Beef and Red Wine Stew

Ingredients

• 1kg beef (chuck steak, gravy beef or any cheap cut)
• 2 x onions
• 2 x zucchini
• 2 x carrots
• 2 x celery stalks
• 2 x tomato
• Fresh basil, oregano and thyme
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 x bottle of dry red wine
• 4 large pieces of pumpkin (this will soften and help to thicken the sauce without using flour)
• 1/3 cup of cornflour

Method

1. Chop beef into large cubes ... or chunks... leaving most of the fat and gristle on the meat
2. Dice onion, finely chop garlic and add to a heated frypan
3. Some recipes recommend rolling the meat in flour and spices before browning in a pan, but as this is a gluten free variation of a stew we skip this step, adding the meat directly to the pan with the onion and garlic until all edges are sealed.
4. You may like to pour about half a cup of red wine into the pan while it is on high, but make sure the wine is sizzling around the meat - don't boil or steam the meat, you are sealing it which means to cook the edges to hold the flavour and moisture in.
5. Chop zucchini, carrot, celery, tomato and pumpkin into chunks and add to slow cooker along with enough water to cover all ingredients (about 2 litres).
6. Add half of the fresh herbs, keeping the rest to add near the end.
7. Add all ingredients from the pan to the slow cooker, scraping all onion, garlic and oil into the pot with the vegetables and water
8. Next the wine should be cooked off first to evaporate the alcohol. This will avoid it developing a metallic taste when added to the slow cooker, and it helps to wash all the flavours out of the pan. Pour half the bottle into the pan until it is gently boiling, then pour into the slow cooker. Repeat with the rest, minus about a cup for adding at the end.
   
   
   
9. Cook in the slow cooker or a large pot for 2 - 6 hours depending on how much time you have. It is cooked when the meat falls apart when touched with a fork.
10. You can mash the pumpkin chunks with the back of your wooden spoon to help thicken the sauce. Additional thickness can be obtained by adding cornflour but first dissolve it in some warm water to prevent lumps.
11. I like to add the rest of the herbs at the end and pour the final cup of wine straight into the stew about half an hour before serving. I personally like the extra flavour this final cup of wine gives.

Serve

• On a bed of mashed potato
• With brown rice
• For lunch the next day
• Freeze a large take away container full of sauce, meat and vegetables as it makes a perfect pie filling or savoury mince a few weeks later