I love to do this recipe in the slow cooker. There's something tremendously satisfying about leaving the house in the morning knowing dinner is sorted and walking back through the door hours later to its rich, tummy rumbling smell.
You can also do it low and slow in the oven however, you will need a pottering Sunday at home to keep an eye on it as it'll take approximately 6 hours on a low heat to render the meat so its soft and tender.
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1 large glass of red wine
2 tins of tomatoes or 1 tin of tomatoes and 300g fresh tomatoes (when they're in season)
1 large onion
3-5 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
1 bulb of fennel or 3 sticks of celery
3 bay leaves
A few generous sprigs of rosemary
A 500g (ish) joint of Westerlands beef brisket
Salt & Pepper
1 tbsp smoked paprika
200g dried green or speckled lentils
Olive oil
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1. Finely dice the onion, garlic, carrot and fennel/celery
2. Add a big glug of oil to a pan, pop it on a medium heat and sweat down the finely diced vegetables until they're soft and starting to caramelise around the edges
3. Add one tsp salt, 1 tsp ground pepper, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, the bay leaves, the rosemary and give it a good stir.
4. Add the lentils, let them cook for a minute or two, making sure to keep it moving to stop it sticking to the pan.
5. Add the tinned tomatoes (and fresh tomatoes if using them), followed by the wine. If you are using a slow cooker, don't add any extra liquid as the veg and beef will produce extra as they cook which will increase your volume. If you are cooking in the oven on a low temperature, fill the tomato tin with water and add that too.
6. To use a slow cooker: transfer your stew base to the slow cooker, nestle the beef in well, pop the lid on and turn to high. Cook on high for 6 hours. If you're going to be out of the house for 7 or more hours, cook it on low but be aware it will need a minumum of 8.
To cook in the oven: Transfer the stew base to an oven proof dish with a lid. Nestle the beef in and pop the lid on. Cook at 150 degrees for 6 hours. You will need to check the liquid quantity halfway through as it evaporates more easily in the oven. If it is looking a little dry, add some more water.
7. Serve with a good portion of seasonal greens for extra nourishment and hunks of sourdough bread to soak up the gravy.
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You can make this a summery version by swapping out the carrot and fennel for courgette and sweet red pepper. Swede, turnips and parsnips can also be finely diced and added in step 1.
This recipe is designed to use dry lentils which will soak up liquid as they cook and thicken the stew. If you're using tinned or cooked lentils, you will need to add a tbsp cornflour when you add the herbs and spices.
We spruced up Florence Barn and welcomed 40 people to our Harvest Feast to celebrate the Good Gut Garden’s first successful year. It was a chance to bring the community together and share the fruits of that first harvest. At the centre of the feast was this slow-cooked brisket stew, made with Westerlands Dexter beef and seasonal vegetables from the garden.
