Mary Berry’s beef stew is a comforting, traditional British one-pot dish that makes for tastier leftovers.
Mary Berry’s hearty beef stew is easy to prep in 30 minutes and tastes better the next day(Image: svariophoto via Getty Images)
As autumn arrives and the weather turns cooler, beef stew makes for the ideal warming meal to prepare during this season. Mary Berry’s beef stew recipe is a classic British one-pot dish, created by slowly simmering beef alongside onions, carrots, potatoes and stock until all the ingredients become meltingly tender and beautifully combined.
The recipe relies on straightforward ingredients, gentle heat and time, rather than any fussy or complex methods.
While this dish requires a couple of hours in the oven, the preparation time is just 30 minutes. Following a few hours of slow cooking, the beef will be fork-tender, the vegetables will be cooked to perfection, and the sauce will be wonderfully rich and full of flavour.
Better still, the recipe requires minimal effort once it’s in the oven, improves in flavour after a day or two, and freezes exceptionally well.
To enhance the taste, Mary Berry incorporates ginger, paprika and horseradish, and suggests serving the stew alongside dauphinoise potatoes and green vegetables.
Horseradish provides a surprisingly subtle flavour and velvety sauce, while the ginger and paprika deliver a pleasant heat.
In addition to the ingredients listed below, you’ll also require a shallow casserole dish suitable for oven use.
How to make Mary Berry’s beef stew
Ingredients (serves six)
- One tablespoon of sunflower oil
- 750g of braising steak, cut into 2cm cubes
- 25g of butter
- Two small leeks, trimmed and finely sliced
- One teaspoon of ground ginger
- Two teaspoons of paprika
- 40g of plain flour
- 425ml of good-quality hot beef stock
- Two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
- One small celeriac, peeled and cubed into 2cm pieces
- Two heaped tablespoons of hot horseradish cream
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
Method
Begin by heating the oil in a large ovenproof pan and fry the meat over high heat until browned on all sides. Remove using a slotted spoon and set aside before preheating the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3.
Add the butter and leeks to the unwashed pan, and fry for several minutes. Sprinkle in the ginger, paprika and flour, stir and cook for a minute.
Stir in the stock and bring to the boil, stirring until thickened. Add Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper.
Return the meat to the pan, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for a few minutes.
Transfer to the oven and cook for approximately one hour and 45 minutes to two hours. Once the time is up, stir in the celeriac, bring back to the boil for a few minutes, then return to the oven for around 30 minutes until both the meat and celeriac are tender.
Stir in the horseradish cream, scatter with parsley and serve immediately.
