Beef Stew with Red Wine and Spices
This is my favourite beef stew - a ski kitchen staple that I regularly make in cold climates. It uses a whole bottle of red wine making it luxurious enough to serve to guests but practical as it can be prepared in advance and reheated. It’s a hybrid between an Irish stew a boeuf bourgignon and a Valdostan carbonade.
Serves 6
Beef Stew with Red Wine & Spices
Ingredients
1.4 kg of beef cut into chunks
Olive oil to fry
Flour to dust
1 bottle of red wine
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 celery stick with leaves, all roughly chopped
2 cloves
A bunch of sages leaves
A sprig of rosemary
A couple of sprigs of thyme.
2 bay leaves
A generous knob of butter
Salt and Pepper
Method
Dust the pieces of beef in flour and a little salt. Brown the meats in batches in a little olive oil. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Gently fry the onion and garlic in a little more oil to release the flavours, add the carrots, celery leaves and herbs. I tend to tie a bit of string around my rosemary, thyme and bay leaves to make a bouquet garni. This avoid my children complaining about the weeds in their stew.
Deglaze the pan with the whole bottle of red wine. Re-introduce the meat and bring to the boil. Transfer to an oven and cook for 3 hours at 150C, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat, stir through the butter (monter au beurre)
Serve with mashed potatoes or broken up with with pasta garnished with parsley and and lots of parmesan.