In our area, we had a few chilly days in early September. It was only 42F when we woke up at 6:00am, and it was very windy and cold when I went to feed cows at 5:00pm. So, I decided to make some beef stew for dinner one day. It takes some time to cook, but your heart melts with the comfort when you eat it! I'll show you a trick to make the meat tender. And please don't throw the vegetable peelings away! You will love the way to use them.
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| Beef Stew |
Ingredients:
For meat
2.2 pounds of beef for stew
2 kiwi fruits, sliced
3 bay leaves
1 bottle of red wine (We used Grenache.)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
For vegetables
1/2 large onion, chopped into chunks
8 button or shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 large potatoes, chopped in chunks
1 large carrot, chopped into chunks
1-2 Tablespoon of olive oil for sauté
For soup-base
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon crushed garlic
scrapped vegetables (vegetable skins from the veggies above)
1 can diced tomato (14.5 ounce)
Demi-glace sauce
※ How to make easy Demi-glace sauce...
Melt 3 Tablespoons butter in the pan. Add 4 Tablespoons flour and stir until it turns golden color. (Please don't burn!) Pour 300ml beef stock in the pan little by little, and stir frequently. To finish, add 1 teaspoon ketchup and 1 teaspoon BBQ sauce and stir.
1 sprig rosemary
For seasoning
2 Tablespoons Miso paste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
salt & pepper
1 Tablespoon butter
Directions:
1: One night before you make the beef stew, place the beef, kiwi fruits, bay leaves and red wine in the bowl.
2: Using the kiwi fruit is a trick to make the meat tender! Arrange the kiwi fruit slices between the beef. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave the bowl in the fridge overnight (more than 12 hours).
3: Next day, make Demi-glace sauce. Melt 3 Tablespoons butter in the pan. Add 4 Tablespoons flour and stir frequently until it turns the golden color. Please don't burn.
4: Pour 300ml beef stock in the pan little by little, and stir frequently. To finish, add 1 teaspoon ketchup and 1 teaspoon BBQ sauce and stir. Easy Demi-glace sauce is done. Set aside.
5: Get the vegetables ready. Wash potatoes and a carrot very well. (I used dry shiitake mushrooms this time instead of button mushrooms.)
6: Peel vegetables and chop them. A carrot in chunks, potatoes in chunks, a half onion in chunks, and mushroom slices. Please don't throw the peelings away! You are going to use them to make the soup base. Cover the chopped vegetables with the plastic wrap and set aside.
7: Chop one stalk celery and 1/2 onion in pieces. Add them into the vegetable peelings with 1 Tablespoon crushed garlic. Wrap them in the cheese cloth and tie on top. Set aside.
8: Remove kiwi fruit slices out from the beef bowl. Take the beef out. Wipe off the liquid from the outside of the beef with a paper towel. Save the red wine and bay leaves in the bowl.
9: Heat the cast iron pan with 1 Tablespoon olive oil over high heat. Place the beef in the pan and brown. Take the beef out and set aside.
10: Heat 1-2 Tablespoon olive oil and cook the vegetables for a few minutes. Take the vegetables out and set aside.
11: Place the beef back in the pan. Add the red wine & bay leaves, 1 sprig rosemary, 1 can diced tomatoes and Demi-glace sauce in the pan. Turn on the medium heat. Demi-glace sauce might become like paste when it's cool, but please don't worry. Add little by little and stir frequently. It melts in the liquid soon.
12: Add the vegetable peelings in the cheese cloth in the pan. This gives a nice flavor to the stew.
13: When it boils, remove the scum (foam) on top and reduce the heat to low. Put the lid on the pan and cook for 1.5 hours. Remove the scum from time to time.
14: Take the beef out from the pan.
15: Strain the stew liquid into the big bowl.
16: Push the cheese cloth gently with the wooden spatula and get the liquid out. The very tasty soup comes out from it.
17: Put the smooth stew liquid back in the cast iron pan. Turn on the medium heat.
18: Place the chopped vegetables in the pan. Add the seasoning ingredients, Miso paste, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and salt & pepper. Please don't put the butter in yet.
19: Cover the pot with the lid and cook for 30 minutes on the medium-low heat.
20: Place the beef back in the pan and cook for a few minutes.
21: Season with the salt & pepper if you need. I often use the bouillon to turn the dish into my favorite taste.
22: Melt 1 Tablespoon butter and stir before you pour the stew into the stew bowl. We recommend a glass of Syrah or Syrah blend as a pairing. This dark full-bodied red wine has a spicy peppery note after taste, and that goes well with the richness and deepness of this beef stew.
23: Sprinkle parsley as a topping if you like. This makes about six meals. The taste gets even better on the second day and third day. Please enjoy!
Thank you so much for visiting Kula Vineyards Food & Wine!
