Christmas week. It's a busy and cold time of year! This past weekend we had pizza, and tomorrow which is Christmas Eve, we will have an assortment of appetizers, and for Christmas it will be a ham dinner. I needed some red meat, and I knew Daryl would certainly appreciate it.
Today, here in Eagan MN, we were at -1° at 4:00 P.M. I think our high today was 4. So a warm comfort food sure sounded good to me this morning. We have a cookbook form The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) that is one of our go-to cookbooks. Even with the Internet I still appreciate a good old fashioned cookbook. Especially one form the experts.
I didn't have to work today to I decided to make stew, and I chose the recipe form our CIA cookbook. One of the reasons I chose it was because, although I was home from work today I had one final gift to buy. I didn't have time to make a traditional stew that takes 8 - 10 hours so this recipe was perfect.
I was warm and so tasty! I highly recommend it. I made the whole recipe so that Daryl could have it for lunch tomorrow. I always bring my 90 year old mom a good helping of whatever it is we have made too. She loves getting the leftovers and I knew she would love some stew.
Don't buy the stew meat that most markets offer, you'll get higher quality meat if you buy a single cut of meat and cube it yourself. Also, please check the sodium in the broth you are planning on purchasing. It is amazing the difference in the brands, and the lower sodium the better for your health.
Adjustments to recipe: It calls for a spice sachet which would call for 5 or 6 cracked peppercorns, 3 or 4 parsley stems, 1 sprig of fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, and 1 bay leaf. You put them into a square cheesecloth and tie with string. Instead of the sachet, I put the ingredients directly into the pot, except for the peppercorns because I don't care for them. I used 4 small, unpeeled, red new potatoes instead of the 1 large white one and it worked out beautifully. We had to simmer the meal about an hour longer than what the recipe called for in order for the meat to become as tender as we wanted.
Yield: 4 -6 servings
Ingredients:
3 pounds beef shank, chuck or brisket (we used chuck)
salt and pepper
4 Tbsp vegetable oil (divided)
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth
1 large yellow or white waxy potato, peeled and diced into large dice
12 pearl onions
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or chives (optional)
Trim the beef of excess fat and gristle. Cut into 2-inch cubes and season with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 T. of the oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Working in batches without crowding, sear the beef to a keep brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the beef to a pan and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 T. oil to the Dutch oven and hear over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook until it darkens, about 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, to make a blond roux, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth to the pot, working well to work out any lumps. Return the beef to the pot along with any juices released by the beef.
Bring to a gentle simmer over low to medium hear and add the sachet, if using, or put the herbs int he pot. Cover the pot and continue to stew over very low heat or transfer to a 350° oven. Stew the beef for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potato, pearl onions, celery, and carrot and stew until the beef is tender to the bite and the vegetables are fully cooked, 30-35 minutes more.
Remove and discard the sachet, if using. Add the peas and simmer 2-3 minutes more, or until all of the ingredients are very hot. Taste and season with salt and pepper. If using, stir in the parsley or use to garnish individual portions, and serve.
Today, here in Eagan MN, we were at -1° at 4:00 P.M. I think our high today was 4. So a warm comfort food sure sounded good to me this morning. We have a cookbook form The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) that is one of our go-to cookbooks. Even with the Internet I still appreciate a good old fashioned cookbook. Especially one form the experts.
I didn't have to work today to I decided to make stew, and I chose the recipe form our CIA cookbook. One of the reasons I chose it was because, although I was home from work today I had one final gift to buy. I didn't have time to make a traditional stew that takes 8 - 10 hours so this recipe was perfect.
I was warm and so tasty! I highly recommend it. I made the whole recipe so that Daryl could have it for lunch tomorrow. I always bring my 90 year old mom a good helping of whatever it is we have made too. She loves getting the leftovers and I knew she would love some stew.
Don't buy the stew meat that most markets offer, you'll get higher quality meat if you buy a single cut of meat and cube it yourself. Also, please check the sodium in the broth you are planning on purchasing. It is amazing the difference in the brands, and the lower sodium the better for your health.
Adjustments to recipe: It calls for a spice sachet which would call for 5 or 6 cracked peppercorns, 3 or 4 parsley stems, 1 sprig of fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, and 1 bay leaf. You put them into a square cheesecloth and tie with string. Instead of the sachet, I put the ingredients directly into the pot, except for the peppercorns because I don't care for them. I used 4 small, unpeeled, red new potatoes instead of the 1 large white one and it worked out beautifully. We had to simmer the meal about an hour longer than what the recipe called for in order for the meat to become as tender as we wanted.
Yield: 4 -6 servings
Ingredients:
3 pounds beef shank, chuck or brisket (we used chuck)
salt and pepper
4 Tbsp vegetable oil (divided)
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth
1 large yellow or white waxy potato, peeled and diced into large dice
12 pearl onions
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or chives (optional)
Trim the beef of excess fat and gristle. Cut into 2-inch cubes and season with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 T. of the oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Working in batches without crowding, sear the beef to a keep brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the beef to a pan and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 T. oil to the Dutch oven and hear over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook until it darkens, about 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, to make a blond roux, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth to the pot, working well to work out any lumps. Return the beef to the pot along with any juices released by the beef.
Bring to a gentle simmer over low to medium hear and add the sachet, if using, or put the herbs int he pot. Cover the pot and continue to stew over very low heat or transfer to a 350° oven. Stew the beef for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potato, pearl onions, celery, and carrot and stew until the beef is tender to the bite and the vegetables are fully cooked, 30-35 minutes more.
Remove and discard the sachet, if using. Add the peas and simmer 2-3 minutes more, or until all of the ingredients are very hot. Taste and season with salt and pepper. If using, stir in the parsley or use to garnish individual portions, and serve.
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| The stew and the cookbook we found it in. It was warm goodness on this winter day! |
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