Beef Stew with Potatoes and Carrots

Deb and Jeff came for dinner and an overnight stay yesterday. They have hearty appetites and enjoy eating beef, lamb and all those foods that many of us gave up eating years ago. I decided that beef stew was just the thing to serve on a rainy autumn evening. I made the stew the night before and reheated it, which actually improves the flavor. Since this is a one dish meal, the only accompaniments were crusty bread and a green salad. The recipe appeared in Gourmet Magazine in December 2008. It serves 12 so I halved the amounts. That was a mistake. The leftovers would have gotten us through a bunch of dinners or could have been frozen for future meals. I made a few minor changes.

For braised beef:

5 lbs. boneless beef chuck (not lean), cut into 2 inch pieces

3 tbl. olive oil

3 carrots quartered

2 medium onions, quartered

1 head garlic, halved crosswise

3 tbl. tomato paste

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 (750-ml) bottle dry red wine (about 3 3/4 cups)

2 bay leaves

2 thyme sprigs

3 cups reduced sodium beef broth

2 cups water

For potatoes and carrots:

2 1/2 lbs. boiling potatoes

1 1/2 lbs. carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in middle.

Braise beef:

Pat beef dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large heavy pot over medium-high heat, then brown meat, without crowding, in 3 batches, turning, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer meat to a platter.

Reduce heat to medium, then add carrots, onions, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 12 minutes.

Push vegetables to one side of the pot. Add tomato paste to cleared area and cook paste, stirring 2 minutes, then stir into vegetables. Add vinegar and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in wine, bay leaves, and thyme and boil until wine is reduced by about two thirds, 10-12 minutes.

Add broth to pot along with water, beef, and any juices from platter and bring to a simmer. Cover and braise in oven until meat is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

With a slotted spoon, remove the cooked vegetables and discard.

Cook potatoes and carrots:

While the beef braises, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch wide wedges. Slice carrots diagonally (1 inch).

Add potatoes and carrots to stew (make sure they are submerged) and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 40 minutes.

Notes:

Avoid buying stew meat already cut into pieces. If possible, buy a few whole pieces of chuck that look good and cut them up yourself.

Stew improves in flavor if made at least 1 day ahead. Chill (covered once cool) up to 5 days. Reheat, covered, over medium heat or in a 350 degree oven.