This is a take on Beef Bourguignon, modified from The Joy of Cooking. I make it every year when the weather turns cooler and the CSA Share boxes start to fill with delicious root vegetables. There is so much you can put into this stew, parsnips, radishes, carrots. The base of this stew is dry red wine, don’t shy away from a full bodied, jammy wine like red zinfandel or even grenache. Here I used a smoky Chilean Carmenere. I think this is fairly close to a traditional bourguignon, but has a few nontraditional additions, like smoked paprika and tamari. It’s a rich and hearty meal that you don’t need to think much about after you put in the oven.
For this batch, I roughly chopped daikon radish, pink turnip, hakurei turnip, carrots, and 1 onion. Smash and peel a few cloves of garlic, gather a handful of herbs, a teaspoon of peppercorns, and one bay leaf. When everything is chopped start with sweating the onions in butter.
Next sear the meat. I used top round, but I like arm roast when it is available. You can also use chuck roast or top round. Browning seams like a hassle, but it is definitely necessary to get the best flavor out of your meat. Later you’ll use the wine to deglaze the pan which also contributes to a richer dish.
Once the meat is browned on all sides (take your time and do it on batches). Deglaze the pan with almost the whole bottle of wine. (Leave a glass for the cook!) Sprinkle the browned meat with flour(wheat or gluten free), add the vegetables, and seasonings, and return the meat to the pan. Come back in two-three hours depending on the tenderness of the meat.
Adjust salt and pepper as necessary. Serve over mashed potatoes, mashed parsnips, egg noodles, or a crusty wedge of baguette.
Beef Stew with Red Wine and Herbs
2 lbs stew meat cut into large cubes (top round, bottom round, arm roast, chuck roast, etc.)
3/4 bottle dry red wine
1 cup chicken or beef stock
4 cups roughly chopped root vegetables (radishes, carrot, parnsip, potato, turnip, etc)
1 large onion cut into large segments
2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlics smashed
small handful fresh thyme or rosemary
1 tsp peppercorns
1 bay leave
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tablespoons tamari or worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon flour (gluten free or wheat)
salt + pepper
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Sweat the onions. Heat butter over medium heat and cook onions until starting to turn translucent. Remove from pan.
Brown the meat. In batches until brown on all sides. Sprinkle flour over the meat.
Deglaze the pan. Add wine stirring up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add chicken stock.
Return the beef and onions to the pan. Add vegetables and all seasonings. Bake covered in oven for 2 hours. Check meat and return to oven for up to one hour if necessary. Serve with mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or crusty baguette.
