Keto Beef Stew

It’s very cold here, so I hankered after a Keto beef stew. Occasional beef meals are ok especially if it’s grass-fed or organic meat. I changed the order of cooking from the original recipe as it appeared too complex; so my method is written below. The recipe made enough for 8 portions. This is a fantastic stew. It’s rich and the meat is very tender. I served it with a side of braised cabbage with chillies. I have had the stew twice now and there’s still enough to make and freeze a Keto pie. Try it and enjoy!

Original recipe Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 2 hrs 10 mins | Servings: 6 (I had more meat so it made 8 portions)

Ingredients

1 1/4 beef, cubed (1 inch) (I used 880g grass-fed beef, i.e.1.94lbs)
8 ounces whole mushrooms, quartered
6 ounces celery root, peeled and cubed into 3/4 inch pieces (I used turnip…no celeriac available)
4 ounce onions, diced
2-3 celery stalks, sliced
3 ounces carrot, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced (I used garlic puree)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil, avocado oil, or bacon grease (I used olive oil)
5 cups beef stock
1 large bay leaf (I didn’t use this)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Remove the beef from the fridge/freezer, and allow to come to room temperature.
Quarter the mushrooms, then wash and chop the rest of the veg, and set aside.
Trim the excess fat off the beef, and cut into 1 inch cubes. Add two teaspoons of oil to the beef, and mix in a bowl.

Method:

Fry the beef in oil in a hot pan. Do this in batches so that it seals the meat rather than steams it. Then place the meat in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot. (I used a cast iron skillet to fry and then transferred to the dutch oven.)

In the heavy pan, fry the mushrooms and onions together for about 3-4 minutes. Once cooked, add to the Dutch oven.
Add the rest of the vegetables, stock, bay leaf (I didn’t use this), thyme, garlic and tomato paste to the Dutch oven. Stir to ensure that the beef is covered by stock.
At this point, I put the lid on and placed it in the oven to slow cook at 170C/150C fan-assisted for approx. 2 hours while I went out for a walk.
You can also cover the heavy pan/Dutch oven and reduce the heat to a low simmer on the hob, and cook for 2 hours. I find stove top cooking has to be watched carefully.

Insert a fork into a piece of meat to check for tenderness before serving. You might want to cook for the last 20 minutes with the lid off to allow some reduction of the stock. The tomato puree helps to thicken the sauce.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve & enjoy!