Mom's Beef Stew

You know how you think stew is going to taste when you see it? That meaty, salty, comforting taste. This stew is purely that. It's almost nothing but beef itself, with potatoes added in the end. The flavour comes from the beef mixed with super super caramelised onion, with just a tiny bit of carrot. This is my mom's showstopper- the thing that always makes her kitchen a happy place, even when times are difficult.

I've realised something recently- I really really love this little blog of mine. I share the recipes close to my heart and, when I'm not too shy, I try to share some of my life and my crazy female mind with you. I'm so grateful for you. I love that you come here to read my my silly thoughts, find out about my insecurities and hopefully agree with my naive belief in happiness and love and relationships. I hope I'll start hearing more from you when you're ready too!

I've been missing all this while working and studying very hard, but I plan to come back with just crazy amounts of sweets, cakes, warm suppers, fancy breakfasts, delicious salads and pretty much anything you can use to treat well deserving loved ones in December. For now I'll keep posting once every couple of weeks- as often as I can find a moment in which I'm not much to tempted to sleep.

Mom's Beef Stew

From my mom

Serves 4

1 kg chuck beef

3 onions

1 carrot

3 cloves garlic

3 medium potatoes

1) Clean the meat, taking off the bones and cleaning off most sinew and fat.

2) Chop the onion finely.

3) Cut the carrot into batons (julienne but slightly thicker).

4) Heat up about half a tablespoon of butter and some olive oil in a cast iron pot on a medium-high heat.

5) Fry the beef until browned and caramelised.

6) Turn down the heat, and add the onions and carrots.

7) Once the onion is caramelised, turn the heat to low, add a bit of water to keep it from burning, and cover with a skewed lid.

8) Cook for 4 hours, stirring and adding bit of water as needed every 20 minutes or so. By this point it should be all saucy and irrisistible- keep sticky fingered husbands away, while you get the rest ready.

9) Dice the potatoes and add them, continuing with the water and stewing until they're tender.

10) Serve to now openly salivating loved ones. This stew goes down very well on cold winter nights.