Winter's Beef Stew
Recipe for Northern Italian Beef Stew
Recipe by Karen Barris Calabro / AllRecipes.com
"This hearty beef and vegetable stew that can be made in the slow-cooker is a family favorite. It is also the backbone for an excellent beef soup, if you actually find yourself with leftovers."
Prep: 30 min. / Cook Time: 4 hrs. 20 min. / Ready In: 4 hrs. 50 min. / Serves: 8
Ingredients
Northern Italian Beef Stew / Allrecipes.com
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds lean top round, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 large sweet onions, diced
- 2 cups large chunks of celery
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into large rounds
- 1 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 4 large tomatoes, chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes (such as Red Bliss), cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 quart beef stock
- 2 cups tomato sauce
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in batches in hot oil until browned completely, about 5 minutes per batch. Remove browned beef cubes to a plate lined with paper towels, keeping skillet over heat and retaining the beef drippings.
- Cook and stir onion, celery, and carrots in the retained beef drippings until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir mushrooms and garlic into the onion mixture.
- Pour red wine into the pan; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking the mixture until the wine evaporates, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir tomatoes into the mixture.
- Return beef to skillet with potatoes, basil, thyme, marjoram, and sage. Pour beef stock and tomato sauce over the mixture. Bring the liquid to a simmer.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until the beef is very tender and the sauce is thick, 4 to 6 hours.
Cook's Note: To create a soup from this stew, chop up vegetables and beef pieces into much smaller pieces and add vegetable stock or water until it resembles a soup. Simmer briefly, but not too high as it will make the soup extremely cloudy.
