Ultimate Comfort Beef Stew

Step 1

Select sauté on your instant pot and set the pot to the highest heat setting.

Step 2

Once hot, drizzle some oil into the base of your pot until it lightly covers the base.

Step 3

Add your beef and fry until golden brown on all sides. Do this in batches without overcrowding the pot to get a good, golden brown sear on the beef.

Step 4

While the beef is cooking, halve the onions and cut them into eighths.

Step 5

Once the beef has finished cooking, remove it from the instant pot and set aside until needed. Do not clean the pot, as the caramelized beef bits will give great flavour to your sauce.

Step 6

Add the onion chunks to the pot along with 1 tablespoon of oil, then sauté the onions until slightly softened. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute more.

Step 7

Add the beef stock to your instant pot and deglaze the base, by scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, to release any cooked bits of food- this will make your sauce extra delicious, and prevent a “burn notice” signal. Add in 1 tbsp picked fresh thyme leaves.

Step 8

Layer the following ingredients to prevent the pot yielding a burn notice. On top of the onions place the beef cubes, tinned tomatoes, red wine, bayleaf, worcestershire sauce and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Do not stir, as this will cause the tomatoes to sink to the bottom and burn during pressure cooking.

Step 9

Secure the lid of the instant pot, select pressure cook and high pressure, then set the timer to 30 minutes.

Step 10

While the beef cooks, peel the carrots, and dice them into bite sized chunks. Wash and halve the baby potatoes. Pour some of the remaining red wine into a glass and put your feet up.

Step 11

Once the beef has finished cooking, perform a QPR, then add in the carrots and halved baby potatoes. Secure the lid back on the pot, select pressure cook and high pressure, then set the timer to 5 minutes. Once the veg has cooked perform a QPR and remove the lid

Step 12

Mix the corn flour with 4 Tbsp of water and store into a slurry. Pour this into the stew, along with the honey, and cook the stew on the saute setting until thickened. Season the stew to taste with salt and pepper, then serve nice and hot, alongside your favourite side with freshly chopped parsley.