Beef Stew

Stews are one of those foods that I have always admired.  I love big pots full of slowly simmering food whose aroma fills the whole house.  Stew is easy, affordable, and feeds the whole house; it is really just a matter of tossing things in a pot and giving them time to mellow together.

I don’t recall really caring for stew as a child.  I imagine I ate the beef out of it, maybe the potatoes, and then tried to ignore any of the vegetables that may have ended up in my bowl.  I do remember liking the smell.

As a child I couldn’t appreciate that the aroma of stew is the result of all of the ingredients coming together.  I couldn’t appreciate that the flavor of the beef or the potatoes was really determined by all of those vegetables I was dutifully ignoring.

In my opinion, stew is really a food for a brisk fall or cold winter.  The steaming bowl helps warm you inside and makes you feel cozy even as it pours or gusts outside.  So the weather in Hawaii is pretty terrible; at least as it relates to stew.

Hawaii tends to be pretty sunny, warm, and generally pleasant for most of the year.  This gives us a really limited window with which to enjoy stews and other cold weather foods.  It is really hard to enjoy a hot bowl of beef stew when it is bright and sunny outside.

With that said, we are getting into the colder months here (relatively speaking).  It gets cold enough for blankets at night, hoodies appear in the mornings, rain comes more frequently and energetically, and we can finally enjoy a warm cup of stew, a glass of wine, and feel cozy inside our homes buttressed against the weather.

Stew is really just about tossing stuff in a pot and letting it have plenty of time to simmer.  Everything starts with a mirepoix- celery, carrots, onions and butter all go in low heat and have plenty of time to soften.

After the mirepoix has had some time the mushrooms go in and the heat goes up, they cook for a little bit, and wine joins the party.  As the wine begins to simmer or boil a couple cups of beef broth follow.

Once the beef broth begins to simmer the potatoes can go in the pot, they need to be submerged so they can cook thoroughly and get to that point where they just about fall apart.  Toss in a bay leaf, some pepper, some salt, and let the flavors mingle.

The beef I like to do separately.  Take a pan and turn the heat up high.  Add a little oil and then toss in the beef to the preheated pan.  The beef just needs to brown on each side.  Before it is done I like to add a cup of wine and braise the beef in that for a little bit before dumping the whole pan into the stew.

Now everything can just simmer together for a few hours, or even longer.  Sometimes I will add a quick roux (an equal parts fat (butter) and flour mixture that is done on low heat) to the pot to help things thicken up a little bit.  Otherwise the stew is ready when you are; I like having it over a bed of rice or bread, but it is just fine all by itself!

The Recipe: Beef Stew

Ingredients

3 Chopped Stalks of Celery

2 Chopped Carrots

1 Chopped Onion

1/2 lb Chopped Mushrooms

1 Large Chopped Tomato

1 lb of Stewing Beef

1 Cup Red Wine

3 Cups Beef (or Vegetable) Stock

2 Diced Potatoes

4 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Black Pepper

2 Tbsp Sea Salt

1 or 2 Bay Leaves

1 Tsp Olive Oil

Directions

1) Chop the Celery, the Carrots, and the Onion.  Dump them all in a big pot with the butter on low heat.

2) After fifteen minutes, when the vegetables have all softened turn up the heat to medium and add in the mushrooms.

3)  After the mushrooms have cooked some (3-5 minutes) add the Stock and the tomatoes and turn up the heat.

4) Once the pot has begun to simmer/boil add the potatoes, half of the spices, and the bay leaf.  Go ahead and put a lid on the pot and let it sit.

5) Take out a pan and put it on high heat.  Add the oil and then the beef once the pan is nice and hot.

6) Turn the beef allowing it to brown on all sides.  Add the remaining spices to the beef.

7) Once the beef is nice and brown go ahead and add the wine, turning the heat down to medium and letting the beef braise in the liquid until it has reduced some (after about 10-15 minutes).

8) Dump everything in pan into the pot turning down the heat allowing everything to simmer in the pot together.

9) Put the lid back on and let everything cook in the pot together for a half hour or a few hours.  (I like to let mine sit at least an hour or two)

10) Serve the stew in a bowl with rice or some bread on the side.