My Rustic Beef Stew

Photo: msbuenavida here

A hearty beef stew is a popular dish. Definitely, comfort food, which many of us grew up eating, often in winter. I made a pot over the weekend using ingredients I had on hand. It turned out especially delicious! Sooo. I'm sharing the recipe for a purely selfish reason ... so I'll remember how to make it again. I can always come back here to look it up! Here are all the ingredients that went into the pot:

Rustic Beef Stew (my style, um, um!)

Ingredients: 

1 ½ - 2 pounds beef, cut into large cubes (chuck, round, London broil, or whatever is on sale)

A sprinkle of olive oil­

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper (12 turns of the pepper mill)
1 tablespoon flour

1 onion, chopped, big chunks

3 stalks celery, diced

4 carrots, cut into big bite-size pieces

2 parsnips, cut into big pieces
1 teaspoon dried garlic

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

sprinkle of thyme
sprinkle of nutmeg
5 cups water

1 big bay leaf
dash of dried cilantro

A tiny sprinkle red pepper flakes (Adds a kick without the heat. Careful: Too much adds heat.)

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (Sprinkle and just eyeball the amount.)

1 small beef, or chicken bouillon cube (Doesn't really matter which flavor.)

1 teaspoon vinegar (I used apple cider, but try different vinegars at different times - or red wine or beer, then pour in 1 cup, i.e. p-a-r-ty!)

3 medium potatoes, cut into big chunks

1 plum tomato, diced 
dried parsley

optional: I had a handful of mushrooms in the refrigerator, so they went in, but don't go to the store for them; you have enough beef and chunks and flavor without mushrooms.

Directions: 

1) Sear the beef with a tiny bit of olive oil in a 6 quart enameled cast iron pot until golden brown. While browning, salt and pepper the beef. Dust the seared meat with flour.
2) Next add the onions, celery, carrots, parsnips and spices as listed. Saute for about 5 minutes.
3) Add the water, bay leaf, cilantro, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon cube and vinegar.
4) Bring to a boil and simmer on a low heat for about 2 hours.

5) Cut the potatoes in big chunks and dice the tomato; add to the pot and let simmer on low heat for another hour, or so. Garnish with iron-rich parsley.

Tips: In cooking if you want vegetables to disappear into the sauce, dice them up small. If you want the vegetables to remain spearable-with-a-fork, cut into big pieces. With this stew the only vegetables I dice small are the tomato and celery. (If I want to thicken the stew, I mince a raw potato to cook in it.)

 The cooking time may vary, depending on the cut of beef you use. Cook until the meat is tender. Lean cuts of beef (examples: round, London broil) are cheaper, tougher and require a longer cooking time to break down the tissues, but are very flavorful when tender. Lean is good! 

Click here to learn more about beef cuts.

Needless to say, beef stew is scrumptious on day 1 and excellent as leftovers. Serve with cornbread or hard crusted, whole grain bread.

My next post will address how to reduce your grocery bills, so check back in a couple of days for tips.

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