This stew is definitely comfort food. It is richly flavored with wine, beef broth, onions and carrots. Several other cuts of meat will work but for this recipe I selected a chuck roast. I have used left over sirloin steak before and it was perfect.
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups burgundy style red wine, such as Pinot Noir or Syrah
4 cups beef broth
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs thyme
10 medium carrots (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds potatoes cut into 2 inch pieces
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or wide-bottomed oven safe pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Cook the meat, in batches, until well browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes, transferring the pieces to a plate as they are browned. Add onions and cook until translucent.
Add the wine, broth and bay leaves. Return the meat, onions and any juices back to the pot (the meat should be barely submerged in liquid), cover, and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1 hour.
Add the potatoes and the carrots to the pot, cover, and return to the oven. Cook until the meat and vegetables are fork-tender, about 1 hour more.
Remove stew from oven. With a large dipping spoon remove pan juices and place in a medium sauce pan and heat on medium heat. Melt butter in a skillet and stir in flour. Cook on medium high heat for 15 minutes, stirring. Slowly add ¼ cup of the pan juices to the flour stirring to avoid clumping, add another ¼ cup. Pour this mixture into the pan juices and cook until thickened. Adjust flavors with salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce back over beef and vegetables. Add thyme sprigs. Continue to cook 30 minutes up to an hour. Broth should be rich and thick.
Serve with crusty bread.
Cooking Wiser
If after the sauce has been cooked for several minutes and it has clumps in it, pour it through a sieve to remove the clumps.
This recipe can also be cooked in a slow cooker. Brown the meat and onions in a skillet and place into the slow cooker with the broth, wine and bay leaf. Add the potatoes and carrots after the first hour of cooking.