Humble Cold-Weather Beef Stew
A humble cold-weather beef stew that’s hearty and comforting becomes suddenly sexy when made with dark chocolate and port wine.
When cold weather sets in, there’s nothing better than a hearty and comforting beef stew cooking in the oven or slow cooker to cozy up the house and set the tone for a weekend of relaxation. And who doesn’t love the whole idea of any meal that pretty much cooks up all by itself?
During the winter months, I try to always keep basic stew ingredients on hand for occasions when it’s cold and blustery outside, and I feel more like relaxing than spending time in the kitchen. I make sure that hearty vegetables like carrots and celery are in my fridge, onions and potatoes are on hand, beef broth and canned tomatoes in the pantry, and a lean top sirloin roast or beef stew meat available in the freezer for making easy, flavorful, comforting, filling, warm dinners.
Here’s a recipe that meets all those requirements.
‘Nuff said!
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Chocolate & Port Beef Stew
Equipment
- Heavy oven-rated deep Pot
- Foil-lined Baking Sheet
Ingredients
For the Meat
- 1 pound lean Top Sirloin Roast or Beef Stew meat cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose Flour seasoned with a little salt and pepper
For the Vegetables
To Make the Stew
- 1 medium Yellow Onion
- 2 Celery Stalks thinly sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 cup Port Wine of your choice*
- 1 cup Beef Broth
- 1 14- ounce can Tomatoes with juices
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon Salt
- 1-2 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate*
- 1 ½ tablespoons Pepitas to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500ºF
- Prepare the meat and vegetables for roasting.
For the Meat
- Salt the beef, and place it into the heavy Pot with the butter. Roast uncovered on the upper-middle rack until browned, approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the meat from the oven, add the gluten-free all-purpose flour, stir to coat, then transfer the meat to a bowl.
For the Vegetables
- Prepare the vegetables in a bite-sized dice and spread out onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Roast on the bottom rack, uncovered 15-20 minutes.
To Make the Stew
- Using the same Pot from the meat, add the onion, celery, and garlic, cooking over medium-high heat on the stovetop for 3-5 minutes. Deglaze the Pot by adding the port wine, using a spoon to scrape and remove any browned bits from the bottom. Continue cooking until the wine has reduced by about half. Add the broth, tomatoes, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and salt. Return the meat to the Pot. Bring the stew to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the beef is very tender (about 2 hours), stirring occasionally.
- About 30 minutes before the stew is ready, transfer the roasted vegetables to the Pot. Continue to simmer stew with the lid on until the veggies are easily pierced with a fork.
- When the veggies are tender, stir in the chocolate to taste, until melted. Adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper as desired. The stew should be thick and richly colored. To make it soupier, add a little more beef broth until the desired consistency is reached.
- Serve plain or ladle on top of cooked rice, polenta, or noodles, garnish with Pepitas for a dash of color.
Footnotes
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Recipe Card powered by WP Recipe Maker | Nutrition by NutriFox
(Nutritional values are an approximation. Actual nutritional values may vary due to preparation techniques, variations related to suppliers, regional and seasonal differences, or rounding.)
