Summary

Prep: 10 mins
Cooking: 1 hour
Ages: Baby (8m+) to Teens
Difficulty: Easy peasy
Makes: 4 bowls

The key to making this ultimate comfort food, is to coat all the ingredients in a little bit of flour before pouring in the stock.  This will ensure that you end up with a hearty stew and not a soup. We’ve designed this recipe so that all you have to do is coat the meat and vegetables in flour, toss it into a pot, add the stock and have a cup of tea while your dinner cooks itself. Total prep work is just ten minutes or so…. And, what’s better than the aromas of a stew bubbling away on the hob?

This beef stew is loaded with protein, lean carbs, Vitamin A and beta carotene. As the winter days drag on, make yourself a comforting dinner that’s a great winter warmer.

Ingredients

• 300 grams stewing beef or shin of beef, cut into 2 in chunks
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 100 grams of butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
• ½ small onion (or shallots), peeled and chopped
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 50 grams of plain white flour
• 225 ml of beef stock
• 100 grams of mushrooms, sliced

Instructions

1. Place the flour in a large bowl.
2. Dip the meat chunks into the flour to coat, and transfer to a plate.
3. Dip the vegetable chunks into the flour to coat.
4. Add the flour coated meat and vegetables to a flameproof casserole, and sprinkle the remaining flour over the top.
5. Add the thyme and beef stock.
6. Put the casserole on the hob and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover with a tight fitting lid.
7. Simmer for one hour with the lid on.
8. Remove the lid and add the mushrooms. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes with the lid off.

Baby beef stew – our step by step guide:

Place your flour in a bowl and roll your meat pieces around in the flour.

Make sure that the beef is well coated.

This will ensure that your stew in nice and thick.

Remove the meat and put it on a plate.

Now put your carrot, celery, butternut squash and onion, in the bowl with the flour.

Stir them around with a wooden spoon until they are coated as well.

Pop everything into a heatproof casserole or large pan.

If you don’t have a hob to oven dish, it’s fine to cook this stew in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid.

Sprinkle any remaining flour over the whole mixture.

Now add your thyme and stock to the pan.

You can add your thyme stalks whole and take the out after the stew has cooked or you can add just the leaves to the stew.

Put the lid on your pan and simmer over low heat for an hour.

Take the lid off every now and then and give it all a good stir to make sure it’s not sticking.

If it is getting too dry add more water as needed.

When the hour is up, tip in the mushrooms.

Stir everything together and return the pan to the hob, this time with the lid off.

This will allow any excess liquid to evaporate, giving you a nice, thick stew.

Remove from the heat and serve!

For babies, take apart the chunks of vegetable and meat with a fork to make it easier to chew.

For younger babies you can also puree it to make a delicious mash.