Though winter is coming to an end, I thought I'd include this cold weather treat before spring fully takes over. I've been making this recipe all winter long. It makes at least 6 servings, and the left overs reheat easily.
Ingredients:
2lbs. chuck beef cubed
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon canola (or vegetable) oil
1 large carrot
1 rib celery
1 medium yellow onion
1/2 lb pearl onions (if you can't find them, look in the freezer section)
1 russet potato
1/2 tsp black pepper corns
1/2 bottle (or more) red wine (cabernet sauvignon or merlot)
12-14 oz canned chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
Directions:
1) In a large plastic bag add 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper, and flour
2) place cubed beef into bag and cover with flour mixture
3) in a deep skillet or pot, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat
4) shake off flour, and place beef in butter/oil mixture
5) brown beef on all sides, and remove from pot
6) Add carrot, celery, onions, and peppercorns to pot on medium-high heat until onions have started to brown
7) Pour in wine, and stir to loosen stuck vegetables
8) Add potatoes, tomatoes, tomato paste, and beef broth
9) Stir for 5 minutes
10) Add browned beef to pot
11) Cook over low heat to simmer for 2 hours.
Now that it's getting colder, I recently got out one of my favorite recipes for beef stew. However, a while ago I realized that it's far too complicated for everyday use. It has a few ingredients that tend to be duplicated (two types of onions), or can just omitted. (Does 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste REALLY add that much flavor to a huge pot?)
