Beef and guinness stew with potato champ

by Ed Halmagyi

Ingredients

  • 800g piece beef brisket
  • salt flakes and freshly-milled black pepper
  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 1 leek, cut into discs
  • 2 sticks celery, chopped
  • 3 medium parsnips peeled, cored and coarsely grated
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 400ml Guinness, or other stout
  • 1L beef stock
  • 1 Tbsp cornflour
  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled
  • 100ml cream
  • ½ cup vintage tasty cheese
  • 4 green shallots, finely sliced

Instructions

1 Season the brisket pieces generously with salt and pepper, then fry in half the butter, in a large saucepan set over a medium-high heat, for 5 minutes, until well-browned. Drain away the butter, then add the leek, celery, parsnips, 2 cloves garlic and vegetable oil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until lightly-browned.
2 Pour in the Guinness, bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Add the stock and cover with a lid. Turn the heat to low and cook, turning the meat often for 1½ hours, until the beef is very tender, topping up with a little water as required. Dissolve the cornflour in 2 Tbsp water, add to the saucepan and simmer until thickened.
3 Steam the potatoes over a saucepan of simmering water until tender, then press through a fine sieve. Beat in the remaining butter, cream, garlic and cheese, then season with salt and fold in the shallots. Serve the stew with a spoon of champ.