It can still get a little chilly at night here in Northern California. A hearty stew is just the thing to take the chill off.
This recipe used a cast iron Dutch oven inside of a conventional oven. It takes several hours to finish but most of that time, it's "set and forget." Just a little bit of preparation at the beginning and two stirrings during cook time.
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. - beef stew chunks
2 strips - bacon
1/2 med. onion
4 med carrots
10 small yellow potatoes
4 oz. - sliced mushrooms
10 oz. - frozen peas
1 med. tomato
1 can - beef broth
1/4 cup - sherry
2 tablespoons - mince garlic
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon - thyme
1 bay leaves
1/4 cup - cornstarch
2 tablespoons - olive oil
My wife and son don't like chunks of onion so, instead of dicing, I put the onion in the blender on a medium speed with 2 tablespoons of water for 5 seconds (you can dice if you like). Then, it's peel the carrots and slice into quarter inch chunks.
I quarter the potatoes and set aside in a bowl with the carrots.
Dice the tomato and set aside in a separate bowl.
Preheat the oven to 285 degrees.
Cut up the bacon into small chunks. Heat the olive oil in the Dutch oven on the stovetop at medium-high heat. Cook the bacon until just done in the oil.
Add the onion and cook another 5 minutes.
Add the beef, salt and pepper. Stir occasionally and cook another 5 minutes.
Add half the sherry, stir and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Turn off the heat and add the vegetables, bay leaves, garlic, thyme, mushrooms, and cornstarch.
Pour in the broth and the rest of the sherry.
Oops! I forgot the tomatoes so I add them (you can add with the rest of the vegetables).
Cover and put in oven for 2 hours. At that time, remove cover and stir. Cover it back up and cook another two hours. Stir again and cover. Cook one more hour and serve.
Darryl Musick
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