1 week Ago By Angela Patrone
Despite the weather warming up, beef stew is a fantastic recipe to cook when you don’t want too much fuss, but craving something delicious. To make the best beef stew, you need to carefully brown the meat, add great proportions of veggies, including mushrooms and leeks, and stir in a surprise ingredient. According to Cara Eispenpress at Food 52, the “secret ingredient” for “delicious and far better results” has to be anchovies.
She said: "Anchovies, the ‘secret ingredient,’ are briny and buttery, giving the sauce a smooth, complex finish." The cook claimed that this ingredient “really brings the flavour of this stew over the top”. She added, “You may not use anchovies regularly, but this stew will convince you otherwise.
I also recommend using beef with generous marbling for the best results. “It’s one of those one-pot wonders that takes a few hours to cook, but the result is well worth it.” Five pounds of beef stewing meat cut into two to three-inch pieces Salt and freshly ground pepper One-third cup of mixed olive oil and canola oil One large onion, finely chopped Four celery sticks, finely chopped Two carrots, finely chopped Two leeks, washed well and thinly sliced Eight garlic cloves, finely chopped 113g of mushrooms, roughly chopped One-quarter cup of tomato paste Two anchovies One cup of red wine One tin of whole tomatoes Half a cup of red wine vinegar Three cups (or more) of homemade or store-bought beef broth Three bay leaves Three-quarter teaspoons of dried thyme One-third cup of chopped parsley Start by seasoning the beef with salt and pepper on both sides.
In a Dutch oven or large pot over high heat, brown the meat in batches, adding more oil as needed. Transfer to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, celery, carrots, leeks, garlic, and mushrooms.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for five to 10 minutes, until softened. Stir in the tomato paste and anchovies, cook to melt them, and combine them. Return the beef to the pot along with any accumulated juices.
Add the wine, tomatoes with juice (breaking them up against the side of the pot as you go), and vinegar and bring to a boil. Add the broth to cover (you may need a bit more than three cups). Add the bay leaf and thyme; season with salt and bring to a boil.
Simmer over medium-low heat, partially covered, for two to three hours until the meat is tender. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.
When cool, skim off the fat from the top. Reheat over low heat, letting the stew simmer for 30 to 45 minutes before serving. Finish by stirring in half the parsley, then garnish with the remaining parsley.
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