Ale goulash

On my way home from work last night I got a message from Mrs Velkyal simply saying, "what is for dinner?" - marvellous, I though to myself, I can make a meal with beer. But what to make, and which beer to use?

In the end I decided to keep it simple and make an ale goulash, using Primator's English Pale Ale as the beer - pretty much my only choice. Although the recipe I concocted in my head only called for a single 330ml bottle of ale, I bought 4 because I knew that Mrs Velkyal had endured a difficult day with her children - she has about 15 of them between 3 and 6 at her school - and no doubt she would enjoy a beer to unwind with. Plus a few brownie points are always useful.

So here are the ingredients that went into the goulash - when I took the picture above I was planning a beef and ale stew, but it changed, and the carrots and tin of tomatoes didn't get used.

1kg stewing steak

3 red onions

2 red peppers

1 teaspoon chilli chutney

330 ml Primator English Pale Ale

0.5 litre beef stock

3 sprigs of rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Chop onions and peppers to medium thickness and fry in hot olive oil
2. After 15 minutes add chutney and deglaze the pan
3. Add rosemary
4. Add floured beef, fry until browned
5. Add beer, again deglazing the pan
6. Add beef stock, bring to the boil
7. Turn down the heat and simmer for 90 minutes
8. Add salt and pepper
9. Serve in a bowl with a bottle of ale