Muffin topped Beef Stew

This was perfect for a cold winters night! Lovely tender beef, vegetables and a lovely muffin topping. Sounds odd to have a muffin-lid, but it really works. It's also one of the dishes that you can make and then leave for hours to cook itself - which is perfect for me. My son has an afternoon nap, so I was able to prepare the stew while he slept, then left it for 3 hours on low in the oven until I added the topping. The stew is my own recipe, the topping is from the Good Food website.

Stew

2 sticks celery chopped
2 medium carrots chopped
2 medium onions chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
500g braising beef
2 tbsp plain flour
1 400g tin tomatoes
500 ml beef stock
1 tbsp tomato puree
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper


Soften the vegetables & bay leaves in the olive oil over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the beef & the flour & mix. Add the tinned tomatoes, stock, puree, worcestershire sauce, balsamic and season. Mix & bring to the boil. Cover & put into the oven at 180C for 3 hours.

Muffin topping

225g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
140g cheddar , coarsely grated
2 tbsp olive oil
150ml milk

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add half the cheese. Mix olive oil and milk, then stir into the flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Add more milk, if necessary. Spoon the dough over the meat and vegetables, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for about 15 mins until golden, risen and cooked through.