A fantastic and hearty winter stew with red wine and potatoes. Great for a couple of meals.
Ingredients
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/3 c flour
2 lbs beef cut into 2 inch sections
4 T olive oil
1 T soy sauce
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 c red wine
3 c beef stock
2 carrots, cubed
1 onion, cubed
8 small potatoes, cut into eighths
1 tblsp herbs de Provence
1 tbsp garlic, chopped
Directions
Trim fat off beef. Season with salt and pepper and then toss with flour.
Heat olive oil in a deep pan. Shake off excess flour and add beef when oil is hot. The burner should have a medium heat where you hear a sizzle when adding beef, but should not be so high that the oil and flour burn. Consider using a dutch oven style pan. Do not overcrowd the pan or you will steam the meat.
Brown beef cubes on all side. If the bottom of the pan appears to lack oil, add a small drizzle sound the bottom – about a teaspoon.
Pull the pan off the burner, remove the beef. If you are doing multiple batches, then quickly clean burned bits off the bottom and add a little more oil to the pan. Put the pan back on the burner and heat the pan again. Removing bits of burned material from the bottom of the pan removes burned flavor from the dish.
Complete each batch. Remove all beef from the pan and then add wine, soy sauce, and stock. Scrape bottom of pan with wood spoon. Do not scrape with a metal spoon. Bring liquid to a boil.
Add the beef to liquid and let simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours until the beef is tender. Turn the burner down to simmer. Put the lid on to keep liquid from evaporating. You may need to add an additional 1/2 to 1 cup of stock during the cooking period.
Add other ingredients and cook for 20 minutes in an uncovered pan. The dish is done when potatoes are fork-tender.
If thickened sauce is desired. remove beef, potatoes, and carrots to a bowl. Cook sauce over medium heat while stirring occasionally to desired thickness. Add back in the meat and vegetables.
Serve in bowls.