato puree to thicken. Drop the three bay leaves in the saucepan and season generously. Leave to simmer for 30 minutes. Next add the tsp of mustard and the cacao and stir until absorbed in the stew. Leave to simmer for another 45 minutes. By this point your meat should be tender and your vegetables should fall off your fork. Season to taste. If you wish to thicken your stew mix two tablespoons of the stew sauce with 1 tablespoon of corn flour in a cup, until it is a paste and then mix back into the stew (this will help to avoid lumps) or add two tablespoons of beef gravy granules to the stew.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Cacao adds a deep, richness to the stew, we recommend the <em>Venezuelan Black 100% Carenero Cacao</em> with notes of nuts and spices. Available in store or online.</p> <p>Perfect on a winters evening with a glass of red wine….</p> <p> </p>
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