Tender Beef Stew

This recipe comes from Trim Healthy Mama, and is perfect for cheaper, tougher cuts of meat, as the slow cooking in the crockpot makes them beautifully tender. This dish tastes wonderful; the whole family liked it.

Ingredients:
Beef or venison
Onions, carrots, celery and/or other vegies to suit
Tomato paste
Sea salt and other seasonings
Water
Optional heavy cream, tahini, or unsweetened plain yoghurt

---

Method:

1. In the crockpot, place enough cuts of thawed meat to feed the whole family.
2. Add pieces of onions, 5cm long chunks of celery and carrots, and other vegies to suit. If you wish to add things like cabbage or spinach, do so in the last couple of hours of cooking, or they will become too mushy.
3. Depending on how large your family is, add 1-2 or so cups of tomato paste.
4. Season with a generous amount of sea salt, a few squirts of tamari or soy sauce and onion powder (Optional: black pepper, hot sauce and cayenne pepper may be added to taste, but we avoid due to family food allergies).
5. Add 1 cup of water for each cup of tomato paste. Turn the crockpot to high and cook all day. It's easier to mix the ingredients in a bit more once it has been cooking for an hour or so.
6. Before serving, add a swirl of cream or a dollop of tahini or yoghurt to the stew. This cuts the acidity of the tomatoes, mellows the sharp flavours, and brings out the meaty undertones.  

Tips: frozen cuts of meat may be used if you put them in the crockpot the night before and cook on low rather than high through until the next evening. Lean beef mince may be used instead of stewing steak or other cuts.