You will need:
Some stewing beef (i used 400g which serves 2-3 people)
3 large carrots
1 large onion
2 oxo cubes
splash of olive oil
4 tbsp flour
black pepper
2 tsp tomato puree
1 bouquet garni
pinch of mixed herbs eg. rosemary, thyme
1 bottle of real ale
(If my OH liked mushrooms then I would add these too).
Then you need to:
coat the beef in the flour which I seasoned with black pepper
heat a few splashes of oil in a pan and brown the beef for a few minutes
crumble in the oxo cubes and mix well
add the ale and bring to the boil
add the tomato puree, the herbs, bouquet garni and allow to boil for a minute two
remove from the heat
meanwhile chop an onion and the carrots and place into your slow cooker
pour over the beef mix and stir
place on a low heat for about 8 hours, season to taste and serve with either buttery mash and veg or another thing I like to do is make a couple of puff pastry (ready made off of course!) rounds, cook in the oven and make the casserole in to steak and ale pie by placing the pie lids on top of each serving of the casserole .
