This spicy, warming tomato and beef stew is just what you need on a cold winters night. The paprika and chilli give it a little kick and the beef, tomatoes and carrots give it a sense of robustness. It feels like all is well in the world when this hits your plate

Ingredients

• Olive or Sunflower Oil
• About 454g of diced beef or stewing steak. The exact quantity doesn’t really matter.
• A medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• A couple of cloves of garlic peeled and crushed or finely grated if you don’t have a garlic press
• A couple of sticks of celery if you have them, washed and chopped into small chunks
• 3 or 4 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks or rings depending on what you prefer.
• A generous squeeze of tomato puree
• A tin of chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes or passata depending on what you have in your cupboard
• Hot chilli Powder or a 1/4 of a peeled, deseeded red chilli
• Hot Paprika
• Herbs de Provence
• Worcestershire sauce
• A stockpot, either beef, rich beef or smoked paprika and garlic

Method

In a large pan (or if your slow cooker is a sear and stew one with a metal pot designed to go on the hob use that) add about 1-2 tablespoonful of oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute them gently until they go glossy and golden. Add the celery and carrots and stir well

Add the chunks of diced beef until they’re brown on all sides

Add the tomato puree and the tin of tomatoes or jar of passata along with a good shaking of hot paprika, herbs de Provence, hot chilli powder and generous glug of Worcestershire sauce

If not using a sear and stew slow cooker transfer the stew to the slow cooker pot now

Cook on low all day or high for the afternoon

Check seasoning and adjust if necessary

Serving Suggestion

Serve with Cheesy dumplings or mashed potato, a jacket potato or herby potatoes