Slow Cooker Steak & Ale Casserole

Despite summer supposedly being around the corner, when its wet and cold like today comfort food is perfect for serving up for a family mealtime. Here is my recipe for slow cooker steak and ale casserole

You will need:

Some stewing beef  (i used 400g which serves 2-3 people)

3 large carrots

1 large onion

2 oxo cubes

splash of olive oil

4 tbsp flour

black pepper

2 tsp tomato puree

1 bouquet garni

pinch of mixed herbs eg. rosemary, thyme

1 bottle of real ale

(If my OH liked mushrooms then I would add these too).

Then you need to:

coat the beef in the flour which I seasoned with black pepper

heat a few splashes of oil in a pan and brown the beef for a few minutes

crumble in the oxo cubes and mix well

add the ale and bring to the boil

add the tomato puree, the herbs, bouquet garni and allow to boil for a minute two

remove from the heat

meanwhile chop an onion and the carrots and place into your slow cooker

pour over the beef mix and stir

place on a low heat for about 8 hours, season to taste and serve with either buttery mash and veg or another thing I like to do is make a couple of puff pastry (ready made off of course!) rounds, cook in the oven and make the casserole in to steak and ale pie by placing the pie lids on top of each serving of the casserole .