Beef & Guinness Stew

Last week, with all the crazy snow days, I thought making a stew would be a great idea. However, my timing was off all week. I made this last Wednesday, but didn't have time to eat it until Thursday, and even then I only had a little mug of it because I already had dinner plans on Thursday. Either way, it was really good, and mum and dad got to enjoy it more than I did, so at least it wasn't a waste. I almost made my corn chowder again, but I figured I'd go for something new...and it has Guinness in it (awesome). The original recipe (and what my intentions were) was to turn the stew into a pie by baking a crust on top. I had the ramekins and pie crust ready (because I couldn't find butter puff pastry in the market), but with it being pushed back a day, I left it as a stew.


Beef and Guinness Stew
from here

1 lb. braising beef, such as chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
14 oz. button mushrooms, stems removed
10.5 oz beef stock
1 cup of Guinness
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
13 oz. block ready-made butter puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten

1.Preheat oven to 400.

2.Place the beef and flour in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the beef, in batches, and cook until browned on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside

3.Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the mushroom and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the beef, stock, Guinness, tomato paste, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce to the pan, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to very low, cover and simmer for 60 minutes or until beef is fork tender. Divide among six ramekins or ovenproof bowls and cool for 20 minutes.

4.Roll out the pastry to 5 mm (14 inch) thick and cut into 6 squares to fit over the bowls. Brush the rims of the bowls with a little beaten egg, lay the pastry over and press to seal. Make a small slash in the pastry with a knife and brush with a little more beaten egg. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and puffed.