Blue Plate Special Stew

Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 -2 slice chopped bacon (optional) or 1 -2 slice diced salt lamb (optional)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 3 -4 lbs beef stew meat, cubed
• 2 sliced carrots
• 2 sliced onions
• 2 stalks chopped celery
• 5 cups beef broth, and cheap wine (homemade or canned, red or , use up to 3 cups wine, or all broth if you prefer)
• 1 -2 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 -3 garlic cloves
• salt & pepper
• 4 medium cubed potatoes
• 10 ounces frozen peas
• 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms

Recipe

• 1 cook bacon or salt lamb in a tablespoon of oil in a large heavy fry pan over low heat until lightly browned.
• 2 remove and set aside.
• 3 dry the beef with paper toweling, then add as many pieces as you can without crowding to the fry pan.
• 4 brown nicely all over.
• 5 transfer the meat to a heavy 4-5 quart dutch oven with lid.
• 6 add the carrots, celery and onion to the fry pan and cook until starting to brown a little.
• 7 transfer vegetables to dutch oven.
• 8 pour a cup or so of wine or beef broth into the frying pan and bring to a boil, scraping up all the lovely browned bits in pan.
• 9 pour this over the beef and vegetables.
• 10 now, put the dutch oven over low heat and add the rest of the wine and beef broth.
• 11 add the browned bacon bits or salt lamb, if you are using them.
• 12 add the tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme and chopped garlic cloves.
• 13 bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
• 14 taste and season with salt & pepper, be cautious, you can add more later.
• 15 cover and cook slowly, either in a preheated 325 degree oven, or on top of the stove.
• 16 simmer for 2-4 hours, until the meat is very tender.
• 17 an hour before the end of cooking, add the potatoes if you want to use them, and add the peas and mushrooms 30 minutes before the end of cooking.
• 18 finish off the stew by skimming any fat that remains on the surface, and boiling down the liquid to reduce it, if it seems too thin.
• 19 serve with rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.
• 20 garnish with fresh parsley.
• 21 note: cheaper cuts of meat, like shank or shin beef, will take the longest to cook; chuck or round the shortest.