Community recipe

Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce

Name: Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 160 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: Sugar; Kosher salt; 15 Cremini mushrooms; 1 Bottle dry red wine; Chopped fresh parsley; 1 tbsp Finely chopped garlic; 1 cup Finely chopped onion; 1 Thyme sprig; 2 Bay leaves; Freshly ground black pepper; 2 lb Trimmed beef flatiron steak or chuck cut into 8 pieces; 1 tbsp All-purpose flour; 1 Piece of pancetta; 15 Baby carrots; 15 Pearl or small cipollini onions; 2 1/4 cup Water; 2 tbsp Olive oil; 1 tbsp Unsalted butter

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4 servings / 18 ingredients

Original recipe at foodandwine.com

Dutch OvenBeefSkilletStew

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The Backstory

A deeply personal and completely necessary journey

Dear Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce, my long-lost culinary confidant, I pen this epistle from the dim confines of a lighthouse keeper's cottage somewhere on the tempestuous Scottish coast, where the power outage has rendered modern appliances as mythical as unicorns. It was here, amid the howling winds and flickering candlelight, that I finally confronted the tragic demise of my sourdough starter—not once, not twice, but thrice. Each death was a poignant reminder of the fragile nature of life and bread alike, especially when one has a five-year-old niece nearby, who profoundly opined that risotto is simply 'wet rice that thinks it’s fancy.' Your hearty embrace seemed the only balm for my flour-dusted soul.

I must confess, the sociological ramifications of transforming humble beef into a vessel of red wine glorification are vast. It parallels, I argue, the human condition—how we all, like pancetta boiling in water for thirty minutes, must simmer patiently to find our essence. Just yesterday, as I juggled the immense responsibility of timing three separate oven timers perfectly—a feat to rival the greatest zen masters—I experienced a fleeting glimpse of true enlightenment. Not to be hyperbolic, but that moment might have been more profound than any cheese-melting epiphany I’ve studied in my admittedly unofficial doctoral thesis titled: The Sublime Sociology of Dairy.

Oh right, you'll need:

2 lb beef flatiron steak or chuck cut into 8 pieces
1 Bottle dry red wine

And then there’s the odd fascination I hold for the mundane: the pearl onions that softly surrender their skins with the gentleness of a Scottish mist, or the fifteen baby carrots, stoic soldiers in this stew battalion. Speaking of which, did you know that the dangling shoelaces of children are a potent distraction from any culinary endeavor? While untangling my niece’s laces for the third time under candlelight, I pondered the critical importance of patience—both in food and in life. This seemingly irrelevant tangent illustrates exactly why recipes often fail to capture the true spirit of what’s cooking: they neglect our human moments in flickering shadows.

Step 1 (almost forgot!):

Gather all the ingredients and brace yourself for the symphony of scents about to unfold.

As the stew gently bubbles away in my trusty Dutch oven—a cherished heirloom that has survived more kitchen calamities than I care to recall—I reflect on how this recipe represents more than just nourishment. It is the metaphorical lighthouse guiding me through the storm of sourdough failures and power outages. Dear Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce, you are the edible embodiment of warmth, resilience, and the occasional existential musing. May my next encounter with yeast be less tragic, but if not, I know your rich depths await, patiently simmering in the background.

. . .

Ingredients

Sugar
Kosher salt
15 Cremini mushrooms
1 Bottle dry red wine
Chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp Finely chopped garlic
1 cup Finely chopped onion
1 Thyme sprig
2 Bay leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
2 lb Trimmed beef flatiron steak or chuck cut into 8 pieces
1 tbsp All-purpose flour
1 Piece of pancetta
15 Baby carrots
15 Pearl or small cipollini onions
2 1/4 cup Water
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Unsalted butter

Steps

1
Gather the ingredients.
2
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, melt the butter in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the meat in the casserole in a single layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 8 minutes.
3
Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, 5 minutes.
4
Add the flour and stir to coat the meat with it.
5
Add the wine, bay leaves, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cover the casserole and transfer it to the oven. Cook the stew for 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is very tender and the sauce is flavorful.
6
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, cover the pancetta with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
7
Drain the pancetta and slice it 1/2-inch thick, then cut the slices into 1-inch-wide lardons.
8
In a large skillet, combine the pancetta, pearl onions, mushrooms, and carrots. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 cup of water, and a large pinch each of sugar, salt, and pepper.
9
Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until almost all of the water has evaporated, 15 minutes. Uncover and cook over high heat, tossing, until the vegetables are tender and nicely browned, about 4 minutes.
10
To serve, stir some of the vegetables and lardons into the stew and scatter the rest on top as a garnish. Top with a little chopped parsley.

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