Thermal Cooker Beef and Pumpkin Stew recipe

I am always looking for ways to make cooking simpler and less time-consuming. Who likes to spend hours slaving over the hot stove in our sunny island... definitely not me. But I still want hearty, delicious, wholesome meals for the whole family.

So here comes my favourite thermal cooker to the rescue. I have been using my thermal cooker a lot lately. It is perfect for making soups and stews.

One of the greatest features of the thermal cooker is that it is an amazing one pot wonder. I can brown the meat, saute the vegetables, then add in all the liquid right in one pot. When I come back after a good 6-8 hours, what I have is a rich, warm, thick stew that smells divine. Perfect for any busy mum!

If you don't have a thermal cooker, you can use a slow cooker instead.



Always choose beef that has a good amount of marbling for stews. These have collagen-rich connective tissues that break down after many hours of cooking and become meltingly tender. My boys call them jelly and they love eating the jelly bits!

Traditionally, flour or potatoes are added to thicken stews. But I don't like to add unnecessary carbs to my cooking. If I can omit the carbs, I most certainly will. The mashed up pumpkin and tomatoes will thicken the stew beautifully anyway.



Beef and Pumpkin Stew

Ingredients:

500g stewing beef
600g pumpkin
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes
2 stalks celery
2 small carrots
1-2 bay leaf
2 tbsp. tomato sauce
chopped basil
salt and pepper
butter

Instructions:
  1. Mince onion and garlic, chop beef and the rest of the vegetables into bite-size chunks
  2. Heat butter in the inner pot of thermal cooker, add onion and garlic, cook until softened
  3. Add beef, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook till lightly browned
  4. Add the rest of ingredients (except carrots), add 1.2 litre of water then bring to boil for 10 minutes
  5. Put into thermal cooker and leave for at least 6 hours
  6. 20 minutes before serving, mash up pumpkin and tomatoes, bring pot to boil, add carrot and simmer until carrot is cooked
  7. Keep warm in thermal cooker or serve immediately


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