Everyone can cook. That is my mantra for 2018. A little effort will go a long way and you will be surprised at how much people appreciate home cooking. Over the next few weeks, I am going to share recipes that are not complicated and where the ingredients are easily available. They are designed for success and to get people cooking at home. It is the healthiest way to eat – and you will save money!

This beef stew is a great recipe that always works. Stewing steak is very good value. It is a tough cut but, when it is cooked until very tender, it has great flavour. The meat should be cut into approximately 2cm cubes and most prepared packs from the supermarket are this size. If you are using beer, consider trying one of the many excellent Irish artisan beers that are now readily available.

The creamy mash finishes off this meal. This is how I make my standard mashed potatoes, but if you would prefer a low-fat version replace the butter and milk with quark cheese, which is a skimmed-milk soft cheese that is available in all big supermarkets (it is used a lot in German cheesecakes) and two to three tablespoons of semi-skimmed milk.

Happy cooking,

Neven

Beef stew

Serves four to six

2tbsp rapeseed oil

900g (2lb) diced stewing steak (preferably chuck and each piece about 2cm (¾in), well-dried

Two onions, chopped

Two carrots, chopped

Two celery sticks, sliced

One heaped tsp chopped fresh thyme

Two bay leaves

2tbsp plain flour

750ml bottle beer

300ml beef or chicken stock (from a cube is fine)

1tbsp light muscovado sugar

2tsp cider vinegar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Creamy mashed potatoes (see next recipe), to serve

  • 1 Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F).
  • 2 Heat a heavy-based pan or casserole with a lid over a medium to high heat. Add two tablespoons of the oil and brown the meat in batches, leaving plenty of room around each piece to ensure that they brown nicely and don’t end up stewing. Set aside on a plate.
  • 3 Add the rest of the oil to the pan and then add the onions, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until just beginning to caramelise and soften. Sprinkle over the flour and cook for another minute or two, stirring.
  • 4 Gradually pour in the beer and then the stock and finally add the sugar and vinegar. Return the beef to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and then transfer to the oven and cook for two and a half hours, removing the lid about halfway through to help concentrate the flavours.
  • 5 Put some mashed potatoes into each warmed wide-rimmed bowl and ladle over some of the stew. Scatter with the parsley to serve.
  • Creamy mashed potatoes

    Serves four to six

    1kg (2¼lb) potatoes, peeled

    6tbsp milk or cream or use a mixture

    50g (2oz) butter

    Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper

  • 1 Peel off the potato skins as thinly as possible, then cut into even-size chunks, each one about the size of a golf ball.
  • 2 Put them into a saucepan of cold water with a pinch of salt, cover and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 18 to 20 minutes, until tender.
  • 3 To test if they are done, pierce one with the tip of a sharp knife. They should not be hard in the centre, and you need to be careful here, because if they are slightly underdone you will get lumps.
  • 4 Drain the potatoes into a colander and then quickly return to the pan. Cover with a clean tea cloth and the lid and place on a very low heat to dry out for three minutes, to remove any excess steam.
  • 5 Meanwhile, heat the milk and/or cream in a small pan or in the microwave. Mash the potatoes and then beat in the butter and the hot milk mixture using a wooden spoon, until smooth and creamy.
  • 6 Season to taste before serving.