Beef Stew
With red wine - a simple, hearty dish with a few derivative dish ideas.
Every year I forget that February is the longest, coldest, most miserable month. We’re almost finished with it, which is fantastic. It has been made worse for me by a longer than anticipated pneumonia situation (I’m getting better). So beef stew it is, unfussy, pretty quick, and transformable into derivative dishes. This braise (the slowish cooking of meat in liquid) is so simple with flavors that you can add noodles, or rice (both of which stretches it from 2 large portions to 4 portions), and secondary dishes can be made with the leftovers. I personally added sautéed onions, coconut milk, curry powder, and coconut sugar to turn it into a Thai-inspired beef curry. Delicious. But also because of the simple flavors of the mother braise, you could add tomato and make a secondary Ragu for pasta. Oh the advantages of not adding a definitive spice or flavor to the mother dish!
Beef stew for two
ingredients
2 pound beef chuck / stew meat in chunks, salted and peppered.
3 medium carrots, peeled, roughly chopped
3 ribs celery, split the long way, then roughly chopped
2 medium yellow onions, thin slices
1.5 cups dry red wine (like chianti)
1 cup olive oil (divided)
1 cup frozen peas
steps
In a medium enameled cast iron dutch oven, over medium high heat, add 1/2 cup of olive oil and sear the beef in two batches to prevent overcrowding. I usually just do two sides, about 5 minutes each - and set aside.
Once the beef is seared, using a paper towel and a pair of tongs, clean out about 3/4 of the oil and discard. Pour 1/2 cup of the red wine and reduce the heat to low. With a flat sided wooden utensil, scrape any of the brown bits off the bottom.
Return the beef and resting juices to the pan, followed by the carrots, celery, onions, and the remaining 1 cup of red wine. Bring to a gentile simmer, then reduce/maintain the heat on low, cover and cook for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, remove the top, mix the onions top to bottom, and cook another 30 minutes. If the mixture looks excessively dry, you may add up to 1 cup of water, consider a less powerful burner too.
At this point, test the beef for tenderness, if it’s falling apart, you’re ready to add the peas and cook for another 5 minutes. If not, go an additional 30 minutes, adding the peas in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking. Taste for salt and add as needed.
Serve alone, or with rice, or noodles if you’re looking to stretch it to a four person serving. Consider turning the leftovers into either a ragu or a coconut curry.
This sounds delicious! I haven’t made beef stew in years and I don’t know why. My mother made it faithfully every couple of weeks and I always found it comforting. She didn’t use wine. We were 5 kids and beef broth was healthier for growing bodies. I’ll definitely try this with the wine. I’m all grown up now.
In terms of your pneumonia, if your health care provider gave you an inspirometer, USE IT! I’d you don’t have one, ask for one! If the Mucinex and/or Tessalon Perls aren’t doing it for you, get some Mullein tincture. It’s nature’s way of healing lungs. Feel better!