There is nothing more comforting than a steaming hot bowl of beef stew and bread on a cold winter’s night. The fact that you can chuck all your ingredients into one pot and watch it simmering on the stove, makes it a very easy-to-prepare dish. This American traditional dish uses vegetables, wine, stock and stewing beef along with few herbs and spices. If you have all the ingredients at hand, the dish is very simple to cook. Follow the recipe below to make a fabulous pot of stewed beef.
Complexity Level: Basic
Time Required: 2 hours 20 minutes
Resources Required:
1. 680 grams stewing beef
2. 1 celery stalk
3. 1 carrot
4. 1 potato
5. 1 onion
6. 1 cup mushroom
7. 2 table spoons tomato paste
8. 1 cup red wine
9. 3 cups beef or chicken stock
10. 2 table spoons butter
11. 2 table spoons fresh parsley
12. Flour
13. Oil
14. Lemon juice
15. Thyme
16. Parchment paper
Instructions:
1. Preparation
- Slice the beef into bite size cubes and then season with enough salt and pepper and flour to cover the beef cubes for browning.
- Chop the celery, carrot, potato, onions and mushrooms into medium to large pieces and place them in a bowl.
- Place the pot on medium heat and pour some oil into it, enough to cover the entire base.
2. Brown the meat
- Place the beef cubes into the pot bit by bit.
- Make sure you haven’t placed them too close to each other to prevent them from steaming rather than browning.
- Turn them occasionally until them become brown on all sides.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels if required.
- Retain the juices from the beef in the pot itself
3. Caramelize the vegetables
- Into the same pot in which the beef was browned, add all the vegetables.
- Add the butter to help caramelize them better.
- Stir regularly so that all the vegetables are coated in butter and the beef juices.
- Add the mushrooms and continue to cook till all the vegetables are lightly caramel in colour.
4. Cooking
- Once the vegetables are caramelized evenly, add tomato paste and mix with the vegetables.
- Add red wine and stir occasionally to cook off the alcohol content in it.
- Add the browned beef back into the pot and mix well with all the contents along with the stock.
- Add some sprigs of thyme and season with salt and pepper.
- To prevent the moisture droplets from diluting the stew, place the parchment paper over the contents.
- Cover the pot with the lid and leave it on simmer setting for about 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours.
5. Serving
- After the time’s up, take out the parchment paper and check the stew to see if vegetables are soft, the beef is cooked thorough and the gravy is thick.
- Place stewed beef onto a serving dish, add a dash of lemon juice and garnish with chopped parsley and eat it hot.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. How do I store cooked stew?
You can store cooked stew in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and if you plan to freeze it, do so after 2 hours of preparation. Also, you can store it for about 2 to 3 months, if you place it in an air tight container.
2. Can I add dumplings to the stew?
Yes, adding dumplings to the stew can enhance the taste a lot. You can either use a pre-made mix and then add it to the stew or make them from scratch. Adding some cheese, herbs and horseradish to the dumplings before cooking can add and interesting flavor to the stew.
Quick Tips:
1. If you dont want to use wine in cooking, just replace it with enough stock.
2. Add other vegetables like runner beans, parsnips etc to make a different version.
3. To thicken the stew, mix some corn flour with cold water and add it to the gravy.
Things To Watch Out For:
Over-frying the beef can make it chewy, making the stew difficult to consume.
