Basic Beef Stew with Carrots and Mushrooms
This is on the stove right now, in my new Le Creuset pot. And man, does my house smell good. I'm not usually good at things that involve gravy, which is basically what stew is. But I think that cold, rainy days are perfect days for a big bowl of stew and a hunk of bread, so I figured I'd give this one a whirl.
Know what I love about stew? You can basically put in it whatever you like. I don't have any mushrooms today, so I substituted fresh green beans (which will go in with the carrots and potatoes, instead of at the beginning), of which I have an abundance. And I had baby white potatoes, so I used those instead of regular potatoes, and left the skin on.
from Cooking Light, January 2006
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 pound small cremini mushrooms
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
2 pounds lean beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 (14-ounce) cans less-sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled white potato (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups (1-inch) slices carrot (about 12 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown. Spoon mushrooms into a large bowl. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.
Place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge beef in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned beef to mushroom mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining beef mixture and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Add 1 cup wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add thyme, broth, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Stir in beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is just tender.
Stir in potato and carrot. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beef and vegetables are very tender and sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.
NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 303(29% from fat); FAT 9.8g (sat 3.2g,mono 4.7g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 26.4g; CHOLESTEROL 71mg; CALCIUM 54mg; SODIUM 494mg; FIBER 2.3g; IRON 3.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.8g
**Also, a note. My friend Stephanie is joining the blog. Welcome, Stephanie. Hopefully she'll have lots of good recipes to share. :)
Know what I love about stew? You can basically put in it whatever you like. I don't have any mushrooms today, so I substituted fresh green beans (which will go in with the carrots and potatoes, instead of at the beginning), of which I have an abundance. And I had baby white potatoes, so I used those instead of regular potatoes, and left the skin on.
from Cooking Light, January 2006
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 pound small cremini mushrooms
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
2 pounds lean beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 (14-ounce) cans less-sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled white potato (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups (1-inch) slices carrot (about 12 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown. Spoon mushrooms into a large bowl. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.
Place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge beef in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned beef to mushroom mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining beef mixture and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Add 1 cup wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add thyme, broth, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Stir in beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is just tender.
Stir in potato and carrot. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beef and vegetables are very tender and sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.
NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 303(29% from fat); FAT 9.8g (sat 3.2g,mono 4.7g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 26.4g; CHOLESTEROL 71mg; CALCIUM 54mg; SODIUM 494mg; FIBER 2.3g; IRON 3.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.8g
**Also, a note. My friend Stephanie is joining the blog. Welcome, Stephanie. Hopefully she'll have lots of good recipes to share. :)
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