Fennel & Yam Beef Stew

I've been wanting to make stew for ages. I for months I have had packages of beef stew meat in my freezer - just calling me to make something delicious out of it. For the past few months I have been buying yam after yam, with the intention of using it for stew but always, unsure of what else to put into a stewed, ending up using them for something not stew-like-at all.

As I took a bite of this today, my fear of making bad stew disappeared as I fell in love with the flavors of beef, fennel and yam together. It's so simple, easy and yet I was amazed at how delicious it was. It is naturally sweet and almost delicate in its taste.

To make this, you'll need:

2 Carrots (I used rainbow)
1/4 of a bulb of fennel (including the bulb, stalks, and seeds of that 4th)
1 Large Yam
1 Lb Grassfed Stew Beef
1 Medium/Large Shallots
1/2 TSP Black Pepper
1/2 TSP Salt

Begin by peeling and chopping your yam into 1 inch pieces - put it in your slow cooker. Chop your carrots, shallots and fennel and drop them in with the yams. Put your beef in the pot! Mine was still frozen at this point, so if your its don't sweat it! Add in the salt and pepper, then pour water over the stew until it is just covered.Cover and put on High Heat and allow to cook for 8-16 hours. I put too much water on mine to start, so it needed longer. The picture up this is from about 11 hours, but I had it again for supper and by that point the extra water was gone. Oh my oh my how delicious.