The weather is
getting colder and wetter by the day and it’s time to eat things that are not
just nutritious but hearty and stick-to-the-ribs filling. If you live an area
when temperatures can drop to 40 below at the peak of winter, or even if you’re sensitive to the cold, this stew is for you. Packed with beef,
vegetables, holiday-friendly cranberry sauce and red wine and finished with a
little Greek yogurt, it’s heaven as is or with rice or mashed potatoes.
Don’t be put off
by the cook time and number of ingredients. Whether you do it in the oven or in
a slow cooker (crock pot) this is the kind of thing you can fix and forget
until it’s time to put the finishing touches on to eat and enjoy, and most of
the stuff on this list you probably already have in your fridge and pantry.
Here’s How You Do It
Difficulty
Level: Medium
Prep
time: 25 Minutes
Oven Cook Time: About 3 Hours
Slow Cooker Time: 6 Hours
Feeds
at least 4 to 6
Ingredients
1 Pound of Stewing Beef or Venison
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 Cup of Chopped Carrots
1 Cup of Chopped Onions – About half a large onion or 2 Medium Ones
1 Cup of Chopped Leeks
1 Cup of Chopped Celery
2 Large Cloves of Garlic, peeled and
finely chopped
3 Strips of Bacon, Finely Chopped
3 Tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
3 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
1 Cup of Red Wine – Use anything you have leftover or get
something cheap just for cooking
2 Cups of Beef Stock – Instant or from a carton is fine
½ Cup of Red Wine Vinegar
½ Cup of Jellied Cranberry Sauce – The kind that comes in a can
1 Teaspoon of Paprika
1 Teaspoon of Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to Taste
4 Tablespoons of Corn Starch mixed with 2
Tablespoons of Water or Until it forms a soupy paste - Optional
1 Tablespoon of Butter
1 Cup of Greek Yogurt – 5% or 2% Fat is ideal, but if you’re
calorie counting, go with a lower fat variety
Equipment
1 Slow Cooker or a Pot with a lid that
can go in the Oven – If
your pot has metal handles and is bottom heavy, it will probably be ok, but if
you’re in doubt, use a deep baking pan covered in foil instead
1 Wooden Spoon
Measuring Cups and Spoons
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Knife and Cutting Board
1 Regular Bowl
1 Frying Pan
IF YOU’RE USING
THE OVEN, turn it to 350 0F.
In a pan on
medium high heat, add the olive oil.
When the oil slides
easily around in the pan, add the leeks, carrots, celery, and onion. Stir
everything around with a wooden spoon until the vegetables have softened
slightly and brightened in colour.
Add the garlic
to the veggies and stir it around until you smell the garlic.
Turn off the
stove and dump the veggies into your slow cooker or pot.
Put the stewing
meat in your mixing bowl and add the paprika, rosemary, and a little salt and
pepper. Set aside.
Put the chopped bacon
in the same frying pan you used to cook the vegetables and add a cup of water.
Turn the heat on
high, stirring every once in a while until the water has evaporated and forced
the bacon to release some of its fat. When the bacon is reddish brown around
the edges, scoop it into the pot or slow cooker.
Without draining
the pan of all that delicious fat, turn the heat on medium high and cook the
stewing meat, stirring occasionally until all the pieces are brown on all
sides.
Dump the meat
into the pot with the other ingredients.
Add the beef
stock, red wine, cranberry sauce, soy sauce, tomato paste, and Dijon mustard to
the pot and stir everything together with your wooden spoon to break up the cranberry
sauce a little. The heat will do the rest.
IF YOU’RE USING
A SLOW COOKER, put the lid on, turn it on high and walk away for 3 hours. Then turn
it on low for the remaining 3.
IF YOU’RE USING
A POT, put the lid on and stick it in the oven for 3 hours.
Whichever method
you use, the stew is ready for the finishing touches when a piece of stewing
meat falls apart easily when mashed with a fork.
Taste the stew and season with salt and pepper until it tastes good to you.
If the stew is
too runny for you, stir in that mix of corn starch and water a little at a time
until the stew is thick enough for you.
Stir in the
butter. This gives the stew a nice glossiness, making it extra appetizing.
Stir in the
yogurt.
Let it cool for
5 minutes and serve!
This will keep
in the fridge for about a week.
Enjoy!
-Samantha R. Gold
Questions? Comments? Requests?
Bring it on!
I can be reached at: for.the.culinarily.challenged@gmail.com
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