- Picture above does not necessarily represent this recipe -

I guess most of us get many of our thoughts about food and cooking from our childhood and if you read my musings here with any regularity, you can tell that I am no exception. The cold weather we have had lately took me back to a distant place in my memory of coming home from sledding, or some equally chill-producing winter activity, and being welcomed by the smell of aromatic vegetables, beef, and herbs being simmered in a broth loaded with red wine. Ahhh…my mom’s beef stew. Nothing better to warm the core of a cold, little, kid. Of course, at the time I didn’t realize what the ingredients were, I just knew that dinner was going to be delicious and that I could hardly wait. With this recipe you don’t have to call my mom, you can easily make your own! Besides, she’d probably just say, “My son’s a chef. Call him.”

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, for frying, plus more to drizzle
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 to 3 pounds beef stew meat
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bottle decent quality dry red wine
• 4 or 5 fresh thyme sprigs
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 tablespoon orange zest finely chopped
• 2 cups frozen diced white onion
• 2 cups diced celery
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 2½ cups beef stock
• 9 small new potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut in ½
• ½ pound baby carrots
• 1 pound white mushrooms, cut in ½
• ½ pound garden peas frozen or fresh
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
• Toasted Peasant Bread (recipe follows, for serving)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat with the oil and butter.

While the pan is heating, place the flour on a large dish. Season the cubed beef then toss in the flour to coat. Shake off the excess flour and add the beef in a single layer to the hot pan, being careful not to over crowd the pan, you might have to work in batches. Thoroughly brown all of the cubes on all sides. Once all the meat has been browned remove it to a plate and reserve.

Add the wine to the pan and bring up to a simmer while you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon being sure to loosen up all those tasty bits. Once the wine has gotten hot add the browned meat, thyme, smashed garlic, orange zest, onion, celery, ground cloves, freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste, bay leaves and beef stock. Bring the mixture up to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered until the liquids start to thicken, about 15 to 20 minutes. Skim off any bubbles that form on the surface of the stew. Cover and cook on low heat for 2½ hours, skimming as needed.

After 2 hours add halved potatoes, carrots and mushrooms, along with a pinch of sugar to balance out the acid from the red wine. Turn the heat up slightly and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes more, until the vegetables and meat are tender. Add the frozen peas during the last minute of cooking. Season with salt and pepper and remove the thyme sprigs.

To serve, place the stew in a soup bowl, garnish with parsley and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with a crispy French bread with from our Bakery!

TOASTED PEASANT BREAD

• 1 loaf of French bread
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt

Slice the loaf into pieces that are about 1 inch thick. Brush each slice liberally with olive oil. Sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon salt evenly over each slice. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at °350. Place bread slice in bottom of each bowl and pour stew over bread. Garnish with chopped parsley.