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Batch 003

Herb and
tomato braised beef stew.

Hearty meal Grass-fed beef Batch 003
2 hours 30 minutes Serves 4 Grass-fed beef

A slow-cooked stew that doesn't ask for much beyond time. Beef takes on the wine and broth, the cherry tomatoes go jammy, and the leeks fall apart into the liquid. We finish it with a handful of dill and chives at the table, which keeps it from feeling too heavy.

A deep bowl of beef stew with roasted tomatoes and fresh herbs
Tested by Sinead in our Lisbon kitchen.
Ingredients
  • 1L Grass-fed beef broth
  • 1kg grass-fed beef, cut into stewing chunks
  • 1 red onion, sliced
  • 1 leek, sliced
  • 2 tbsp grass-fed butter
  • 5-6 cremini or wild mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 500ml full-bodied red wine (Chianti works well)
  • Thyme, rosemary and garlic
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Dill, chives and shaved fennel, to garnish
Method
  1. Heat the oven to 200C. Toss the cherry tomatoes with a little olive oil and salt, and roast for 20 minutes until blistered.
  2. Melt the butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches and set aside.
  3. Lower the heat. Add the red onion and leek, and cook gently for 8-10 minutes until soft.
  4. In a separate pan, saute the mushrooms in butter until golden, then add to the pot.
  5. Pour in the red wine and let it reduce by half, scraping up any caught bits.
  6. Return the beef to the pot. Add the broth, thyme, rosemary and crushed garlic, and bring to a low simmer.
  7. Cover and braise gently for 90 minutes, until the beef pulls apart easily.
  8. Stir in the zucchini and roasted tomatoes for the last 15 minutes.
  9. Taste, adjust the salt, and finish with chopped dill, chives and shaved fennel.
More recipes

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Recipe Beef broth tomato sauce 2 hours · Grass-fed beef → Recipe Spring vegetable soup 30 minutes · Serves 4 · Grass-fed beef → Recipe French onion soup 1hr 15 min · Serves 4 · Grass-fed beef →
"Swap the beef for a generous handful of mixed mushrooms if you want a meatless version. The braise itself does the work either way."
— from the kitchen, on this recipe
Common questions

A few things people ask.

Don't. The whole dish is built on beef broth meeting beef and red wine; chicken broth makes it taste thin and slightly off-balance. If beef broth isn't possible, mushroom broth gets you closer than chicken, though you'd want to add a splash of soy for depth.
It does. A Chianti, Côtes du Rhône, or any medium-bodied red with decent tannin works well. Avoid anything you wouldn't drink: cooking wine and very sweet reds throw off the balance. The wine reduces by half before the broth goes in, so its character carries through.
Yes, and you should. A braise is always better the next day; the meat finishes settling into the liquid and the flavours round off. Make it the day before, refrigerate, and reheat gently on the stove. Stir the dill, chives and shaved fennel through fresh at the table.
Yes, for up to three months. Freeze without the fresh herbs and the zucchini if you can; both go limp on thawing. Defrost overnight in the fridge, reheat slowly, and add fresh herbs and a few sauteed zucchini cubes to bring it back.
Yes. Brown the beef and reduce the wine on the stove first (this stage is non-negotiable for flavour), then transfer everything to the slow cooker. Six hours on low gets you the same result as 90 minutes covered in the oven.
Chuck, shin, or cheek. Anything with connective tissue that turns silky in a long braise. Avoid lean cuts like sirloin or fillet; they go grey and dry over 90 minutes. Your butcher will know what "stewing chunks" means; just say grass-fed if you're after that.

Cooked, tested and written by Sinead McInerney in our Lisbon kitchen. Last reviewed: April 2026.