I make this stew with lots of vegetables and forego the traditional addition of potatoes because I like to serve it over mashed roasted purple yams and sweet potatoes. I tend to make a bigger batch then the recipe below because it never lasts long in my house.
INGREDIENTS:
1 kg of cubed stewing beef. (I used pasture raised from Whole Foods)
2 cups of diced cooking onions
3 garlic gloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
1/2 bottle of red wine or a little more
1/4 cup of broth or water
1 1/2 teaspoons of WHOLE black peppercorns
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of diced carrots
2 cups of diced zucchini (diced slightly larger than the carrots)
1 cup of green peas
kosher salt to taste
flour to dredge beef cubes
3 purple yams
3 sweet potatoes
METHOD:
Over medium high heat, melt butter and olive oil in a large sauteuse with a tight fitting lid. Dredge the beef cubes with a bit of flour. Add to the sizzling hot pan in 2 batches. Salt the meat to your taste at this point. Do not over crowd while searing. (See Tip section below). Sear for a couple of minutes per side until meat is browned on the outside. As you remove the browned beef (with a slotted spoon) from the pan to a bowl, keep it covered and warm. And proceed with the next step.
In the same pan, after you have removed all the browned beef, add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and translucent. Then add and saute garlic until it is fragrant. About 1 minute. At this point you will need to deglaze the pan with red wine.
Turn up the heat pour in just a splash of wine and using a wooden spoon scrape all the tasty goodness that has stuck to the bottom of the pan. You may need to do this twice.
Lower heat again to medium high. Then add the tomato paste, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt and the reserved beef cubes. Pour in half a bottle of red wine, bring to a low boil and cover with a tight fitting lid. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Occasionally check on it and give it a good stir.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 F and roast the yams and sweet potatoes. The yams and potatoes will need approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours of roasting time. Place them on a cookie sheet and roast until they are tender when pierced with a fork. To serve just peel and scrape out from the skins.
After the stew has simmered for 1 1/2 hours, add in the zucchini and carrots. Simmer for an additional 25 minutes and then add the peas for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Adjust salt if needed.
Serve the hearty stew over fork-mashed oven roasted purple yams and roasted sweet potatoes.
For each serving, ladle the stew on top of half a yam and half a sweet potato.
TIPS:
When browning the beef it is important not to overcrowd the pan. Otherwise the beef will steam and or boil, not brown. This browning step is what gives the stew its great colour and hearty flavour.
INGREDIENTS:
1 kg of cubed stewing beef. (I used pasture raised from Whole Foods)
2 cups of diced cooking onions
3 garlic gloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
1/2 bottle of red wine or a little more
1/4 cup of broth or water
1 1/2 teaspoons of WHOLE black peppercorns
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of diced carrots
2 cups of diced zucchini (diced slightly larger than the carrots)
1 cup of green peas
kosher salt to taste
flour to dredge beef cubes
3 purple yams
3 sweet potatoes
METHOD:
Over medium high heat, melt butter and olive oil in a large sauteuse with a tight fitting lid. Dredge the beef cubes with a bit of flour. Add to the sizzling hot pan in 2 batches. Salt the meat to your taste at this point. Do not over crowd while searing. (See Tip section below). Sear for a couple of minutes per side until meat is browned on the outside. As you remove the browned beef (with a slotted spoon) from the pan to a bowl, keep it covered and warm. And proceed with the next step. In the same pan, after you have removed all the browned beef, add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and translucent. Then add and saute garlic until it is fragrant. About 1 minute. At this point you will need to deglaze the pan with red wine.
Turn up the heat pour in just a splash of wine and using a wooden spoon scrape all the tasty goodness that has stuck to the bottom of the pan. You may need to do this twice.
Lower heat again to medium high. Then add the tomato paste, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt and the reserved beef cubes. Pour in half a bottle of red wine, bring to a low boil and cover with a tight fitting lid. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Occasionally check on it and give it a good stir.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 F and roast the yams and sweet potatoes. The yams and potatoes will need approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours of roasting time. Place them on a cookie sheet and roast until they are tender when pierced with a fork. To serve just peel and scrape out from the skins. After the stew has simmered for 1 1/2 hours, add in the zucchini and carrots. Simmer for an additional 25 minutes and then add the peas for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Adjust salt if needed.
Serve the hearty stew over fork-mashed oven roasted purple yams and roasted sweet potatoes.
For each serving, ladle the stew on top of half a yam and half a sweet potato.
TIPS:
When browning the beef it is important not to overcrowd the pan. Otherwise the beef will steam and or boil, not brown. This browning step is what gives the stew its great colour and hearty flavour.
