Wicked Good Beef Stew
recipe by Patricia Cummings
For years, I have used my mother's recipe for Beef Stew and have always enjoyed it. On New Year's Day, I decided to be adventurous and modify the tried and true. My goal was to increase nutrition and vitamins by adding more vegetables. I served homemade cranberry muffins with the stew, and ice water. Enjoy!
Total cooking time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
In a large Dutch oven, sear about 2 pounds of stew beef in 2 or 3 Tablespoons of heated Canola Oil, after shaking the meat has in a plastic bag to which has been added 1/2 cup flour and a little salt.
Turn the meat constantly with a spatula, and when it is sufficiently browned on all sides, add enough boiling water to cover. Turn burner to low heat and cover, making sure that the temperature is not so high that the pot boils over.
While that is cooking, begin cutting up vegetables:
2 stalks of celery, washed and sliced
2 parsnips, peeled and cut up
1 cup of peeled carrots, cut into chunks
When those three veggies are ready to add, make the addition all at once. Those ingredients will take a little longer to cook than the others, so I added them as soon as they were prepared.
Purée a 15 oz. can of peeled tomatoes in the blender and add to the stew. Tomatoes really help to tenderize beef. In this case, it made the beef, fork tender.
About an hour into the cooking time, add:
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon sweet basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 Beef bouillon cube
Peel and cut up enough potatoes to equal 3 1/2 to 4 cups. Add the potatoes about 1/2 hour before cooking time is ended. About 10 minutes before serving, measure 1/2 cup of Wondra flour (which comes in a tall canister) into a cup measure. Add some black pepper, and fill cup with cold water. Stir thoroughly and then add to the stew, stirring the mixture in to thicken it.
Unless you have an allergy to soy products, you may add a teaspoon or two of Gravy Master to deepen the color of the gravy. After the final additions, stir every five minutes or so, to prevent sticking at the bottom of the pan, but keep covered between stirrings.
This stew is a hearty winter meal but would be good anytime. The addition of the parsnips seemed to sweeten the flavor and the Italian spices complimented the slight tomato flavor. This recipe was certainly a big hit in this household and we all agreed that it is a must-do again. This makes a big kettle full, but it also freezes well, and is certainly delicious for a quick reheat, either on the stove top or in the microwave. The flavorings were just right and we didn't feel the need to use additional salt or pepper. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
©Patricia L. Cummings, Concord, NH, January 1, 2002. Reprints in guild newsletters are allowed, if credit is given as to source of recipe:
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