Ultimate Comfort Beef Stew

DESCRIPTION Recipe Notes: * This stew freezes wonderfully and alongside some mash and greens can be stretched to feed 10 (if in doubt add in a few more baby potatoes and carrots). * Good, marbled beef makes this dish, so buy the best you can afford. * Brisket can be used in this recipe, however you will need to adjust the cook time from 25 minutes to at least an hour. Once cooked, check the brisket and add more cook time as needed until tender. Once tender, continue the recipe as directed. *We love this served with mash, made with butter and milk, and flecked with fresh chives and a little Dijon mustard. Pairing it with creamy polenta, steamed rice, or garlic bread for dipping into the sauce are other great alternatives.

Cooking Technique

Pressure Cook, Saute

Keywords

4 servings, bay leaf, beef, beef stock, carrot, chopped, cook 40 min, cornflour, family friendly, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, garlic, honey, oil, oil as needed, potato, prep 5 min, pressure cook, red wine, salt & pepper as needed, saute, stew, stew beef cut into chunks, tbsp water, tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, yellow onion

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

40 min

Servings

4 Servings

Ingredients

1.3 kg stew beef cut into chunks
2 yellow onion
5 clove garlic
1 l beef stock
400 g tinned tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh thyme
500 ml red wine
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
300 g carrot
400 g baby potato
4 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp honey
5 g fresh parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper as needed
4 tbsp water
Oil as needed
1 tbsp oil

Instructions

Select Sauté on your instant pot and set the pot to the highest heat setting.
Once hot, drizzle some oil into the base of your pot until it lightly covers the base.
Add your beef and fry until golden brown on all sides. Do this in batches without overcrowding the pot to get a good, golden brown sear on the beef.
While the beef is cooking, halve the onions and cut them into eighths.
Once the beef has finished cooking, remove it from the instant pot and set aside until needed. Do not clean the pot, as the caramelized beef bits will give great flavour to your sauce.
Add the onion chunks to the pot along with more oil, then sauté the onions until slightly softened.
Add the garlic and sauté for one minute more.
Add the beef stock to your instant pot and deglaze the base, by scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, to release any cooked bits of food- this will make your sauce extra delicious, and prevent a “burn notice” signal.
Add in picked fresh thyme leaves.
Layer the following ingredients to prevent the pot yielding a burn notice. On top of the onions place the beef cubes, tinned tomatoes, red wine, bayleaf, Worchestershire sauce and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Do not stir, as this will cause the tomatoes to sink to the bottom and burn during pressure cooking.
Secure the lid of the instant pot, select Pressure Cook and High Pressure, then set the timer to 30 Minutes. When the time is up, carefully quick release the pressure.
While the beef cooks, peel the carrots, and dice them into bite sized chunks. Wash and halve the baby potatoes. Pour some of the remaining red wine into a glass and put your feet up.
Once the beef has finished cooking and pressure is released, open the lid add in the carrots and halved baby potatoes.
Secure the lid back on the pot, select Pressure Cook and High Pressure, then set the timer to 5 Minutes. When the time is up, carefully quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
Mix the corn flour with water and store into a slurry.
Pour this into the stew, along with the honey, and cook the stew on the Saute setting until thickened.
Season the stew to taste with salt and pepper, then serve nice and hot, alongside your favourite side with freshly chopped parsley.