Beef stew simmering
Although I love to cook I usually only get to do so on the weekends as I come home too late during the week to prepare a meal that we could eat before 7PM. So my wife cooks during the week, and I make a breakfast and/or dinner or two on the weekends, usually making something that takes a little longer as the time is a bit of a luxury. Because spring refuses to come and stay around for a while I often find myself thinking about dishes like stews. Here is one I recently put together.
Ingredients
2 lbs beef (I used bottom round)
3 carrots
3 potatoes
1 large onion
1 turnip
1 bunch parsley (about a 1/4 cup)
2 sprigs rosemary
4 cups beef broth
1 160z can diced or whole tomato
1 tbsp ketchup
1 clove garlic
pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
a splash of tabasco
3 tbsp olive oil
Beef stew meat
Procedure and Cooking
Cut the beef into 1 inch cubes.
Brown in large pot or dutch oven in small batches so the meat doesn’t boil. When all the meat has browned return all the meat to the pot, add the minced garlic stirring for about a minute being careful not to burn it, then add the beef stock, the parsley, the rosemary, the tomato sauce, and the turnips, and simmer for about 75 minutes.
Beef stew vegetables
After 75 minutes add the remainder of the vegetables, the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, a little salt, about 1/2 tsp pepper, and let simmer for another minutes. About 10 minutes before the stew is done combine the cornstarch with a little water and add it to the pot gently stirring continuously to incorporate it well. Be sure the stew returns to a simmer for about 5 minutes and it’s ready to serve.
Sunday Beef Stew
Notes:
While I did not flour the beef when making this stew certainly feel free to if you like a thicker stew. I like my stews pretty thick and this one was thick enough for me without flouring the beef before browning. Not using flour also keeps it gluten free.
If you do not like using cornstarch as a thickener some alternatives are potato starch, flour, a gluten-free flour mix (such as Better Batter), or arrowroot. In all cases mix with a little water in a separate bowl and stir out the lumps. Slowly pour into the stew while stirring and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes to thicken the stew and cook out the taste of the flour.
