This Irish Bunny Chow is a deliciously hearty crockpot or slow cooker dinner.
No bunnies were harmed in the making of this dinner.
I hesitated to share this because it’s not the most glamorous dish, but the flavour is irresistible. If you haven’t come across Bunny chow before, it’s a South African street food consisting of a hollowed-out loaf filled with a meat or vegetarian curry. A friend mentioned it to me a while back and I loved the concept, but I couldn’t picture curry inside a traditional English loaf, so I adapted the idea and filled the bread with a rich beef and Guinness stew instead.
It was an instant hit in my house: a cosy, comforting meal that’s perfect when the weather turns. Recently I’ve been watching what I eat, so I served mine in a small wholemeal roll with extra stew on the side. I’ll admit I was a little envious of everyone dunking hunks of bread into the stew, and I’ve promised myself next time I’ll go for the biggest bread cob I can find.
This version is similar to my Beef and Guinness Stew with Crispy Onions, but here the potatoes and carrots are cooked in with the stew so it’s spooned straight into the hollowed-out bread. It’s thick, hearty and ideal for a rainy autumn evening.
More Amazing Stews
If you’re still craving stew after this, try one inspired by another country:
- Scottish Beef Stew
- Bigos (Polish hunter’s stew)
- African Chicken and Peanut Stew
- Fish Stew
- Beef Bourguignon
- Seafood Laksa
- Goulash
The Irish Bunny Chow Recipe:
Irish Bunny Chow
Nicky Corbishley
10 mins
4 hrs 20 mins
4 hrs 30 mins
6 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1.25 kg (2.75 lbs) braising/stewing beef, chopped into bite-size chunks
- 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour mixed with a pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 large onions
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 500 ml (about 2 cups) Guinness
- 400 ml (about 1 2/3 cups) beef stock (water plus 2 stock cubes is fine)
- 2 tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp crushed black pepper
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
- 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
- 6–8 medium-sized bread cobs/boules (approx 200g/7oz each if you can find them)
- small handful of flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the slow cooker to high.
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Dust the beef chunks in the flour mixture and brown the beef for 7–8 minutes until golden all over. Work in batches if necessary so the meat seals rather than steams.
- Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened, then stir in the crushed garlic.
- Pour in the Guinness, add the stock, tomato puree, bay leaves, salt, pepper, potatoes and carrots. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, then transfer everything into the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4–5 hours or on low for 6–7 hours. Alternatively, cover the pan and cook in the oven at 160°C/325°F (fan) for about 3 hours.
- Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed.
- When the stew is tender, cut the lids off the bread cobs and carefully hollow out most of the crumb, keeping the walls intact so the stew won’t leak.
- Spoon the hot stew into the hollowed bread cobs, taking care not to break up the potatoes, garnish with parsley leaves and serve with the bread lids on the side.
Notes
Nutritional information is per serving and should be used as an approximation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be considered an estimate.
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