Family Beef and Vegetable Stew
Cook once, feed everyone: slow-simmered beef with carrots, swede and potatoes in a rich, unsalted gravy — the one-pot that defines Sunday. Meltingly soft after two hours, which is exactly what small mouths need. For baby (from 7 months): mash their bowl to a coarse, spoonable texture.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 700 g braising steak, cut into 3 cm chunks
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 medium carrots, thickly sliced
- 300 g swede, cubed
- 400 g potatoes, cubed
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 900 ml low-salt beef stock
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
- 1 whole bay leaf
Method
- Toss the beef in the flour. Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the beef in batches — do not crowd the pan.
- Add the onion and soften, then stir in the tomato puree.
- Return all the beef with the stock, thyme and bay leaf. Cover and simmer very gently.
- Add the carrots, swede and potatoes and continue simmering, lid ajar, until the beef falls apart and the veg is soft.
- Remove the bay leaf and thyme stalks. For baby (from 7 months): shred a little beef finely and mash it into the veg and gravy — iron-rich red meat is one of the best first proteins.
- Adults season their bowls at the table and mop up with crusty bread.
Chef's note: Cook once, feed everyone. Red meat is a top source of the iron babies need from 6 months, and long slow cooking makes it soft enough to gum. Low-salt stock keeps the pot baby-safe. Even better the next day; freezes for 3 months.
Nutrition per serving
350kcal
28gprotein
30gcarbs
12gfat
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