The last few cold weather months have put me in a soup frenzy. Last weekend, the foggy, rainy Saturday created the perfect backdrop for today’s recipe, a classic beef stew. For our pre-St. Patty’s day get together on Saturday (more on that here), I made individual pots of beef stew for each guest in my new World Market handled crocks. For even more fun, I topped each with buttery puff pastry which created mini pot pies on each plate.
I love Cook’s Illustrated magazine, and I promise the recipes among the bi-monthly magazine’s pages are very well thought-out and never steer me in the wrong direction. Their classic beef stew was no exception.
Recipe: Classic Beef Stew
(Cook’s Illustrated The Best
Slow & Easy Recipes)
Slow & Easy Recipes)
Serves 6
1 (3 1/2-4 pound) boneless beef
chuck eye roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or
pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose
flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups low sodium beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes (about 5
medium), scrubbed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pound carrots (about 6 medium),
peeled and sliced 1 inch thick
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
chuck eye roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or
pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose
flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups low sodium beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes (about 5
medium), scrubbed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pound carrots (about 6 medium),
peeled and sliced 1 inch thick
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Directions
- Adjust an oven rack to the
lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. - Pat the beef dry with paper towels
and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a
large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half
of the meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 7 to 10
minutes, reducing the heat if the pot begins to scorch. - Transfer the browned beef to a
medium bowl. Repeat with 1 tablespoon more oil and the remaining
beef; transfer to the bowl. - Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil
to the pot and place over medium-low heat until shimmering. add the
onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5
to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant,
about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and tomato paste and cook,
stirring constantly, for 1 minutes. Slowly whisk in the wine,
scraping up any browned bits. Gradually whisk in the broths until
smooth and bring to a simmer. - Stir in the browned meat with any
accumulated juices and the bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Cover,
place the pot in the oven, and cook for one hour. Stir in the
potatoes and carrots and continue to cook in the oven, covered, until the
meat is tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer. - Remove the stew from the oven and
remove the bay leaves. Stir in the peas, cover, and let stand for 5
minutes. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to
taste before serving.
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| Because I was feeling festive, I even added a little four-leaf clover to a few! |
For the puff pastry crust, you will need one package of frozen puff pastry (which contains two sheets), thawed. Flip over the small vessels you will be using for your individual servings and place on top of your thawed puff pastry. Press down to create a stencil. Cut out each piece with the tip of your knife to make the crust for your stew. After you have completed the recipe above, ladle each serving of stew into your individual pots. Top with a piece of puff pastry. Crack one egg in a small bowl, quickly beat with a fork, and add in 1 TB of water. Lightly brush the egg mixture on top of each piece of puff pastry. Place all servings on a cookie sheet and place in a 350 degree oven. Cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy!
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