This has to be the easiest and tastiest stew around. I clipped the recipe from a newspaper many moons again and I have been using it ever since. Not every time I make a stew, but whenever I know I am going to have a really busy day and am wanting something delicious for our supper that isn't going to take a lot of faffing about!
This fits the bill perfectly. It pretty much cooks itself. With just a bit of peeling and chopping, your work is pretty much done, and if you use frozen chopped onions and buy your meat already cubed, then it doesn't take long to throw together at all.
There is no browning on top of the stove. You just put the meat, onions, garlic and seasonings into a casserole dish/roaster and bang it into a really hot oven for about 10 minutes. Your meat will have started to brown itself by then. There is no messing about and no fat spatter all over the top of your stove.
Everything else simply gets stirred in. Cubed potato and swede, sliced carrots and parsnips. A tin of tomato soup, some water, Worcestershire sauce and a small packet of cream of mushroom cup-a-soup . . . dry.
You stir that all together, pop on a lid and then let the oven do the rest. I find about 2 hours does the trick nicely, but have left it in even longer than that sometimes when I get super busy. Just make sure it doesn't bake dry.
The soups create a delicious thick gravy, the meat gets lovely and tender, the vegetables just right. I like to serve this with buttered bread and pickles beets. Oh boy but it is some good.
*Easy Oven Stew*
Serves 4Printable Recipe
This is a quick and easy stew to make. Other than peeling the vegetables and chopping them up there is literally no work to do. Your oven does it all! It’s just plain delicious too, so it’s a win/win combination!
1 pound of well trimmed stewing beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp mixed herbs, or summer savoury1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 tin of condensed tomato soup (Campbells) (295g or 10 3/4 ounces)
1 soup tin of water1 single serving size envelope of cream of mushroom cup a soup mix2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced (1/4 inch slices)
1/2 small Swede/ rutabaga, peeled and cut into cubes (1/2 inch cubes)
2 parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced (1/4 inch slices)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes (1 inch cubes)
Pre-heat the oven to 230*C/450*F. Put your beef, onions and garlic into a deep casserole dish with a lid. Season with some salt and pepper to taste and then place the casserole (without the lid at this point) into the heated oven and bake for about 10 minutes, just until the meat is beginning to brown.
Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 160*C/350*F.
Put soup, dry soup mix, and the water into the casserole dish along with the mixed herbs. Put the lid on and bang it back into the oven and let it bake for about an hour. At the end of the hour remove it from the oven and stir in the vegetables. You may need to add more water as the mixture should have reduced by then, and you want the liquid to just barely cover the vegetables and meat. Put the lid back on and return the casserole to the oven. Bake for another hour or until the vegetables and meat are tender.
Remove from the oven and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
I like to serve bread with this for mopping up the gravy!
I've also heard this called Lazy Man's Stew. Lazy or Easy, no matter what you call it, you and your family are sure to love this simple stew. Bon Appetit!
