Bodacious Beef Stew Ala Leah |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 120 Minutes |
Ready In: 120 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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Easy and affordable, perfect for family and parties, this healthy beef stew's extra hearty taste comes via the spices placed in the stew. Also easy to make in your slow cooker - Adding extra veggies last 15 minutes helps keep colors fresh and bright. Ingredients:
2 large onions - sliced into chunks |
2 pounds meat (i used shoulder which i cut up myself for more $$ savings) - pieces should be about 2 inch sized cubes. |
5 cloves garlic, chopped |
3 large carrots + 2 extra for adding 20 minutes before serving - all chopped into 1+ inch sizes |
2 celery stalks + greens, sliced thin + 1 or 2 stalks extra for adding 20 minutes to stew before serving |
1 cup+ frozen peas |
1/2 cup all purpose flour |
salt and fresh cracked pepper |
2 large bay leaves |
6 whole cloves |
2 dashes nutmeg |
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper |
1 teaspoon thyme |
1 tablespoon or more of fresh rosemary, minced |
1/2 cup or more of red wine/port/burgundy - or balsamic vinegar |
5+ cups water |
2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 tablespoon butter |
3 tablespoons freshly minced parsley |
1-2 tablespoons better than bouillon beef flavored paste (optional) |
4-6 red bliss potatoes cut into quarters (optional) |
heavy skillet, large stock pot with lid or slow cooker |
Directions:
1. You will be browning the beef cubes before putting them in your slow cooker or large stock pot with lid - this helps make your stew brown while helping sear in juicy goodness in your beef.
2. Braising (cooking meat slowly in liquid) is a wonderful way to create hearty affordable meals for your family and friends.
3. Serve this plain, over my basmati rice recipes (several recipes posted) or even noodles along side a lovely salad for a complete satisfying meal great for cold winter days.
4. *****ok here we go*****
5. In small bowl, take flour and add good amount of salt and pepper.
6. Add sliced up beef into flour mixture and toss until coated.
7. In heavy skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil then butter.
8. Once 'fat' is quite hot, you may want to put on your fan, add enough beef to cover bottom of skillet.
9. Let meat sear on one side then turn and sear/brown on the other side.
10. Take seared/browned meat and place into large stock pot or slow cooker, continue with the rest of the meat until done.
11. Add all other ingredients to stock pot except for extra veggies including the optional potatoes as stated above and peas which will be added at the very last moment to keep them fresh looking and crisp.
12. Once liquids are at a boil, put heat down on the lowest setting and let cook stirring occasionally for at least 2 hours. Three Hours is better and the meat will be even more tender.
13. You may want to de-fat stew with a spoon a few hours in which is a normal with most stews.
14. 30 minutes before ready to serve your stew, add your potatoes, rest of the celery and carrots.
15. Add peas only five minutes before to help keep their color and crispness.
16. If you wish for a thicker stew, take 2-3 tablespoons of flour into a cup and add four tablespoons COLD water and stir to remove all lumps - then add to stew. Bring up the heat to allow stew to come to a boil - this will thicken the stew considerably.
17. I would only thicken the stew about half an hour before serving for best results.
18. When you reheat the stew say for the next day, you may find you will need to add water since it will naturally thicken on its own - similarly like chili or meat sauce.
19. To serve, spoon your stew in large bowls over rice and sprinkle freshly minced parsley over stew.
20. photo courtesy of carcino.gen.nz - I have my own photos but haven't uploaded them yet....happy eating hearty!
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