Susan's Simple Stew
Submitted by ginaw
Hearty beef stew simmered with red wine, tomatoes, new potatoes, carrots, and green beans in a rich broth. No shortcuts, just a proper Dutch oven stew that fills the house with warmth on a cold day.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
3 hrsThis is the kind of stew your grandmother would have made if she had a good bottle of red wine and three hours to spare.
Sear the beef until deeply browned, deglaze with dry red wine, then let everything simmer low and slow with broth, fresh tomatoes, and a bay leaf.
The vegetables go in at staggered intervals so nothing turns to mush. Potatoes first, then carrots and green beans closer to the end.
The result is fork-tender beef in a dark, savory broth with vegetables that still have some backbone.
Serve it over rice or egg noodles and let the bread-dunking begin.
Kitchen Tips
- Brown the beef in batches without crowding the pot. You want a hard sear, not steamed meat. That crust is where all the flavor lives.
- Use a wine you’d actually drink. If it tastes bad in the glass, it’ll taste bad in the stew.
- Add the frozen peas in the last 5 minutes. They only need to warm through and they’ll keep their bright green pop.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat a large, heavy Dutch oven.
When hot, add the beef cubes, searing and browning them on all sides.
When browned all over, add the onions, sautéeing until they brown a bit.
After the onions are browned, add the wine and deglaze the pan, which means scraping up the browned bits that cling to the bottom of the pan and mixing them in with the wine.
Add the beef broth and tomatoes and mix again.
Cook on medium/high heat to the boil.
Lower the flame to maintain a slow, steady simmer and cook for ½ hour longer.
Add the potatoes and cook for an hour more.
Add the carrots and the beans and cook until the beef is tender.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and any herbs you like.
Serve over rice or noodles.
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