Beef & chickpea stew

What you need

Ingredients

Measured for 4 servings.

• 500 glean stewing beef, cut into small cubes
• 600 gcooked chickpeas, drained
• 1large onion, finely diced
• 2garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbspTomato Paste
• 1 tbspred pepper paste
• 1 tbspExtra Virgin Olive Oil
• 700 mllow-salt beef stock

Make it

Method

1. 01

   Pat dry the 500 g small cubes of stewing beef. Heat the measured 1 tbsp olive oil in a heavy lidded pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in two batches for about 6–8 minutes in total so the pieces sear rather than steam; transfer to a clean plate.

2. 02

   Reduce to medium heat and soften the finely diced large onion for about 5 minutes in the same pot. Add the 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp tomato paste and 1 tbsp red pepper paste; stir for about 1 minute without burning the pastes.

3. 03

   Return the beef and any juices, pour in the measured 700 ml low-salt beef stock and scrape the bottom. Cover and simmer gently for roughly 2–2½ hours, checking and stirring occasionally. The beef must become fork-tender; if the liquid reduces too far before that, add a little water and continue cooking rather than serving tough meat.

4. 04

   Stir in the drained 600 g already cooked chickpeas for the final 10–15 minutes so they heat through but keep their shape. Taste the sauce before adding any salt because the stock and pepper paste may already be seasoned. Divide into 4 portions and serve hot.