Thursday, March 24, 2011

Mom's Stew



My mother has been a major source of inspiration both in life and kitchen. She's given me so much- morals, values, support and an amazing set of recipes I'd be lost without.

Whenever I had leftover stew packed for lunch in elementary school, even in its less desirable rather cold and gloppy state, my classmates would come round and ask for bites- volunteering to dip some of their sandwich bread into my sauce...yes, it's that good!

Now to derail from the above narrative- if you've been reading my posts you'd probably think I contradict myself as my last entry was dedicated to light cooking for the summer months...but if you know me well, you'd realize I'm incapable of dieting. I must eat whatever I want whenever I want and now since the weather has to my misfortune, dropped from 70 degrees to a pathetic 28 with snow- I laugh at eating light and want nothing more than the comforts of my mother's stew!

*I've tweaked the recipe a bit, but it is for the most part exactly how mom makes it!

Ingredients:

2 lb stewing beef cubes
2 onions, large dice
2 big carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch round
3 baby potatoes, quartered
Mushrooms as much as you like (i use about 2 cups quartered because I'm obsessed)
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon maggi
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup soy sauce + 1tablespoon for marinade
1/2 cup red wine
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste


Method:
Drizzle meat with 1 tbsp soy sauce, maggi and paprika. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Toss the meat in 1/4 cup flour. Mix well to make sure it's well coated.

Heat a large pot with olive oil and butter. Brown the meat on all sides. You may need to do this in batches as the meat won't brown if it's overcrowded. When the meat is cooked put it back in the dish it was marinating in. Cook the onions for 5 minutes on medium high heat, making sure to stir it every so often and collect all the delicious bits from the browning process. Deglaze the pan with wine, cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Make sure to stir after 2 minutes to ensure it's not burning or sticking.

Add the meat, bay leaf, thyme and all it's juices as well as 1/4 cup soy sauce. Mix well and cover for 10 minutes. Add the remaining 1/4 cup flour and mix so it's all encorporated. Bring to a simmer and cover for 5 minutes. At this point cover the meat with water so that there's about an inch of water above the contents. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium-low. Add the mushrooms and cook covered on low for about 1 hour, stirring every so often.

Add the carrots, potatoes and pearl onions. Cook on a simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring every so often.

Add the tomato paste, sugar as well as a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for another 10-15 minutes or until it has the perfect thick consistency. If you find it's too thick, then add a bit more water to loosen it up!

I like to serve it with a dash of freshly chopped parsley or cilantro to freshen up the earthy flavours.

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