[Comfort Beef Stew] Great Weekend Stew cooked with wine

Stew must be one of the easiest cooking method to make a great dish. And stewing makes the least tender cuts of meat tender and juicy with the slow moist heat method, which however is different from slow cooking method. (Slow cooker often makes meat too limp for my taste.) As Mr. D and I love stew so much, I often make all kinds of stew, including chili. 

This comfort beef stew could be a cousin, but quite distant, of French boeuf bourguignon. While the authentic boeuf bourguinon requires some labour, this comfort beef stew can be done with little work. You can see my favorite boeuf bourguignon recipe of Julia Child here. If you like boeuf bourguignon, just like me,  but want something similar and easier, try this easy comfort beef stew recipe. Leftover is just as good as when it was first made.

Here goes the recipe:

(I've used this recipe for a few years, but don't remember where I got it :( )

Ingredients

3-4 lbs Stew beef (I used pot chuck roast only because it was on sale, but I normally use stewing beef)

1 onion

1 celery stalk

2 carrots

3 tablespoons flour or chickpea flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 lbs mushroom of your choice, sliced (I used Shitake)

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 cup beef broth

1 cup dry red wine

1 can diced tomato can

Directions

1. In a large cast-iron casserole or a skillet,  add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and arrange the meat i in a single layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. (At first, the beef will give off some liquid, but once that evaporates, the beef will start to brown. )

2. Then set aside.

3. Dice all the vegetables: onion, celery, and carrots.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add flour, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. You want the mixture to turn light brown but not burn

5. Add chopped onion, celery,carrots, and mushroom and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, 5 minutes.

6. Add beef and garlic and mix well.

7. Add red wine and beef broth.

8. Add canned tomato, bay leaf and thyme, and bring to a boil.

9. Simmer for 60-70 minutes on low-medium heat.

Serve with short pasta such as rigatoni what I used. Enjoy this flavourful dish with a glass of red wine ~

Enjoy!

Comfort Beef Stew with Red Wine