Very easy Beef Stew

 

Megha and Tanush, this post is for both of you, by Mommy as you both Love this stew. I am hoping you both grow up to know your way around kitchen, like your daddy and myself. Cook for yourself and your families.

I will write down the recipe. You can go crazy with the recipe, like adding onion pearls, garlic, celery etc but you both, like dad and I, loved simple seasoning.

Beef Stew:

• Beef: 1 lb, chut into bite sized piece, boneless
• Potatoes: 3 large (I always add equal amount of Potatoes to beef…you both love potatoes and it naturally creates the “gravy” feel to the gravy)
• Carrots: 2 large (about 1.5 cups, chopped
• Salt, pepper, paprika: 1 tsp each
• All purpose flour: 1 tbsp
• Beef broth: 2 cups, no-sodium (if you have sodium only, you may want to reduce salt)
• Tomato paste: ¼ cup
• Worcestershire ((pronounced as “wooster”. You are welcome)) sauce: 1 tbsp (optional, I have tried with and without and neither of you displayed any sense of like/dislike. So, I just use it or not, depending on how fast I find this in pantry)
• 3-4 springs of thyme (optional but I recommend this).
• Olive oil: 2 tbsp

 

If you have a Dutch pan, that makes this a one pot dish. Since I don’t, I am using 2, one to fry, one to bake.

 This pic below is after baking:

Method:

·       Preheat the oven to 375 D F

·       Toss the beef with salt, pepper, paprika, flour and coat evenly.

·       In a pan, add a tbsp of olive oil. Shallow fry the beef until browned on all sides. Transfer into a baking 9/13” pan (any pan that fits all).

·       In the same frying pan, add the remaining olive oil, potatoes, tomatoes. Briefly stir fry, including the brown bits from beef fry (the goodness I call them) and transfer them into the baking pan containing beef.

·       In the same frying pan, add broth, tomato paste, Worcester sauce (if using), mix all for a min until tomato paste incorporates with broth (typically less than a min is all it takes).

·       Pour the sauce in to the baking pan. Add the sprigs of thyme.

·       Cover with a foil, add a few slits of steam-vent, bake for 2 hours. Carefully remove the foil.

 

I have served this on its own, with bread, with rice and no matter how its served, you both always asked for seconds.

This pic below is before it went into the oven, just to give you an idea of liquid proportion.