This warming winter dish can spice up any cold evening! The beef is cooked gently on the stove for a few hours, which allows the flavours of all spices and beer to be absorbed fully by the meat to create a delicious casserole.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 kg stewing beef
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon all spice
- 6 cloves
- Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
- 300 ml dark beer, such as Guinness or stout
- 250g prunes, soaked and pitted
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot
Method:
1. Heat the oil over high heat in a large heavy-based casserole that has a lid. Cut the stewing beef into even-sized cubes and brown them rapidly in the heated oil. Reduce the heat and add the garlic, onion, allspice, cloves and nutmeg. Cook the meat for a few minutes until all the flavours are thoroughly blended together.
2. Pour in the beer and 125ml water and slowly bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and add the prunes. Season the mixture with the salt and pepper to taste. Cover the casserole and simmer gently until the beef is very tender – this will take approximately 2-3 hours, depending on the quality of the beer used. Stir once or twice during cooking.
3. Once the meat has cooked, blend the arrowroot with 2 tablespoons of water and stir this into the casserole. Bring the mixture back to a boil to thicken the sauce a little. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve the beef casserole with either plain boiled rice or some mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.
Serves 6-8 Verzjoni bil Malti | 
