I don’t know about you all, but I’m ready for the seasons to change. The calendar says we’ve got a couple weeks of winter left, but the blossom-laden branches in my neighborhood are telling a different story.
There may be blooms on the trees, but it’s still a little cold and dreary out. And so, in honor of this last bit of winter, I give you one final cold weather dish — a hearty beef stew with tomatoes and red wine. The flavor profile is savory but simple. If you wanted to up the gourmet factor, you could certainly add some anchovies, a big spoonful of Dijon mustard, a sprig of rosemary, a handful of oil-cured black olives . . . but today I just felt like some good, old-fashioned stew. It really hit the spot.
Dredging the meat in seasoned flour before searing helps it to brown evenly, contributing great flavor to the stew. You don’t want to add so much flour, however, that the final texture of your stew ends up gummy or overly thick. For a fine and even coating, I use my mother’s method of combining some flour and spices in a big, paper grocery bag, adding the beef, and giving the whole thing a big shake. Next, I transfer the beef to a mesh strainer and shake it over the sink, getting rid of the excess flour.
The best cooking vessel for stew is a heavy-bottomed, cast iron dutch oven. Let it get nice and hot before adding the meat, and don’t crowd the pan — if you throw in all of the beef at once, it will drastically lower the temperature of your pot and end up steaming instead of browning, making for a gray and unappealing final result. Rather, sear it in a few small batches, leaving each piece of meat enough space to get a good brown crust. Silicone-lined kitchen tongs are a great tool for this process, allowing you to easily turn the pieces of meat, then transfer them from pot to plate.
Next, it’s time to sauté your mirepoix and garlic. A pinch of salt and a couple of minutes of covered cooking help to draw some moisture out of the vegetables, making it much easier to use those tongs once again to scrape up all of the browned bits of flour (a.k.a. fond) from the bottom of the pan. All that’s left to do is add the rest of your ingredients, bring the stew up to a simmer, then leave it alone for about two hours. Ladle the stew over egg noodles or rice for a comforting lunch or dinner.
Tomato Beef Stew (printer-friendly version)
serves 4-6
1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
1.33 lbs. beef stew meat
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 large carrots, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. kosher salt, diced
8 oz. Crimini mushrooms, cut into bite-sized wedges
1 (15 oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 C. beef broth
1 C. dry red wine
1 bay leaf
1. In a large paper grocery bag, combine flour, paprika, pepper, and salt. Fold bag over tightly, then shake to combine.
2. Put the beef stew meat in the bag with the flour mixture. Close again, then shake vigorously until all of the stew meat is coated evenly with flour. Transfer the coated beef pieces to a mesh colander, and shake to remove excess flour. Set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a medium (5-1/2 quart) dutch oven over a medium flame. In three batches, sear the beef pieces for about two minutes on each side, until browned. Remove to a plate and set aside.
4. Add the carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and salt to the now empty dutch oven. Use your tongs to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, stirring them in with the vegetables. Cover for two minutes, remove lid, then sauté for another five minutes or so, until onions are softened and translucent.
5. Add the seared beef back to the dutch oven, along with the mushrooms, canned tomatoes, beef broth, red wine, and bay leaf. Stir to combine, then cover and allow to come up to a simmer.
6. Turn flame down to low and let simmer for 2 hours, until beef is tender. Serve over rice or noodles.
oh this sounds wonderful! And, perfect for this rainy cold weather we’ve had =0)
Thanks, Joani!
Mmmm. The seasons are a bit confused these days, aren’t they? This stew looks great for this last little bit of cool weather. Do you recommend a particular dry red that you like for this dish?
I used Ménage à Trois California Red: http://www.menageatroiswines.com/red.php which worked very nicely! Anything with a bit of body (I’d go with a Zin, Cab, Merlot, or blend, over a Pinot Noir, for instance) would be perfect.
My cast-iron dutch oven is still in Chicago, but once I’m reunited with it, I can’t wait to try this recipe! Mmmm…
Another great recipe! Love that you make everything easy to follow with accurate measurements.
I made this for my game night guests and they loved it! I did make one minor change (which ended up catastrophically altering the recipe). One of my guests is allergic to mushrooms so I decided to substitute in lentils.
I wanted to keep the earthy quality that the mushrooms would bring and the only thing I could think of that might have that earthiness are lentils. Probably should have sought your advice prior to going WAY overboard on the lentils.
I added 2 cups when a quarter cup would have been fine (I love lentils, can’t control myself). It still worked out as most people like free food, booze, and lentils. I would have cut the stew with more stock and wine but my pot was already full. (Don’t judge, I’m a bachelor. We’re doing good if we have appropriate cutlery.)
Before:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6qkFfFqjywaQzJvVlBjUzJjdmM/edit
After:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6qkFfFqjywaQ1dpWmJ1Y09YbUU/edit
The lentils really didn’t work out as I had intended. In fact, things would have been perfectly fine without them, but what’s cooking without a little experimentation?
And yes, the beer guy opened a bottle of wine. This recipe would have worked well with a Dubbel, a sweeter North English Brown (think New Castle), or an Amber Ale. Sadly, the only beer I had on hand that would work for this recipe is a world class Quadrupel and I just couldn’t see myself putting that into a stew. But I actually do have a liquor cabinet full of wine and spirits, not that I’m an expert on them.
Anyway, thanks again for posting this recipe!
You are so welcome! Glad it worked out reasonably well even with the lentilpocalypse :-D.
Oooh, this looks tasty! I’m going to have to give it a try! (Also: sheesh, small world!!)
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