Root Vegetable & Beef Stew

So all this was pulled out of the ground and put straight into a pan on Friday. I didn't use a recipe I just kind of threw everything into a pan and hoped for the best and it turned out pretty tasty! We have an endless supply of fresh home grown vegetables - we're lucky! I cooked up a huge batch to freeze for lazy days. Feel free to change the vegetables up a little!





For 10 servings -

This is what you'll need:

2lbs stewing steak, cut into large chunks
1lb carrots, diced (ours were a mixture of yellow and orange carrots)
700g potatoes, diced
Handful of carrot stalks, roughly chopped
1 tbsp dried basil
4tbsp tomato puree
600ml beef gravy
2 beef stock cubes
600g parsnips, diced
Handful of green beans, sliced
1tbsp honey
5 small onions, diced
3tbsp olive oil
200ml water

This is what you do:

1. Fry onions in oil until soft.
2. Turn up the heat, add beef and seal.
3. Add water and tomato puree, stir and cover. Allow to simmer on a medium heat for 15 minutes.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients, simmer uncovered on a low heat for 30 minutes. When it has thickened, cover and simmer for a further 30 minutes.
5. Add salt and pepper if you wish.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Parsnips go beautifully with honey and cracked black pepper. If you have the time to roast them before putting them in the stew, try it! Dice parsnips, drizzle with a drop of olive oil, honey and pepper and roast for 30 minutes. The sweetness from the parsnips and honey will blend well with the tangy yellow carrots.

Carrot, Corriander & Ginger soup

Wonderfully refreshing and surprisingly filling, here's my take on a classic carrot and corriander soup. Some of this is a fluke (I now prefer the lumps!) but adding ginger has been my doing for years now. I think it adds a real kick and makes this soup a must have when you're feeling under the weather.



For 6 servings:

This is what you'll need -

1lb carrots, peeled and diced
1.5 litres chicken stock
2 thumb sized pieces of ginger, peeled and grated
Large handful of corriander, chopped roughly
Salt & pepper to taste

This is what you do -

1) Boil carrots until mushy. Drain and mash (our food processor broke so I mashed - feel free to blitz until smooth if that's what you prefer)
2) Add hot chicken stock and ginger to the mashed carrots and stir.
3) Add salt if you wish and plenty of black pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat.
4) Add corriander at the last minute and combine.
5) Serve with crusty bread rolls and enjoy!