Beef & Onion Stew
Submitted by Jerryv
Beef and onion stew, French-style: thinly sliced leftover beef layered with a Dijon-mustard onion sauce and crowned with a buttery breadcrumb crust baked golden.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
105 minREADY
130 minThis is classic French home cooking, a thrifty way to turn yesterday’s pot-au-feu or roast into something that feels new. Sliced beef gets blanketed in a Dijon-sharpened onion sauce and baked under a crisp buttered breadcrumb crust that browns into a savory topping.
The onions cook down slow in butter until jammy and sweet, then flour goes in to build a roux. This is what gives the sauce body without cream.
Mustard and a splash of red wine vinegar do the flavor lifting. They balance the richness so the dish doesn’t read as one-note meaty.
The final squeeze of lemon over the crumb crust sounds like an afterthought but it’s the reason this version stands out. Acidity brightens the whole bake and cuts through the butter.
Kitchen Tips
- Chill the beef thoroughly before slicing. Warm or room-temperature meat tears instead of slicing cleanly.
- If you’re starting with roast beef rather than poached, add the full hour of baking time. Roast is drier and needs the extra braise to soften.
- Check the sauce halfway through baking and add more stock if it has thickened too much. A dry stew is a sad stew.
- Use coarse fresh breadcrumbs, not dried, for a crust that stays crisp without turning sandy.
Variations
- Swap the vinegar for grated fresh horseradish for a sharper, more peppery bite.
- Replace half the stock with dry red wine for deeper body and color.
- Stir in sauteed mushrooms or a handful of halved cherry tomatoes between the meat layers for extra earthiness.
Ingredients
Directions
Preferably, the leftover beef will be from a pot-au-few that has been tenderized by long poaching, but roast beef can work as well.
It will just need more baking time.
Make sure the beef is chilled for easy slicing.
Then, slice as thinly as possible.
Set aside.
In a large skillet, melt the butter and lightly sauté the onions.
When golden and very soft, about 10 minutes, sprinkle them with enough flour to make a light roux.
Stir the mixture thoroughly for 2 to 3 minutes before adding the vinegar and mustard.
Continue stirring, adding enough stock or Pot-au-Feu broth to make a thin sauce.
Add the spices.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Assembly: Pour a layer of sauce into a shallow baking dish .
Layer meat slices, always overlapping, alternating with more of the sauce.
You should end up with a final layer of sauce.
Bake, covered, in a 350℉ (180℃) F oven for half an hour, if meat was originally poached, or for an hour, if roast beef.
Check to make sure sauce does not reduce too much.
Add more stock if necessary.
When preliminary cooking is finished, sprinkle surface of dish with a thick coating of fresh bread crumbs.
Spoon just enough butter over crumbs to moisten them.
Return to oven for about 30 more minutes, or until a golden crust forms.
Sprinkle the top with the parsley to garnish, and squeeze over it the juice of half a lemon.
Serve at once.
Variations: Add tomatoes, garlic, and/or mushrooms.
Instead of vinegar, use a little grated horseradish.
In place of some of the stock, use wine.
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