Beef and carrot soup

As the weather cools, you can not cross beyond a hearty, meaty meal like this pork and carrot soup. Make it at the weekend whilst you have some time in your palms, then virtually reheat for a clean midweek dinner.

Ingredients
2 tbsp (40ml) oil
500g beef chuck steak
1 brown onion, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 carrots, thickly sliced
1 bay leaf
8 cups (2L) Massel Beef Style Liquid Stock

Method
1 Heat half of the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Cut steak into large pieces and season well. Brown it in batches in the saucepan until well-sealed and starting to caramelize. Remove to a plate.
2 Add remaining oil and cook onion, celery, and garlic for 4 minutes until starting to soften, being careful not to color too much. Add carrot and bay leaf, then return meat to the saucepan with the stock.
3 Bring to the boil then reduce heat and allow it to simmer for 2 hours until meat is falling apart. Skim off any scum that floats to the surface.
4 Remove meat to a plate and use 2 forks to shred it into small pieces. Return this to the soup, adding more stock or water if required.
5 Serve with toast or crusty bread.

Notes
Add a handful of chopped spinach just prior to serving for extra greens.