Inspired by Ticks step by step turkey awesomeness, I thought I would do a hearty winter stew, step by step, for my fellow DTFers. I kept it simple, with ingredients available anywhere, I hope you try it and enjoy it.
Ingredients...
1.5 lbs stew meat, I used lamb in mine, but beef is fine. For the adventurous ones, venison and elk would work too.
liberally season meat with salt and pepper, and mix well in one cup flour till well coated....
Dice up...
1 yellow onion
2 stalks celery
3 small yukon potatoes
2 turnips
2 carrots
1/2 bunch thyme
1 sprig rosemary
(fresh herbs are essential to the meal)
2 cartons Swansons beef stock, unsalted...
Get a heavy bottomed stew pot, put about half a cup canola oil, and bring to high. Add the floured stew meat and brown well...
Not quite there yet...
Perfect!!!
Now, reduce the heat to medium and add the carrots, onions, and celery("mire poix" if you want to sound cool) and saute till the onions look translucent...
Then add 1/2 cup red wine, preferably a cabernet or zinfandel and stir well till wine reduces by half. Now the important part, the pan will have a layer of crud on the bottom, this is called "fond" and is the most important part of the stew. It is the carmamelized goodness of everything in the pan. Make sure to scrape as much of it as you can off then add the turnips, potatoes, one tbsp crushed garlic and herbs...
Stir all of this together well till it is nice and coated like so...
Add one and a half of the beef stock, and stir well and bring to a boil...
Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for at least one hour covered, stirring every five minutes or so, making sure to keep the bottom of the pan clean, and slowly the stew will start to thicken...
If it does not thicken to your liking, you can make a quick roux of butter and flour by melting about half a stick of butter, then adding an equal amount of flour, whisking it in well till you get a thick paste. Add about half of this to the stew, and stir well. It should thicken within a couple of minutes. If you need more, do it again. Let the stew simmer for another 15 minutes or so, then season. Good seasoning for this would be about 10 shakes tobasco, 1/4 cup cider vinegar or zest of 1/2 lemon, and salt and pepper. Add about 2 teaspoons of pepper and 1 tbsp of salt. Let it go for a minute or so and TASTE!!!!! If it needs more salt or is a bit blah, add more salt. Get a sourdough bread round and hollow out like so....
Ladle your delicious stew into the bowl and you have your delicious cold winter's night meal.....
A liberal sprinkling of cheese on top never hurts, but isn't necessary.
Good luck, and happy cooking!!!