Belgian Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 800 g lean beef (e.g. from the hip)
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 400 g onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp flour
• 0.5 Organic lemon
• 250 ml classic vegetable broth
• 330 ml dark beer (or malt beer)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (or honey to taste)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Rinse the meat, pat it dry and cut it into 3-4 cm cubes. Wash and dry the thyme.

2. 2.

   Peel the onions and slice them. Peel and finely chop the garlic.

3. 3.

   Heat the oil in a large pan. Toss the meat cubes in flour, shaking off any excess flour. Brown the meat cubes in 2 portions in the hot oil. Then transfer them to a casserole dish.

4. 4.

   Add the onions and garlic to the remaining fat in the pan and brown them while stirring for about 10 minutes.

5. 5.

   Add the onions and garlic to the meat.

6. 6.

   Wash the lemon with hot water, dry it, and finely grate some of the zest. Add broth, beer, thyme, about 2 tsp of lemon zest, salt and pepper to the meat. Bring to a boil covered, then simmer on medium heat for about 2 hours. Top up with a little more beer or broth if necessary.

7. 7.

   Stir in sugar or honey a short time before the end of the simmering time and season everything again with salt and pepper. It goes well with, for example, wide noodles or creamy polenta.