California Prune & Stout Beef Stew
Stew is traditionally served with mash, but I like to serve this one without as it is a complete meal in itself. It has barley added so no extra carbohydrate is required, and plenty of vegetables incorporated so people need only grab a bowl and spoon. This is a nutrient-dense meal too with a high mineral content. It is high in iron and the California Prunes add manganese, potassium and copper. The stout also contains a surprising amount of calcium – taken together this all makes a good recipe for your bones!
Makes: 4
INGREDIENTS
- 400g diced beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 200g mushrooms, quartered
- 1 red onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 2 tbsp tomato puree8 California Prunes, halved
- 400ml Stout (or use extra low sodium beef stock)
- 2 beef stock cubes
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- 200g pearl barley
- 400ml water
- Salt & pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
- I like to use a slow cooker for this recipe but if you don’t have one, preheat the oven to 160C.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil and when hot fry the beef over a high heat until browned all over. You don’t need to cook it at this point, just get some flavour on the outside.
- When brown, put the beef into your slow cooker pot or into an oven-proof casserole dish.
- Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, and onion to the beef pan and turn the heat down so that they gently fry for about 5mins.
- Pour in a little of the stout to deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping up all the flavour.
- Transfer the vegetables and all the rest of the ingredients to your slow cooker or casserole with the beef.
- Cook in an oven for 2 hours or cook on high in the slow cooker for 4 hours.
- Half way through the cooking time, add the barley and water, give a quick stir and put the lid back on to continue cooking.
AUTHOR
Jo Travers BSc RD MBDA
Registered dietitian and professional nutritionist, author of the book The Bone-Strength Plan, Jo Travers is also known as “The London Nutritionist”. She has come onboard the California Prune Board as an ambassador to help us spread the word of the health and nutritional benefits of prunes.
NUTRITION FACTS
| CALORIES | 543 |
| SATURATED FAT | 3.6g |
| TOTAL FAT | 11.5g |
| FIBRE | 11,9g |
| PROTEIN | 38.5g |
| SODIUM | 255mg |
| CHOLESTEROL | 89mg |
| CARBOHYDRATE | 65.9g |