With potatoes in the stew already you will need some crusty bread at most to satisfy most appetites.

Ingredients - serves 4

500g diced beef
50g bacon lardon
500g onions, peeled, halved & sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
500g potatoes, peeled, cut into large dice
1 green pepper, deseeded & cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 dried chilli
2 tbsp paprika
salt, pepper

Method

1 Pre heat the oven to 170°C
Heat the oil in a casserole and gently fry the lardon for a couple of minutes then add the sliced onion - cover and sweat for 20 minutes, turning often until they are translucent and soft. Stir in the paprika, diced beef, chopped garlic and 500ml of water, cover and cook in the oven for 1 ½ - 2 hours to tender.

2 Now add potatoes, tomatoes, dried chilli and seasoning to taste and return to the oven for 30-40 minutes until all is tender and some of the potatoes have softened to thicken the stew. Remove the dried chilli, test seasoning again and serve in warmed bowls.