Saturday, January 26, 2013

Simplified Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce - An Adaptation

Hello my dear people. I hope I have not lost you all on account of my absence these past few months. My apology to any of you who might have thought I had deserted  my blog. It's just been a bit brutal with work and other obligations lately, but here I am back with you and ready to bring you another recipe I hope will bring you happiness. 

Winter always makes me crave food that can warm up even the dreariest of days. We have been experiencing some very frigid weather so I started looking for some good stew recipes. I found a Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce recipe via Food & Wine on Pinterest that sounded very delicious. Of course I adapted it to fit my very lazy mood at the time. I wanted the stew I just did not want to spend too much time chopping vegetables . Here is my simplified version.

Simplified Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce

2 lbs Beef round steaks (About 3/4" thick) cut into cubes.
2 TBSP  Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Medium White/Vidalia Onion - finely chopped
4-5 Garlic Cloves - Finely chopped
1 1/2 TBSP Flour
1 Bottle Red Wine (Ask your wine shop owner for one that will make a nice stew)
3-4 Medium Sized Bay Leaves
1/4 tsp Dried Thyme

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put the olive oil into a dutch oven  and heat on medium high heat. slowly add in your beef cubes and season with salt and pepper to taste. make sure to brown the meat cubes on all sides. 

Add the onion and the garlic and cook until they become fragrant. Slowly add in the flour making sure to incorporate it without it creating any lumps. Slowly add in your wine using it to break up any flour lumps that might have formed. Stir in your bay leaves and thyme, distribute evenly. Simmer for one or two minutes and cover the pot.

Place the pot in the oven and cook for another hour and a half or so, allowing the liquid to thicken and reduce.

In the meantime you can either follow the directions on the Food & Wine recipe, or you can just make yourself some white or jasmine rice to accompany the beef. 

Below is an idea for you to make something with the left overs (if you have any). I just made a pizza with some caramelized onions, chopped kale and left over beef stew cubes. It was delicious. Here is the link for the pizza dough again. 


Enjoy and savor :)