Hearty Beef Stew

I’ve been wanting to make beef stew for a while now. Gary and I don’t usually eat too much beef, so a whole pot for the 2 of use would not work very well when we only need a small taste. When a bunch of friends came over for a dinner party, it was a great opportunity to try the stew I saw on Good Things Catered. This was a great stew for a cold night, even though it was pretty warm in my apartment! This was a great comfort meal to have with company.

I originally wanted to use the California Zinfandel I had, however when it came time to pour the wine, I couldn’t find my corkscrew, so I used red cooking wine in place of it. It still came out wonderful. I also didn’t use chicken stock, I didn’t have any in the pantry at the time. I had some beef bouillon that I used with 2 cups water to make the beef broth.

Hearty Beef Stew
Adapted from: Good Things Catered, originally from America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:
3 lbs. beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes
salt and ground pepper
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped coarse (about 2 c.)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c. full-bodied dry red wine
2 c. beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
4 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-in. cubes
4 large carrots (about 1 lb.), peeled and sliced 1/4 in. thick
1 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. minced parsley

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300° F.

Dry beef thoroughly and season generously with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat.

Add half the meat so that pieces are not touching and cook not moving until brown (about 2-3 min)Use tongs and rotate pieces until all sides are browned (about 5 additional min.)

Transfer beef to medium bowl and add another 1 Tbsp oil to pan, repeating previous steps with other half of beef.

Reduce heat to medium and add additional 1 Tbsp oil to now empty pan and swirl to coat bottom.

Add onions and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, scraping bottom of pan for brown bits until softened (about 5 mins).

Add garlic and continue to cook for 30 sec.

Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored (1-2 min.)

Add wine, scraping the bottom and stirring until thick and flour is dissolved.

Gradually add the beef stock, stirring constantly scraping up the remaining browned bits on bottom of pan.

Add bay leaves and thyme and return to simmer.

Add beef, return to simmer, and place the pot in the oven.

Cook for 1 hour.

Add potatoes and carrots cover and return to the oven to cook for additional hour.

Remove the pot from oven (here you can cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.)

Add the peas, cover and allow to stand for 5 min.

Stir in the parsley, discard bay leaves, adjust seasoning and serve immediately.