I can’t believe that we’re halfway through January already, where’s the time going!? Although my life has slowed down a little since we moved house and Christmas it still seems super busy and the diary for the next few months is filling fast 🙈 As my mum would say it’s better to be busy than bored!
I was in the kitchen quite a bit last week experimenting with different ingredients. We had some egg white left over so I decided to have a go at making some meringues for the first time, I wasn’t massively hopeful if i’m honest (I know, I know – I should be more positive, I’m working on it!), but they came out really well! They looked good and tasted delicious and Dean loved them that much he wants me to make them again!
Here they are: 😋
The were so simple to make and I decided to add some strawberry and champagne jam to my pipping bag, not knowing if it would work, but it was DELICIOUS! Continue to the end of the post for a simple step my step on how to make these meringues 😊
We all love a bit of social media these days and I love taking photos of food but not everyone gets it if I’m honest so I tend not to post too much of what we eat when we go out. So this is where Instagram has come in really handy with Globe Scoffers. I’m starting to use it a lot more now and have found it’s the right place to post loads of food pics! You can also see a bit of what we do in our personal life as well as behind the scenes of the blog so be sure to follow us on Instagram.
Right, let’s get on to this beef and ale stew! It’s been on my mind to make for a while actually. Dean has gotten in to drinking ale, which seems quite a trend at the moment, or is it? Perhaps it just comes with age? 😂
This stew is actually based on a pie we had at a pub in Worcester called The King Charles. Dean goes there from time to time with his friend Tristan for “Pie and Mash nights”. In early January we went for a New Year’s walk with my family and then for a pie after. I went for one called the Deerstalker – it contained venison, red wine and red lentils, and was delicious. Some of the other pies available had ale in them and that’s what gave me the idea of doing it with ale instead of red wine.
I’ll let you in to a little secret now! When making this stew and I tasted it early on and started to panic as I didn’t like it!!! It had a bitter taste from the ale and for moment I thought “What have I done!”. However… (luckily I’m not trying to put you off making it), the taste soon mellows out as it cooks and all the other flavours infuse together. The end result is BLOODY DELICIOUS! It needs time to slow cook, so be sure to give it chance.
This beef and ale stew is so warming and very hearty. Even though it has a bottle of ale in it, there’s plenty of goodness from the vegetables and lentils. The beef juices give it real flavour, allowing the gravy to become rich and the creaminess from the lentils help to thicken it all up.
One thing I love about this meal is how simple it is, yet full of flavour. Another big plus point is that there’s hardly any washing up to do either, that’s the beauty of these one pot meals. It’s great for sharing so you can make a big batch and even have some the next day – I bet it would taste even better so be sure to let me know on that one as we didn’t have any leftovers!
We paired our beef and ale stew with sweet potato and carrot mash to balance the dish out with some sweetness. And anything green like sprouts, cabbage or beans will go well, if you’re anything like me the more the better – I do love lots of veg!
Beef and Ale Stew with Red Lentils
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 500 g stewing beef
- 500 ml ale I used “Old Thumper”
- 2 tsp garlic puree
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 150 g pancetta cubes
- 8 medium sized mushrooms
- 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 oxo cubes
- 200 ml water
- 200 g tomato passata
- 2 tsp sugar
- 50 g red lentils
- 250 ml boiling water
Instructions
- Brown the beef in a casserole dish with the butter on a medium heat. Add the onions and cook until tender then stir in the garlic paste.
- Add the pancetta cubes and cook them until they have a bit of colour.
- Take your dish off the heat and add the flour, then stir it in well, add a couple of tablespoons of cool water from the tap to loosen everything up.
- Add the Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce then give everything a good stir.
- Now add all of the ale, this will probably fizz a little in the pan so turn the heat right down until it has settled and then increase it back up.
- Let the ale simmer off for about 20 minutes then add the tomato passata, water, oxo cubes, and sugar. Taste as you go along as you might want to add more sugar depending on your tastebuds. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover the stew and leave on a low heat so it can simmer for 1 and a half hours. Check from time to time and give it a stir. Add the whole mushrooms and stir in.
- Weigh out 50g of red lentils (I used the ones you don’t have to soak) then add them to the dish with 250ml of boiling water, make sure you read the packet instructions as this might vary a little. Stir well and leave on a very low simmer uncovered for about 30-45 minutes (if it looks like it’s reducing too quick put the lid back on). At this point start to think about your sides, we had ours with sweet potato and carrot mash and kale.
- Check to see if your beef is tender then serve up and enjoy!
Meringues
- 3 large egg whites
- 175g white caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 heaped tbsp of jam ( I used strawberry and champagne jam)
- Preheat the oven to 140°C/ fan 120°C / gas 1.
- In a mixing bowl whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, continue whisking continuously and slowly add the caster sugar 1 tbsp at a time until you have a stiff glossy mixture. Whisk in the vanilla extract until combined.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using a piping bag and a nozzle of your choice, add some mixture to the bag and then a tbsp of jam and then more meringue mixture, then pipe onto your tray, repeat until all your mixture has gone.
- Place in the oven for about 50 -60 minutes, let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
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