Carne Guisada — Portuguese Beef Stew

Slow-braised beef in a rich tomato, wine and garlic sauce with carrots and potatoes.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 2h 30m
Total: 2 hours 55 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 1.2kg braising steak, cut into 4cm cubes
  • 2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 carrots, thickly sliced
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 250ml red wine
  • 400ml beef stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to serve

Method

  1. Toss the beef in the seasoned flour. Heat half the oil in a large casserole and brown the beef in batches for 5 minutes per batch. Set aside.

  2. Add the remaining oil and cook the onions for 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, carrots, tomato purée and paprika for 2 minutes.

  3. Pour in the wine and boil for 3 minutes. Return the beef, add the stock and bay leaves, bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 1 hour 45 minutes.

  4. Add the potatoes and cook for 30 minutes until tender and the sauce is thick.

  5. Remove the bay leaves, season and scatter with parsley. Serve with crusty bread or rice.