Beef Hotpot with Mushrooms and Port

Of late I have been more than a bit limited with travelling and continuing my quest for good eating    (and drinking) in and around Gippsland. So much to my wife's horror I have taken to the kitchen.

Here is a sample of my gastronomic experimentation. Normal stews can be boring so I added a few extras. Much to my delight, it tasted great (well I think so), and Joy admitted to enjoying it too. This is simple tasty good eating, cooked in a slow cooker so the meat comes out really tender.

Go on try it, I hope you enjoy.......

Beef Hotpot with Mushrooms and Port

            

            INGREDIENTS

Meat and Veggies:  500-600grms lean beef:  2 med potatoes: 2 med onions: 3 x 12cm sticks celery: 3 large carrots:  200grms button mushrooms:

Seasoning etc:  Paprika: Garlic Powder: Worcestershire Sauce: Black Pepper: Sea Salt:

 2 Beef Stock Cubes: 1 sachet of Tomato paste (concentrated)

Extras:  Plain Flour: Olive Oil: Port 100mls (or to taste)  

Serve with: Steamed Cauliflower and Broccoli: Fresh Crusty Bread:

METHOD

Peel and cube potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery.  I like about 2cm cubes for a chunky style.

Place in base of slow cooker.

Remove any excess fat from meat and cube, (same size as veggies). Place in large mixing bowl.   Sprinkle meat with olive oil just enough to coat the cubes.

Coat meat with generous sprinkle of paprika, add garlic powder & black pepper to taste. Mix.

Coat meat and spices with about 2 – 3 tablespoons of plain flour.  

Mix well until all flour is on meat.

 

Place stock cubes in mug and add boiling water. Mix until fully dissolved. 

Then add tomato paste and re-mix.

Add about half the mushrooms to veggies in cooker and mix in.

Pour stock/tomato paste mixture over veggies in cooker. Then add about 2 mugs of hot water.  Just to cover the veggies.

Add a generous shake of Worcestershire sauce.  About 6 good shakes is Ok for me .

Grind over sea salt and black pepper to taste and mix well with veggies and stock liquid.

Mix remainder of mushrooms with cubed meat in bowl.

Add 100 mls. of port to meat & mushrooms, mix well.  If you like a richer taste you can use more port !

 

Add this mix to slow cooker keeping meat away from the edges.   It stops it sticking.

Put lid on slow cooker and leave on No 1 (slowest) for minimum 6 hours.   8 hrs will do no harm

 

Then stir mixture, leave for at least another 30 minutes. This will let gravy thicken and mix all ingredients.

Steam off some cauliflower and broccoli serve with a little melted butter in separate dish.

Crusty bread is a great addition to mop up all that port gravy.

Any remainder can be divided into single serves and frozen for a great lunch or another meal.

Enjoy with a glass of red, or two.

              I haven’t tried it but am sure with care, this would work in a camp oven. Great by the campfire.