Slow-cooker beef and vegetable stew

Ingredients

• 1 kg braising or stewing beef, such as chuck, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 carrots, cut into thick chunks
• 2 celery sticks, sliced
• 500 g waxy potatoes, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato purée (tomato paste)
• 500 ml gluten-free beef stock
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
• salt and black pepper
• 150 g frozen peas · can skip

Method

1. Put the potatoes, carrots and celery in the bottom of the slow cooker, because root vegetables cook more slowly than the meat.
2. Season the beef. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and brown the beef in two or three batches, 4 to 5 minutes each, then add it to the slow cooker.
3. Lower the heat, cook the onions in the same pan for 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and tomato purée for a minute. Pour in a splash of the stock, scrape up the browned bits, and tip it all into the slow cooker.
4. Add the rest of the stock, the thyme and bay leaves. The liquid should come most of the way up but need not cover everything.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours, until the beef is tender enough to break with a spoon.
6. Mix the cornflour with 3 tablespoons of cold water, stir it in with the peas, if using, and cook on high for 20 to 30 minutes, until the gravy has thickened.
7. Remove the bay leaves, season to taste and serve.