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Delicious and slightly sweet is this unusual beef stew with prunes. The recipe is a Nigella Lawson classic (from Simply Nigella) and I have made a few tiny tweaks to the recipe to make is somewhat less sweet. But if you love a good hearty stew? Read on!
Beef stew with prunes
I love my slow cooker. I think it is a brilliant little machine and especially when we talk about stews it is a life saver. You simply place everything in the slow cooker in the morning and you come home to a finished dish. Who doesn’t want that?
Growing up getting a stew was one of my favorite dishes. Probably because mum couldn’t really make a lot of dishes well but a good stew she could make!
What is going in the stew?
In the recipe from Nigella she used quite a bit of molasses which I thought was a bit too sweet. The prunes give enough sweetness as far as I am concerned so I left the molasse out. If you’re a big fan of sweet you might still want to include it.
For the rest you need:
- beef
- prunes – you need sweet dried prunes
- beef broth
- beer
- bay leaf
Preparing it in the slow cooker (or instant pot) is an option but you can definitely also use a Dutch oven if you prefer. The cooking time will vary and keep in mind that you might need a bit more liquid. Just adding a little water is fine.
How to make the beef stew
If you’re using a slow cooker if can’t get easier. Simply add all the ingredients to the bowl of the slow cooker. I love adding a cinnamon stick and maybe some star anis as well. I turn it on usually on low heat and than you just have to wait. We kept the stew on for quite a long time. Ours must have been on for about 8 hours. The prunes were completely broken down by that time and just give the sauce a lovely sweet flavor.
Delicious served with potato mash! It’s even better the next day so make extra so you can enjoy it later too.
Variations
While it is fabulous with prunes (dried plums) you can also use other dried fruits. Think dried apricots for instance. Would be delicious too. Instead of the beef broth you can switch to chicken broth.
Beef stew with prunes
Ingredients
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1000 grams beef
- 250 gr prunes
- 500 ml beef broth
- 250 ml dark beer Guiness or similar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 pcs cinnamon sticks
- 3 bay leaves
Equipment
- Slow cooker
How to make the beef stew
- Cut the beef into cubes and place into your slow cooker. Add the prunes and mix together
- Add the stock and the beer and a bit of salt. Add the chopped onions and the garlic.
- Add the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves, turn on the slowcooker on low and leave to stand for 8 hours. You should be able to separate the meat easily with a fork.
- Turn the slowcooker off and taste if it needs extra salt and pepper.
- You can eat it straight away but the taste becomes even better after one or two days in the fridge.
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
