Hearty Beef Stew

This recipe was a special request from one of my Twitter followers, @DianaVitti, a few winters ago. It’s perfect for cold weather, when you’re craving something rich, warm and comforting. Remember that stew is a casual dish, so you don’t need to spend time making sure all your vegetable pieces are the right size or shape.  Just give them a rough chop and get them into the pot!  It’ll still taste great at the end!  If you use grassfed beef, it will brown more easily and will be leaner, so reduce the heat somewhat and you may need a bit more cooking fat for this step.

A variation to consider:  Sometimes I add 2-3 cups chopped fresh kale for the last 20 minutes of cooking or when I’m reheating the leftovers.  It’s a wonderful contrast with the sweet parsnips.  If you  want a thicker soup, you can spoon out all of the meat and most of the veggies and then puree the remaining veggies into the broth with an immersion blender.  I think it’s lovely as is, so I never bother.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 3-4 hours

Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs beef chuck stew meat, cut into 1-2” chunks
• 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil (or tallow from grass-fed beef)
• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled, halved and sliced into ¼” semi-circles
• ¾ pound carrots (about 2 large), roughly chopped into 1/2”-3/4” rounds
• 8 stalks celery, roughly chopped into 1/2”-3/4” pieces
• ¾ pound parsnips (about 2 large), roughly chopped into 1/2”-3/4” pieces
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
• 2 cups dry red wine (I like to use Trader Joe’s Two-Buck Chuck)
• ½ can tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 generous sprig of rosemary (about 2 Tbsp if you were to chop it)
• 1 ½ Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1.    Preheat oven to 300F.
2.    Heat 2 Tbsp coconut oil over medium-high heat in a large oven-safe pot.  Add half of the beef to the hot oil and stir frequently until browned.  Remove from pot.  Brown the other half of the beef.  Remove it from the pot too.
3.    Add vegetables and garlic to the pot.  Add an additional 1 Tbsp oil if needed (this will depend on how fatty your beef is).
4.    Stir relatively frequently and cook until vegetables are starting to get soft, about 10 minutes.
5.    Add the meat back to the pot.  Add the rosemary, bay leaf and thyme to the pot.  Add broth, wine, and tomato paste.
6.    Bring to a simmer on the stove top then cover and place in the oven.
7.    Cook for 3 hours (or more).  Enjoy!