..where teens can learn to cook restaurant quality meals for the family
Belgian Beef Stew (Stoofvlees or Beef Carbonnade)
One of our favourite meals. Rich, warm, hearty, and we order it in Belgium whenever we go. The strong brown Belgian beer makes it – and most of the alcohol burns off. However, you could substitue it for beef stock). Goes well with mash potato, or with Beglian fries and mayonnaise.
ADJUST SERVINGS
Most of our recipes are for 4 people. You can check and adjust the serving size by clicking on the red number above.
BEFORE YOU START
Spreading mustard on bread slices before adding them to the stew provides extra depth to the sauce, making it richer and more flavourful. And you’re a pro in the making, so it’s worth doing!
GET SHOPPING!
This is a reminder to check what ingredients you need to buy and add them to your shopping list. It’s good to do your own food shopping, but at the very least, you’re head chef, so send a family member out to the shops for you!
GET ORGANISED
Remember ‘Skill 2’ of the Big 5: Become super-organised.:
Add your own private notes:
Equipment
- Large heavy-bottomed pot (Dutch oven)
- wooden spoon
- Knife
- chopping board
- Potato masher
- Medium saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups & spoons
Ingredients
- 800 g stewing beef in chunks
- 3 large onions
- 2 330ml Westmalle Dubbel beers (or Leffe Brune which in the UK is often in larger bottles)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 slices of brown bread coated with mustard
- 500 mL beef stock
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 800 g potatoes
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 100 mL whole milk
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp Salt
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
Belgian Beef Stew
- Peel and slice your 3 large onions
- Mince your 3 cloves garlic
- Mix up 500 mL beef stock according to the packet instructions.
- Grab a large bowl and put the 800 g stewing beef in chunks in it
- Season the stewing beef with the 1 tsp Salt and Pepper to taste
- Pour 2 tbsp plain flour over the beef and mix it all up to coat it
- You're going to BROWN all the beef now. Remember the 'maillard effect'. We're going to do it in batches. Why? Because the more you add to a pan, the more heat it the food steals. Which is why you can end up making meat look grey and a bit sad! We don't want grey, we want vibrant brown, so we'll put less meat in, on a high heat, and brown it up like a pro! The next instructions tell you how.
- Grab your pan or Dutch oven.
- Add the 2 tbsp vegetable oil in the pan or Dutch oven and put it on a medium-high heat.
- Add the beef in small batches. A hanfdul of cubes. Maybe a quarter of the total amount. And knock it around a bit to brown it on all sides. Then remove it, set it aside, and repeat with the other batches.
- Lower the heat to medium, add the 2 tbsp unsalted butter to the same pot, and sauté the 3 large onions for 5–7 minutes until soft and golden.
- Stir in the 3 cloves garlic and cook for another minute.
- Pour in the 2 330ml Westmalle Dubbel beers (or Leffe Brune which in the UK is often in larger bottles), stirring to deglaze the pot and scraping up the brown bits from the bottom. Those brown bits at the bottom should taste amazing.
- Stir in the 2 tbsp brown sugar.
- Stir in the 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- Stir in the 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Simmer it for 3 minutes.
- Return the seared beef to the pot along with the 2 bay leaves
- Add the 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- Optionally add another spoon of flour to the mix to thicken the sauce. Not essential but good if you like it thicker.
- Spread some Dijon mustard on both sides of the 2 slices of brown bread, then lay them on top of the stew.
- Pour in the 500 mL beef stock, cover the pot, and let it simmer gently on low heat for 2 hours (longer is fine too) stirring occasionally until the beef is tender and the sauce is rich.
Nutmeg Mashed Potatoes
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the 800 g potatoes and cook for 15–20 minutes until tender.
- Drain the potatoes, then mash the hell out of them with a potato masher (or in an ideal world you might use your younger brothers face?) until smooth.
- Add the 50 g unsalted butter, 100 mL whole milk, and 1 tsp ground nutmeg to the mashed potatoes. Stir well until creamy.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and adjust the nutmeg if necessary. Always taste and adjust.
Please share with us how you went!We need your feedback so we can improve the recipes and help others succeed! Please let us know by leaving a comment 🙂