Beef Pasta Stew

I was slow in getting round to resuming this blog because I have been short of ideas, due to various distractions in life. However, my flatmate's fiancee does a really good tomato-based beef stew, and I have been seeking to try to replicate it using just Basics ingredients. I have been procrastinating about it however, until today, when the work cafeteria was serving a chunky beef bolognese pasta bake, which in many respects was similar to my flatmate's fiancee's beef stew.

I have covered many of the Basics ingredients already, so trying to come up with something that highlights a new ingredient can be quite challenging, as some of you whom I know personally may be able to attest to. I thus apologise that this time round I'm taking the easy route and just getting fresh Basics tomatoes to do this recipe. As I've already mentioned in several other posts previously that Basics vegetables and fruits are all good, save for their odd shapes and sizes, I have nothing further to say. Haha.

So let's proceed. Chop up some garlic and 4-5 of the ripest tomatoes that you can find in your basket.
Once that is done, heat up a few of the fattiest bacon rashers you can find in your packet of Basics cooking bacon.
Add the garlic once some of the fat is rendered from the bacon.

Borrow a technique learnt from an earlier recipe, coating some Basics diced beef in flour. Add to the pan.
Season with Basics herb mix, pepper and a touch of Basics vinegar, and then pour in water.

Now the next step is optional. I pondered the thought of adding Basics penne to the saucepan, and went ahead with it. The way I saw it, the flour from the pasta that usually clouds the water could serve to thicken the stew, while the pasta can absorb the goodness of the stew.

Bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer, while you go about your other chores.

Description	Price per Unit	No. of servings	Trade-up Premium	Trade-up Benefits
Tomatoes	£0.82	450g	+£0.67 for 500g	More regularly sized tomatoes, better suited for salads etc.