Let that stew...

Well, I'm really taking to the country life. I cooked stew, not a casserole or tagine, but real stew for the first time in my life.

Following yesterday's sudden rain storm there's been an iciness in the air, so yes, I made stew in summer! And instead of frozen peas which the recipe calls for, I used fresh shelled peas from the farmers market that I bought on the weekend. I served it with fresh Parmesan bread from our local artisan bakery - it had just come out the oven when I bought it. Yum!

Stew in summer!

When I was a child my mother would cook stew once in a while and I would dread it. Poor Mum, her cooking skills were inherited from a British background and as such many of her traditional recipes were typically British: practically zero seasoning or flavouring and all boiled until unrecognisable. So sadly Mum's stew was more like bland gruel.

Many later when I was in my teens, Mum underwent a major operation and was confined to bedrest for several weeks. During this time Dad and I had to fend for ourselves, and many friends and neighbours came to our aid bringing us home-cooked meals to help us get by. On one such occasion, the wife of a good friend of my Dad's dropped by with a large pot of stew. My heart sank, dreading the soulless meal we politely thanked her for.

However, when we tasted it we were blown away. It was rich and full of flavour. Even Mum was astounded. We all helped ourselves to seconds and devoured the whole pot in one sitting. Who knew stew could taste so good? Her secret? Apples and chutney. Ever since she shared her secret with us, Mum's traditional stew days were over and it was Dawn's stew from then on with no complaints from me. So, on the one day that I felt moved to make a stew, it was her recipe that I used, though I substituted a pear for an apple as I had run out of apples. It still tasted just as good.

Dawn's stew

• 500g stewing beef
• 2 large or 4 small onions
• 1 green cooking apple
• fruity chutney
• carrots
• potatoes
• frozen peas
• beef stock 
• mixed herbs
• basil
• salt and pepper
• cornflour

Slice the onions and fry with butter or lard till lightly brown and soft. Cut up the beef into chunks and brown with the onions. 

Transfer to a slow cooker and add a heaped teaspoon of the mixed herbs and about 3/4 tsp of the basil, 2 tsp sugar and salt & pepper to taste.

Add enough beef stock to just cover the meat and onions. Leave to simmer.

Grate the apple and add to the mixture along with about 1 cup of chutney.

Chop carrots and potatoes and add, with around a cup of frozen peas. 

Cook on high for 6 to 8 hours until meat is tender. Just before serving, mix about a teaspoon of cornflour in about 30ml of cold water and add to the mixture. Stir through evenly and leave to thicken for a few minutes. Serve with bread, rice or whatever takes your fancy.