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
- ⅛ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- ⅛ 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.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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.)
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