Beef, Guinness and Mushroom Stew

On a cold winter night try this warming winter stew, slow-cooked tender beef in a rich Guinness gravy.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 45 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2  lbs stewing beef, trimmed and cut into 1in cubes
•  seasoned flour, for dusting
• 2  ounces butter
• 2  tablespoons  sunflower oil
• 2  onions, roughly chopped
• 3 1⁄2 ounces button mushrooms
• 1 1⁄4 cups  Guinness stout
• 2  tablespoons tomato paste
• 1  tablespoon sugar
• 1  bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs of thyme, 2 sprigs of parsley, 1 sprig of rosemary, tied together with a string)
•  black pepper
• 8  ounces shiitake mushrooms

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F
2. Toss the beef lightly in seasoned flour.
3. Heat a third of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat briskly in batches, without overcrowding the pan. Transfer the browned beef to a casserole.
4. Add a little more butter and oil to the pan and fry the onions until lightly browned. Scoop into the casserole. Finally fry the button mushrooms and add those to the casserole too.
5. Pour the Guinness into the frying pan and bring to the boil, scraping in the brown residues from frying. Stir in the tomato paste and sugar.
6. Pour the Guinness mixture into the casserole, add enough hot water to come about 3/4 of the way up the meat and add the bouquet garni, salt and freshly ground pepper.
7. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2-3 hours or until the meat is very tender. Check occasionally, giving it a stir, and if necessary add a little more hot water.
8. Remove the stalks from the shitake mushrooms and discard. Slice the caps thickly. Heat the remaining butter in a frying pan and sauté the mushrooms, then stir into the casserole and return to the oven for 5 minutes.
9. Discard the bouquet garni, adjust the seasoning and serve.