Beef Stew with Red Onions and Ale
Description
Rock star meal, made even more so by a last minute decision to serve this with seasoned fries and roasted cauliflower. Adapted from Melissa Clark via The New York Times, if you’re craving a delicious cozy dinner, this is it!
Ingredients
2 lbs. + boneless beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
kosher salt AND freshly ground pepper AND 1 to 3 T. flour
butter AND olive oil for cooking
3 good-sized red onions – thinly slice 2 of them in half moons and cut the third into 1/2-inch wedges
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 can (156 mL) tomato paste
1 t. coriander AND 1/4 t. ground allspice
2 c. + good beef or chicken broth – I used beef bone broth
1 can/bottle (355 mL) ale or beer
1 c. water (or more broth) AND 1 sprig fresh rosemary
3 or 4 carrots, sliced into rounds
1 T. cider vinegar to finish
chopped chives, green onion or parsley to garnish
Serving ideas – fries, roasted vegetables, noodles, mashed potatoes
Instructions
Generously season the beef all over with salt and pepper (I did this in a Ziploc, and then gave it all a good shake), then set the beef aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
When you’re organized and ready to get cooking, add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the ‘beef bag’ and give it a good shake to coat, then heat up a bit of butter and a glug of oil in a large Dutch oven. Brown the beef in batches, taking care not to crowd the pan and aim to get all of the pieces good and dark all over. Transfer the seared beef to a plate or bowl as they finish cooking and add more butter and oil between batches as needed.
Once the beef has all been browned and transferred out of the Dutch onion, turn the heat to medium-high and add in all of the sliced onion. Cook for about 10 minutes until well softened, then add in the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes more. Stir in the tomato paste, coriander and allspice and cook until the mix has darkened slightly then pour in the broth, ale and water (or extra broth if you prefer) and toss in the rosemary. Return the beef and all of the juices to the pot, mix well to combine and bring it all to a boil. Lower the heat, partly cover the pot and leave it to simmer for about 45 minutes.
Stir the stew, add the onion wedges and the carrots and then continue to simmer until the beef and carrots are all perfectly tender – this could take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes depending on how large you cut everything up. Add more broth if you think it needs it, but you also want this goodness to end up reduced and a little bit thickened.
When you’re getting ready to serve, remove the rosemary spring, add the vinegar and taste for seasonings. Spoon the stew over something that will allow you to easily mop up all of the amazing sauce, garnish as you wish and enjoy!
