Vegetable Beef Stew
I acquired the ingredients but Brad cooked this according to my mumbled instructions from bed, as I was too crashy to do it myself. He did a great job regardless of my vagueness!
What I wanted was a beef stew that wasn't too heavy. Using lighter vegetables helped there. I omit carrots from my recipes because I'm allergic; there's no reason not to put them in if you like them.
We gave this a very low, long, cooking time because we used grass-fed beef in it. This beef is very lean and has a different fat profile than feedlot beef, and it can get tough quickly if cooked on high heat. We use a dutch oven for slow braises and it would be very suitable to a crockpot, especially if you have the kind that lets you brown foods on the stovetop first.
Ingredients:
* 2lbs beef stew meat (any tough, reasonably lean, cut of meat is good)
* favorite cooking oil (we use grapeseed for high temperature)
* 2 onions, 1/2" diced
* 2-4 cloves garlic to taste, minced
* one-half to one small can tomato paste
* 2 fennel bulbs, 1/2" diced (use some greens if you want a pronounced anise flavor; omit if you want it more subtle)
* 3 small kohlrabi, 3/4" diced (use 2 turnips, 1 daikon, or 1 lg. rutabega if you can't find kohlrabi)
* 3 ronde de nice squash, 3/4" diced (or crookneck, patty pan, or small zucchini)
* 4-5 small red potatoes, quartered
* one normal-sized can fire roasted tomatoes, sliced (or normal canned tomatoes if you can't find that, or 4 1/2" diced fresh roma tomatoes)
* fresh thyme, four sprigs worth of leaves, or 3-4 pinches dry thyme
* bay leaf
* salt and pepper to taste
* red wine and vegetable broth, equal parts to cover
Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees.
In a dutch oven, brown stew meat on all sides, then set aside.
Add 1Tbsp oil, onions, and some salt and cook onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook for another minute or so until the tomato paste darkens somewhat.
Put beef (and juices) back in and add remaining ingredients. Add equal parts red wine and vegetable broth until everything is barely covered with liquid. Bring to a simmer.
Cover, place in oven, and cook at 250 degrees for 2-3 hours or until the meat is fork-tender; you can test it at 2 hours or just leave it for 3; it holds up well to extra cooking time.
If you don't have an oven-safe vessel, you can cook it on the stovetop at a low simmer, covered, for probably 1.5-2 hours.
What I wanted was a beef stew that wasn't too heavy. Using lighter vegetables helped there. I omit carrots from my recipes because I'm allergic; there's no reason not to put them in if you like them.
We gave this a very low, long, cooking time because we used grass-fed beef in it. This beef is very lean and has a different fat profile than feedlot beef, and it can get tough quickly if cooked on high heat. We use a dutch oven for slow braises and it would be very suitable to a crockpot, especially if you have the kind that lets you brown foods on the stovetop first.
Ingredients:
* 2lbs beef stew meat (any tough, reasonably lean, cut of meat is good)
* favorite cooking oil (we use grapeseed for high temperature)
* 2 onions, 1/2" diced
* 2-4 cloves garlic to taste, minced
* one-half to one small can tomato paste
* 2 fennel bulbs, 1/2" diced (use some greens if you want a pronounced anise flavor; omit if you want it more subtle)
* 3 small kohlrabi, 3/4" diced (use 2 turnips, 1 daikon, or 1 lg. rutabega if you can't find kohlrabi)
* 3 ronde de nice squash, 3/4" diced (or crookneck, patty pan, or small zucchini)
* 4-5 small red potatoes, quartered
* one normal-sized can fire roasted tomatoes, sliced (or normal canned tomatoes if you can't find that, or 4 1/2" diced fresh roma tomatoes)
* fresh thyme, four sprigs worth of leaves, or 3-4 pinches dry thyme
* bay leaf
* salt and pepper to taste
* red wine and vegetable broth, equal parts to cover
Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees.
In a dutch oven, brown stew meat on all sides, then set aside.
Add 1Tbsp oil, onions, and some salt and cook onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook for another minute or so until the tomato paste darkens somewhat.
Put beef (and juices) back in and add remaining ingredients. Add equal parts red wine and vegetable broth until everything is barely covered with liquid. Bring to a simmer.
Cover, place in oven, and cook at 250 degrees for 2-3 hours or until the meat is fork-tender; you can test it at 2 hours or just leave it for 3; it holds up well to extra cooking time.
If you don't have an oven-safe vessel, you can cook it on the stovetop at a low simmer, covered, for probably 1.5-2 hours.