Beef Stew

Step 1
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C fan-forced.

Step 2
Prepare your vegetables. Cut the onion into 2cm chunks. Finely chop the garlic. Deseed the capsicum and slice into strips. Peel the carrots and cut diagonally into 3cm pieces.

Step 3
Cut the beef chuck into 3cm cubes. In a large bowl combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add the beef and toss to coat.

Step 4
Pre-heat a large oven-proof cast iron pot over high heat. Add half of the olive oil and cook the onion for 3-4 mins, stirring constantly, until the onion is starting to become translucent.

Step 5
Add the remaining olive oil and the beef and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the beef browns on all sides.

Step 6
Add the garlic, capsicum, tomato paste and diced tomatoes and stir for 2-3 minutes, then add the sweet paprika and smoked paprika and mix.

Step 7
Add the beef stock and bring to a gentle simmer, then cover with the lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 1 ½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes.

Step 8
Remove from the oven, add the carrots, recover the pan and cook for a further 30 minutes, adding a little water if it’s looking too dry.

Step 9
Once the stew has finished cooking, remove from the oven and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 10
Ladle into bowls and serve with a spoonful of sour cream, a sprinkling of dill and some fresh crusty bread.