Beef Stew: Cold night comfort food at its best

It's been cold here in the City.  After a long holiday weekend in Portland with the in laws, I didn't feel like fussing over a big dinner.  Beef stew was a great one pot option.  It's comfort food at it's finest and perfect for a cold winter day.

For some serious stew, enough for 4 people:

2 lbs of steak (I used stew meat, it's readily available at the butcher counter this time of year)

2 onions

I also used cippolini onions, but they're optional. Just peal and leave whole, they get super soft and sweet.

5 carrots (about 1 lb)

1lb of fingerling potatoes

1 lb of crimini mushrooms

1 bottle of red wine

3 cloves of garlic

2 cups (or more) of stock -  Beef is traditional, but I had homemade turkey stock on hand that I used.

2 tablespoons of flour

4 tablespoons of butter 

1 tablespoon of thyme

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

This is a great Sunday dinner.  It's simple to make, but like most soups or braises, it just takes a while to cook.  To get started, give a rough chop to all of the veggies.

I like to sear the meat to lock in the flavor.  To get a good sear, you need to pat the beef dry with a paper towel.  Then season it well with salt and pepper.

Heat some olive oil in a dutch oven or large stock pot and turn the heat on high.  You really want to hear a good sizzle.  Work in batches for this and don't mess with the meat!  Otherwise it won't brown properly. 

This is also a good time to make sure that you are not wearing a nice shirt like I was since chances are some hot oil will spit out of the pot...   Brown the meat on all sides.

Transfer the browned meat to a bowl and work on the rest in batches until done.

Using the same pot, add in the potatoes, carrots, and onions.  Cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes or until browned and slightly softened.  

Chop the garlic and add it at the end.  Cook for just another minute or two until fragrant.

Next, add the stock and the wine.  I used about 3/4 of a bottle of Pinot Noir and maybe 4 cups of stock.  You'll want to add enough liquid to just about cover everything.  Make sure to add the herbs and season well with salt and pepper.  Cover the pot and reduce the heat to simmer.  Cook for at least an hour until the meat is tender and the veggies are soft.

So I lied, this is almost a one pot dish.  Of course we had to add mushrooms.  I just halved or quartered the mushrooms depending on the size so that they had some bite.

Season with salt and pepper and saute with some butter and olive oil.  Once browned and delicious add the shrooms to the pot.

Next, to thicken the stew, mix the flour and equal parts water in a bowl.  Make sure to combine well and then stir into the pot.  

Cook for another few minutes to ensure that the raw flour flavor is gone and the soup is now thick enough to be called a stew.

Make sure to taste and season if needed.  It's really an easy meal and perfect for a cold night at home.