Tuesday, August 24, 2010

rainy monday calls for beef stew!

16-18 oz. 1-2 inch squares of chuck
1 large vidalia onion
1 cup of baby carrots
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 heaping tablespoon of herbs de provence OR italian seasoning
1 cup of your favorite red wine
3 cups of organic low-sodium beef broth
1 28 oz. can of organic diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup of frozen peas
butter
sea salt
pepper
olive oil

thoroughly dry all the meat with a kitchen towel, then season well with salt and pepper. brown the meat in a hot pot with olive oil. i did mine in 2 batches. don't crowd the pan, nobody likes boiled beef. we're just looking for color here, it can be cooked medium when you pull it. move all cooked meat into a glass bowl and let rest.


look at all those tasty brown bits!

saute the onion and baby carrots. keep the heat medium-high here. season with salt, pepper, and your choice of seasoning. saute for 7-8 minutes. i think herbs de provence just works wonderfully here. it turns your beef stew into classic french fare. once the onions have gathered a bit of color, add the garlic. saute for an additional 3-4 minutes.

deglaze the pan with the red wine. make sure to scrape up all those brown bits. let this reduce for about 5 minutes. keep the heat high. add the drained diced tomatoes, the cooked beef and the beef broth. reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least an hour, longer if you have the time.

10 minutes before service, mix in the frozen peas and a couple tablespoons of irish butter.


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