Beef and Chorizo Casserole

Yep it’s that time of year again….Autumn is upon us and we’re all turning our heads or perhaps stomachs towards slightly more warming and comforting food. Well I am anyway!! To me Autumm is all about tasty bowls of soup, hearty casseroles and comforting pies and i’m not going to disappoint with this tasty stew!

The chorizo in this really ups the flavour with a deliciously warming paprika undertone. It’s comfort food but healthy and packed with veggies. If you’re making this i would suggest making double. It does take a little time to make although the oven does most of the work, but you’ll be so grateful when you can pull a pre prepared batch out of the freezer for those slightly busier days!

So once you’ve preheated your oven to 160C you can get started. The steps are pretty simple here goes:

1) Start by dusting your beef in some flour and then browning the beef with a little oil in a heavy based casserole dish. You will need to do this in batches. Once browned leave aside.

2) Before you start the next step you may need to deglaze the pan with a little water if the flour has caught on the botton of the dish or you can simply wipe away the excess crumbs with a kitchen towel.

3) Now add a little more oil into the pan and add your onion. Fry over a medium heat for a few minutes to soften.

4) Now add your chorizo..

Next in goes the garlic….

Now add your carrots…

1 tbsp Smoked paprika and cumin…..

1 can of chopped tomatoes….A good glug of wine (about a glass!)…..

Add a beef stock cube….

A can of water….

Season….

Pop the beef back into the casserole dish….

Add a good squirt of tomato puree…

Bring up to a simmer and then pop the lid on and into the oven for 2 – 2 1/2 hours….

When you’re ready to serve this pop back onto the hob and over a low heat stir through some kale or spinach. Then top with a dollop of natural yogurt and some fresh parsley and coriander and serve…Below this is served with rice and also some creamy mash made from maris piper and sweet pototoes with 1tbsp of horseradish mixed in…delicious!

 

So for this you’ll need:

• 1 onion – finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
• 2 carrots – chopped
• 500g Beef Braising steak or casserole steak cut into chunks
• Handful of wholemeal flour for dusting your meat
• 120g chorizo chopped  (just over half a chorizo ring)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 large glass of red wine
• Beef stock cube
• Kale and spinach – 2 large handfuls of each (This is optional depending on how accepting your kids are of the green stuff!)
• Garnish: natural yogurt, fresh coriander and fresh parsley

What you need to do;

• Preheat your oven to 160C
• Dust your beef with some flour so that it’s lightly coated
• Heat a little oil in a heavy based casserole dish and brown the beef. You’ll need to do this in batches. Once browned leave the beef aside
• Wipe the pan with some kitchen towel to get rid of any caught flour and then add a litle more oil
• Gently fry your onion for a few minutes until softened
• Next add your chorizo, garlic, carrots, paprika and cumin and stir for a few minutes
• Now add your tinned tomatoes, wine, stock and water.
• Season well
• Add your beef back into the casserole dish and add some tomato puree.
• Bring up to a simmer and then pop the lid on place into the oven for 2 – 2 1/2 hours.
• When you’re ready to serve bring the casserole back onto the hob and stir through some kale and spinach until wilted
• Serve with some natural yogurt and fresh coriander and parsley
• Enjoy!

 

Serving suggestions: You can serve this a number of ways!…Pop into a bowl and eat with some crusty bread, serve with wholegrain rice, jacket potatoes or why not try some creamy mash with a dollop of horseradish sauce stirred in (yum, my particular fave!!) or you could even serve this with some gnocchi, my son’s favourite..!! It’s lovely with some crispy kale sprinkled over the top too…mmmm!

Whichever way you choose I hope you enjoy!

If you do try this please tag me on instgram and let me know!! #hungrylittlebears

lots of love xx