5piecesdried porcini mushroomsoaked in 125mls boiling water for 5 minutes (keep the water)
150gramsmushroomshalved
140gramstomato paste
500gramspotatoesdiced into 2cm dice
5carrots cut into 2cm rounds
3clovesgarlicminced
1litre beef stock
2bay leaves
1.5tspsitalian herbs
¼cupall-purpose flour
Instructions
Heat ½ the olive oil in a fry pan and start frying your beef in batches. Only put about 10 pieces in at a time. If you throw it all in, it will not brown and will end up grey. (Read more about this in the blog post!)
Put the beef in the slow cooker.
Add onion and garlic to the pan and fry until soft. Add to the slow cooker.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and fry until golden. Add to the slow cooker.
DE-GLAZE TIME! (Read more about this important step in the post!) Add the water from the porcini mushrooms and the tomato paste to the hot pan. Swill it all around and then pour into the slow cooker.
Add the carrots, potatoes, stock, bay leaves and italian herbs and the porcini mushrooms to the slow cooker.
Push everything down in under the liquid and set to low for 7.5 hours with the lid on. Or high for 4.5 hours.
Open the slow cooker and remove 1 cup of the liquid. Stir the flour into it and then return to the slow cooker, mixing through.