Beef ‘n Beer with Peppers

Hearty, healthy, and warming! Beef ‘n Beer with Peppers perfect for sharing with people you love; or you can eat some of the meat, and freeze the remainder for another meal.
Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients:

• Beef:
• 60 ml sunflower oil
• 2 kg stewing beef, such as chuck, topside, thick flank, or neck of beef, cut into 5 cm x 5 cm cubes
• 2 onions, peeled, and roughly chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled, and roughly chopped
• 2 sticks celery, sliced 1 bay leaf
• 2 red peppers, deseeded, and cut into strips
• 1 orange or yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
• 750 ml stout or Guinness (1 x bottle/can)
• Freshly chopped parsley for garnishing
• Polenta:
• 500 g polenta
• 500 ml water
• 30 g butter (60 ml)
• 100 ml low-fat cream
• 45 g freshly grated
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Dash of ground nutmeg
• Red Cabbage:
• 30 ml olive oil
• 1 red cabbage, shredded
• 60 ml sultanas
• 60 ml balsamic vinegar
• 15 ml brown sugar
• 1 ml ground cinnamon

Method:

1.  Beef: Heat the oil in a large-sized saucepan; brown the cubes of beef in batches, just sufficient to cover the
   bottom of the pan. Remove from the pan and set aside; continue until all the meat is browned.
2. Sauté the onions until translucent. Add in the carrots and celery, and cook a further 6 – 8 minutes.
3. Add the bay leaf and peppers, and the stout or Guinness.
4. Return the meat to the pan.
5.  Turn the heat down to simmer and cook gently for 2½ – 3 hours.
6. Alternatively, place in a casserole dish with a lid, and cook at 160ºC/140ºC fan/Gas mark 3 for 2½ – 3 hours. Remove the lid; cook a further 20 – 30 minutes.
7.  Another option is to cook in the slow cooker for 5½ – 6 hours, but remove the meat, and add the liquid to a
   saucepan. Either boil to reduce, or thicken with a paste of cornflour and water. Return the meat to the sauce.
8. Red Cabbage: Heat 30 ml olive oil in a large frying pan. Toss in the cabbage, and stir-fry quickly for 5 minutes.
9. Stir in the sultanas, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Season to taste.
10.  Polenta: Cook the polenta according to directions on the bag.
11.  When cooked, add in butter, cream, Parmesan cheese, and seasoning.
12.  Add a dash of nutmeg to the polenta.
13. To Serve: Place a little polenta, cabbage and beef on the plate. Top with peppers. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley

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