Beef, buttercup and carrot stew with brussels sprouts leaves

Loading a stew with buttercup (or pumpkin) is a good way to lighten a beef stew and to cut back on the quantity of meat. There will be enough meat to serve four with plenty of pumpkin and carrot leftover to make soup, see below. This recipe forms part of the March 25 meal planner created in partnership with New World.

Ingredients

½ cup	Flour
650 g	Stewing steaks, cubed
3 Tbsp	Olive oil
1	Large onion, chopped
¾	Buttercup pumpkins, peeled, 1/2 cut in to 2cm dice, 1/2 cut in larger pieces
6	Carrots, quartered
¾ cup	Red wine
1 ½ cups	Beef stock
1 Tbsp	Tomato paste
2	Rosemary, sprigs
¼	Chopped parsley
1	Lemon, zest of
1	Garlic clove, crushed
16	Brussels sprouts

Directions

1. Set a slow cooker to high sear or a heat a large oven-proof pan or casserole dish.
2. Season the flour well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the beef in the flour then sear in olive oil for 5 minutes, browning all over. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Add the pumpkin and carrot and cook another couple of minutes.
3. Add the wine, stock, tomato paste, bay leaves and rosemary sprig (save the tender tips of the rosemary for the gremolata). Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours or cook in a 160C oven for 3 hours.
4. Chop the rosemary tips and combine with parsley, lemon zest and garlic for a gremolata.
5. Separate the brussels sprouts in to individual leaves, trimming the bases and discarding any tougher outer leaves. Melt a small knob of butter and a splash of oil in a frying pan. Add the brussels sprouts leaves and stir-fry a couple of minutes.
6. Serve the stew, sprinkled with the gremolata. Brussels sprout leaves on the side.

Second time around

The buttercup and carrot quantities in this stew will leave you with enough to blend, with remaining stew juices and some stock or water, in to soup for another day. Add any leftover cooked vegetables you may have in the fridge too. Heat to serve topped with a swirl of extra virgin olive oil and some more gremolata.