Since my grocery store was having a sale on Black Angus beef chuck today, I decided spur of the moment to make a large pot of beef stew comfort food…served over buttered noodles, nestled in a thick and rich gravy, dotted with carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, onions…flavored with celery, rosemary and bay leaf, simmered long and slow with a bottle of red wine…mmmm my apartment is filled with the aroma! Perhaps I should have titled this Beef Burgundy…except I only had a bottle of Merlot handy…<grin>
I can’t believe I’ve made it this far into winter and haven’t yet simmered a pot of beef stew! Well today, I remedy that!
Beef stew served over buttered noodles dotted with poppy seeds was a favorite in my old food shop, Country Cuisine. Whenever we put it on the menu, it sold out fast!
Beef Stew
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs Black Angus beef chuck, cut into stew pieces
- 1 large Idaho potato
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 lb portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large maui onion
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 bottle red wine
- 32 oz beef stock
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons Kikkoman soy sauce
In a large dutch oven or stew pot, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil and brown 1/3 of the beef pieces until nicely caramelized all over. This is an important step and takes a little time, but the caramelizing developes a deep flavor to your stew.
Remove to a dish, and repeat with the remaining 2/3 beef. After the beef pieces are all browned and removed to a waiting dish, add the chopped veggies and sweat until translucent, stirring up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pot, which again, is flavor…about 3-5 minutes. Add the seasonings and liquids. The Worcestershire brings a subtle rich taste to the stew, while the mushrooms and soy sauce both add an umami depth.
Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer 2 hours.
A half hour before serving, stir 1/3 cup of flour with 1/3 cup of cold water or broth until it forms a thin paste. I keep extra small glass jars around with covers so that I can shake the flour/water mixture together to eliminate lumps. Stir into the hot stew and cook for another 1/2 hour to thicken. Correct seasonings.
Serve over hot buttered noodles, rice, mashed potatoes or baked in pie pastry as a beef pot pie. As a kid, this was served to us over hot rice. At my food shop, Country Cuisine, it was popular served over hot buttered noodles sprinkled with poppy seeds.
