Rich beef and ale casserole with leeks and potato mash

The calendar claims Spring will be here in a few days, but the weather man (and the knees) say otherwise.  As snow starts falling again, it seems Winter will be here forever.  It is definitely time for another comforting stew…. Believe it or not, each portion has less than 500 calories.

Rich beef and ale casserole with mash potato (adapted from Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)

Ingredients 

Beef stew 

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 medium onions chopped
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons mixed herbs
• 1 kg lean braising beef, trimmed from hard fat and cut in 3cm chunks
• 1 bay leaf
• 500 mL of dark ale or stout
• 250 mL of beef stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato puréee
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 5 carrots (about 275g), peeled and thickly sliced
• 2 parsnips (about 300g) peeled, halved lengthways and sliced
• freshly ground black pepper

Leeky potato mash

• 750g floury potato, peeled and cut in 4cm chunks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 leeks thinly sliced
• 100 mL low fat milk
• Salt and pepper

Method

Beef stew 

Preheat the oven to 180oC

Put the flour and dried herbs in a large bowl. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. Fold in the beef chunks and toss in until they evenly coated.

Heat the oil in a oven- and flame- proof casserole dish.When the oil is pipping hot, drop in the onions and season then with salt and pepper. Fry them over medium heat until they are lightly browned (about 5min).

Tip in the beef and mix until coated.

Add the bay leaf, ale, stock, tomato purée and sugar. Stir well and bring to boil. Cover with the lid.

Transfer the casserole from to the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours. At the end of this time,  take the casserole out of the oven and stir in the parsnips and carrots. Put the lid again, and return to the over for about 45min until the vegetables are tender.

Leeky potato mash

Put the potato chunks in  a large sauce pan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let boil for about 20min, until the potatoes are very tender.

In the meanwhile, put the oil in a frying pan and heat. When is hot, drop in the sliced leeks and sautée until soft and tender, stirring often.

Drain the potatoes, and put them back in the sauce pan. Season with salt and pepper and mash with the milk until smooth.

Stir in the sautéeed leeks. Mix until they are well incorporated.