Heartwarming Beef Stew
From Cosmicmother 8 years ago
- 2-3 hours to make
- Serves 4
I wanted to "fancy-up" my regular beef stew. So with a few extra steps and some different ingredients I made my ordinary stew, extraordinary! Super hearty, warming and very flavorful, your guests might just lick their bowls clean! Read more I usually don't add bell peppers, tomato paste or balsamic to my stew and usually just brown the beef and onions and dump it all in the slow cooker. This does take more steps but each browning process and blooming of spices etc really enhances this stew. And people usually go, "mmmm, what did you put in this" because it's just a little different! ;) See less
Ingredients
- 1 pound, of any steak, sirloin or chuck roast- cut into 1 inch pieces shopping list
- oil, for pan frying shopping list
- salt and pepper shopping list
- pinch of garlic powder shopping list
- 3 1/2 cups of beef stock ( I use one portion of Knorr Homestyle concentrated beef stock to 3-1/2 cups of water) shopping list
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce shopping list
- 1 bay leaf shopping list
- 2 celery ribs, sliced (or a pinch of celery seeds) shopping list
- 1 small yellow onion, diced shopping list
- 1 large garlic clove, minced shopping list
- 2 lrg. russet potatoes, chopped in 1 inch pieces shopping list
- 1 large carrot, diced ( or 2 small/medium carrots) shopping list
- 1 bell pepper (red, orange or half of each) diced shopping list
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste (concentrated-in the tube) shopping list
- splash or two of balsamic vinegar (approx. 1-2 Tbsp.) shopping list
- pinch of cayenne pepper shopping list
- 4-5 sprigs of fresh Thyme shopping list
- 2 Tablespoons flour shopping list
- 1/2 cup cold water or extra beef stock shopping list
- Handful of frozen peas shopping list
How to make it
- Lightly oil a skillet. Over med. high heat, bring the oil to a shimmer and add the beef. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a pinch of garlic powder. Stir until the beef is seared on both sides. Remove from heat.
- Add the beef to a large pot or slow cooker. Add beef broth, soy sauce, bay leaf (and celery seeds if using), and bring to simmer. (turn to high in a slow cooker)
- In the same skillet over med heat, add in onions and garlic--add a little more oil if needed, salt and pepper if desired, and cook for 1-3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Add it to the beef mixture.
- In the same skillet, turn to high--again adding more oil if needed-add the peppers and lightly sear. Turn the heat down to med. once the peppers get a little charred, add the tomato paste and stir around for 30 sec-1 minute to caramelize, and add a good splash of balsamic vinegar to de-glaze the pan (or red wine if preferred) and reduce for 1 minute. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little background heat (This adds the warmth, but is not spicy at all)
- Stir the pepper mixture into the beef stew and add the potatoes, carrots and the fresh thyme sprigs. Put a lid on and gently simmer for approx. 1.5-2 hours. (Or 3-4 hours in the slow cooker.) Stirring occasionally.
- In the last half hour of cooking (or 1 hour in the slow cooker) stir the flour with cold water (or leftover stock) and whisk into the stew until fully incorporated.
- When the stew is ready, pull out the bay leaf and thyme sprigs, and check for seasonings. Remove from heat and stir in the frozen peas, and serve.
- Makes 4-BIG portions or 6 regular ;).
The Rating
Reviewed by 2 people-
Delicious stew! Very bold flavor and the balsamic really gives it a mellow sweet flavor that I've never had in a beef stew before :) More in the IMI II Group in Eastcoaster's review -----------> more
mommyluvs2cook
in Santa Fe loved it
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Lovely stew, very good on a cool day.I made dumplings to go with it. More in MIM
eastcoaster
in loved it
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