Red Wine Stew

I wanted to make a stew because the weather was changing and I was ready for something hearty and warm. I brought the idea of stew up to BPII and he was less then thrilled. He doesn’t like stew and would rather have a chili. I hate chili. We were at a stalemate. Until, I found this recipe. It was hearty and just what I was looking for but not too creamy which made BPII happy. I planned on making it Saturday night and was in fact in the process of making it when some unexpected Yankee playoff tickets landed in my lap. I couldn’t just let those pass me by so I browed the meat, added the red wine simmered away for about 2 hours. When it was time to leave for the game, I popped the mixture in my refrigerator and let the guy marinate until 8:00 Sunday.


After my football nap (I take a nap after the 1:00 football game to recover from the heavy day drinking) I took the stew out of the refrigerator and put on low heat. In the meantime I boiled the bacon (the recipe calls for pancetta but I had bacon on hand. Pancetta is the Italian form of bacon and is less fatty) and prepared the veggies. I also added some beef broth to the red wine and meat mixture because it looked like it had evaporated a bit. It retrospect, I did not need to add it. The result was pretty delightful. The red wine sauce was sweet and the veggies were tender but not mushy. I will definitely use this recipe again.



Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce

Recipe by Jacques Pépin (From FoodandWine.com)


INGREDIENTS

2 pounds beef from the flatiron part of the shoulder
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon flour
1 bottle of red wine
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
15 cipollini or pearl onions
15 cremini mushrooms
15 baby carrots
5-ounce piece of pancetta
1/4 cup water
Dash of sugar
Chopped fresh parsley


DIRECTIONS

1. Buy about 2 pounds of beef from the flatiron part of the shoulder. Remove the skin or sinew from the top. Alternatively, use lean beef chuck in the same manner. Cut the meat into 8 pieces.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron pot that is attractive enough for the table. Arrange the meat in one layer in the pot, and season it with salt and pepper. Cook on top of the stove over high heat for about 8 minutes, browning the meat on all sides.

3. Add 1 cup of finely chopped onion and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic. Cook over moderate heat for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tablespoon of flour. Mix in well so that the flour doesn’t form lumps. Stir in 1 bottle of red wine. Add 2 bay leaves, a sprig of fresh thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir well and cover.

4. Place the pot in the oven and continue to cook for about 1 1/2 hours; the meat should be soft and tender and the liquid properly reduced. The recipe can be prepared to this point up to a day ahead.

5. For the garnishes, peel 15 cipollini or pearl onions, wash 15 cremini mushrooms and peel 15 baby carrots. For the lardons, you will need one 5-ounce piece of pancetta. Bring the pancetta and 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and simmer for about 30 minutes; drain. Cut the pancetta into 1/2-inch slices and then cut the slices into 1-inch-wide lardons.

6. Combine the onions, mushrooms, carrots and pancetta in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 cup of water and a good dash each of sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes; at this point, there should be practically no water left. Uncover and cook over high heat, sautéing the vegetables until nicely browned on all sides, about 4 minutes.

7. To serve, mix some of the vegetables and lardons into the stew and sprinkle the rest on top as a garnish. Add a little chopped fresh parsley and serve.