Thick & Creamy Beef Stew

"This simple beef stew is a bit different from the ordinary but is delicious with popovers or crusty whole grain bread. Recipe source: Bon Appetit (April 1986)"
 
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photo by Barb G. photo by Barb G.
photo by Barb G.
photo by Barb G. photo by Barb G.
Ready In:
2hrs 20mins
Ingredients:
19
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 450°F.
  • Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in 5 quart casserole over medium high heat. Add 1/3 of the beef cubes and brown on all sides (6-8 minutes). Transfer meat to plate or bowl. Repeat with remainder of beef until all is browned.
  • Add chopped onion to pan, reducing heat to low and sauté for about 6-8 minutes or until onion is tender and translucent.
  • Return beef to pan and sprinkle with flour, tossing until all is coated. Transfer all to casserole to oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
  • Pour any reserved juices (from beef on plate) over the beef, along with the wine and broth (if beef is not covered add more beef broth or water).
  • Tie parley sprigs, garlic, thyme and bay leaf in a cheesecloth.
  • Add herbs (in cheese cloth bag) to beef with salt and pepper.
  • Bring mixture to a boil on top of stove and then transfer mixture to casserole and then to oven.
  • Bake for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Stir in carrots, adding more broth (or water) is sauce is too thick or mixture seems dry. Continue baking for 30-45 minutes (20-30 if using baby carrots). Discard cheesecloth bag.
  • While stew is baking in oven, in a medium saucepan boil water (enough to cover onions) and add onions and boil for 1 minute. Drain onions and peel onions.
  • In a skillet over medium heat, melt one tablespoon butter. Add onions to skillet and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Remove onions from skillet and add to stew, along with the fennel (if using) in casserole in the oven. Continue baking for 20 more minutes.
  • Remove from oven and add peas to casserole, simmering an additional 5-10 minutes on top of the stove. Stir in minced parsley.

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Reviews

  1. Very tasty! The wine really gives it a great flavor. I did make quite a few adjustments: I wanted to crock pot it so I browned the meat in a pan, then softened the onion in the same pan using red wine to deglaze and I added celery and carrot at this point. Then all of the ingredients except for the parsley and garlic went into the crock (and I added green beans and potato). Crocked on high for around 8 hours. At that point I transferred it to the stovetop and added the garlic and parsley and more flour (w/a roux) to thicken. Easy and delicious!
     
  2. This is the Best Beef Stew, It should have more than 5 stars. It is delicious and easy to make , Don't let the number steps confuse you. I made it like the recipe said, But used shallots instead of white boiling and added them with the carrots, also added a sweet potato cut into 1 1/2inch cubes, yummy. I liked the idea of using thecheese cloth bag for the Herbs. Didn't use the fennel buib. I did add 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch with a little water to thicken up the gravy as it hadn't thickened during cooking, the gravy is to die for. The red wine really makes this delicious, I used Merlot for the wine. Thank you Ellie, this will be my Beef Stew recipe from now on.
     
  3. Excellent. I had a leftover roast with about 2 cups of broth, added the wine, spices and potatoes. We doubled the garlicin the recipe, 2 cloves to the measure of broth and wine instead of one. I just mixed a couple of tablespoons of flour with a little waterto thicken it. I did end up doubling the broth wine mixture using about 6 to 8 beef bouillioin, 2 cups of water, 1 cup of wine, and the bay leaf, thyme, and garlic again. I had a lot of roast to my broth and needed more. We loved it!
     
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Tweaks

  1. This is the Best Beef Stew, It should have more than 5 stars. It is delicious and easy to make , Don't let the number steps confuse you. I made it like the recipe said, But used shallots instead of white boiling and added them with the carrots, also added a sweet potato cut into 1 1/2inch cubes, yummy. I liked the idea of using thecheese cloth bag for the Herbs. Didn't use the fennel buib. I did add 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch with a little water to thicken up the gravy as it hadn't thickened during cooking, the gravy is to die for. The red wine really makes this delicious, I used Merlot for the wine. Thank you Ellie, this will be my Beef Stew recipe from now on.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I love cooking and trying different foods, but my favorite cookbooks are now Weight Watchers or low fat/low cal cookbooks as I tend to try and make low fat/low cal recipes. I lost over 90 pounds on Weight Watchers and have maintained for over a year now -- so my cooking/eating habits have changed drastically following my weight loss and to keep it off!</p>
 
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