Slow Cooker Classic Beef Stew

Recipe courtesy of Real Simple

Link to recipe: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/slow-cooker-recipe-classic-beef-stew-10000000614077/index.html

While I realize this comment may make me sound like a 50s housewife, I adore our "slow cooker". I grew up calling this particular appliance a crock pot, but I think some Don Draper-esque person must have come up with "slow cooker" to make it sound sexier. Regardless, I LOVE my slow cooker. I use the Cusineart, 4-Quart Programmable one. It has several settings, and is incredibly easy to use. It even comes with a rack in the event you want to do things like cook whole chickens in there.

This recipe (which I halved) is slightly adapted from the original available via the link above. It requires a bit of effort up front (leave yourself about 30-45 minutes for steps 1-4), but the payoff in flavor is well worth it. In general, I find many of Real Simple's recipes great with a little tinkering, and I love that they are so generous about posting recipes online. Unfortunately I was so hungry when we ate this that I forgot to photograph it! Argh! I will get better at that.

Recipe:

Slightly over one pound of beef stew meat (note: Trader Joe's sells a fabulous natural, free-range, no antibiotics, prepackaged, diced one that is just the right weight)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

Olive oil (enough to prevent the meat from sticking during browning)

1 large yellow or white onion, sliced into half-moons

1/2 cup dry red wine 

1 cup beef broth

3 ounces tomato paste (half of one of the small cans)

2 medium potatoes sliced into 1 inch cubes (Yukon Gold work particularly well)

1 cup baby carrots (about a handful)

1 cup mushrooms (baby portabella work well, but you could also do cremini, or even button mushrooms)

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

~ 1 1/2 tablespoons each of fresh rosemary and thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon of kosher salt
1 pinch of sugar

1. Pat the beef dry and coat it in the mixture of flour, salt and pepper. Make sure to shake off the excess flour. Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the meat in batches, being sure to avoid overcrowding the pan. Overcrowding will lower the temperature of your oil too much and you won't get the nice caramelization on the edges of the meat you are looking for. Don't touch the meat while it is browning... let it do its thing! Two minutes per side should be about right. Transfer the meat to the slow-cooker.

2. Add the onions to the pan, adding more olive oil if necessary. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. After about five minutes, add the chopped rosemary and thyme to the pan. Once the onions are tender, add the tomato paste to coat the onions. Transfer those to the slow cooker. 

3. Deglaze the pan with the wine. You should have lots of brown bits to scrape up! Color  = flavor, so do this thoroughly. Add the glorious flavor conconction to the slow cooker.

4. Next, add the veggies (except the peas - those will go in at the end), salt, a pinch of sugar, and the bay leaf to the slow cooker. You may want to halve the salt (depending on your personal preference and your use of salted or low sodium beef broth). You can always add more later, like when you add the peas in step 6. 

5. Cook on low heat for 7.5 hours, or high heat for 4 hours.

6. Add the peas about 20 minutes before you want to eat to allow them to heat through.

7. Serve with hunks of crusty bread and some of that red wine. 

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