From last week’s verdurous veg to this week’s meaty challenge, Freshly Blogged pit us against;

  • Beef Suet
  • Knorr Stock Pot
  • PnP Soup Pack (mine consisted of carrot, leek, celery and turnips)
  • Beef Shin
  • Pnp Star Aniseed
  • PnP White Wine Vinegar

Our allowances included the addition of two fresh ingredients and one grocery item.

The challenge basket’s star anise and vinegar put me on to an Asian-inspired course, where notes of warm ginger and the umami-ness of teriyaki sauce bring delicious depth to a slow-cooked beef stew prepared in a hob tagine. For a starchy element, I included sweet potato to make rostis for each serving, and transformed the turnips in the soup pack into a moreish mash.

We were allowed to leave out one of the prescribed ingredients, other than the stock pot, and I was sorely tempted to give the beef suet a miss. It’s raw hard fat taken from around the kidney area of the cow. It’s also quite calorific and therefore not something I’d usually think about cooking with. However, I’m all about the learning, and after reading that beef suet is also used in a type of Japanese hot pot called sukiyaki, I was convinced that it would add a unique depth of flavour to my teriyaki beef.

The cooked beef stew also makes for a wonderful pie filling, and I enjoyed the leftovers encased in a simple scone pastry.

Click here to download the recipe.