The middle of January is always hard, I think.  Usually not great weather and still recovering from the festive season – both in spirit and financially! Trying to keep to resolutions and cope with Dry January, it’s nice to think of something to cook that is both comfort food and pennywise.  Make this stew on a dark, dismal afternoon and have it as a TV dinner, watching your favourite comedy and you will soon be cheered up.

Stovies – The word Stovies means “bits from the stove,” so it is a recipe using whatever you happen to have to hand on a Monday, after your Sunday roast – although you can always use fresh meats, too.

• 1 dessertspoon lard (or beef dripping or oil)
• 1 onion, skinned and roughly diced
• Optional: 4 tablespoons dark beer (or stout)
• 2 ounces roast beef (or lamb, cold and diced)
• 3/4 lb potatoes (washed, peeled, and cut into quarters)
• 6 fluid ounces beef stock (or lamb stock or leftover gravy)
• Vegetables (any that you have left-over from the day before)
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 190 C / Gas 5. Place a casserole dish, on the stove over medium heat. Add the lard or dripping, and melt. Add the onions and cook until soft, but not browned – about 5 to 8 minutes. Take care not to burn the onions. If using, add the beer or stout and turn the heat up and allow to boil for 2 minutes to burn the alcohol away. Add the meat and stir well. Add the potatoes in layers, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper as you go, before adding the next layer. Pour over the stock or gravy (or both). Cover with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, checking from time to time to make sure the stock is not boiling dry. If it is, add a little extra stock. Ten minutes before the end of cooking, add any leftover vegetables, stir well, and check the seasoning. Cover with the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes. The meat and vegetables will break up to create a thick, hearty stew-like consistency. Be careful not to over boil, as you need to keep chunks of meat and vegetables. Serve the stovies in a deep dish or bowl with rough oatcakes and brown sauce, if you like it.

Variations – Don’t feel that you have to be restricted to the pickings from your Sunday lunch. Stovies can also be made using a tin of corned beef, some cooked minced beef, or sausages:

• Corned Beef: Crumble the corned beef and stir through your potatoes 20 minutes before the end of cooking.
• Cooked Minced Beef: Stir through the potatoes 20 minutes before the end of cooking.
• Sausages: Cook the onions as above. Using 1 pound of sausage, slice thickly then put one layer on the onions, followed by a layer of potatoes. Continue until all used up. Cook as above.