stewing

Megan and I had friends over for lamb stew last night, and I thought I'd share my father's recipe.  This is hearty stew (you can eat it with a fork) and quite simple to make:

Ingredients:

• 2.5 Lbs. Cubed Beef (or Lamb); larger chunks are better than smaller
• 1 Bottles (750 mL) Red Wine (cheap wine is best for cooking!); an extra bottle is a good idea so you can add extra wine instead of water (and have something to drink with your stew, if you're not a teetotaler)
• 2 Small Onions (or 1 really big onion)
• 1 Package (2 Lbs.) of Carrots
• 3 Lbs. Russet Potatoes (about 7 Potatoes)
• 1 Package Frozen Peas
• Vegetable Oil
• 3 Bay Leaves
• Fresh Thyme
• Flour
• Salt
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Recipe:
1. Brown the Beef
In a plastic bag, combine flour, salt, pepper, and beef.  Shake and work the beef until all chunks are thinly coated in flour.  In a large stew pot, heat vegetable oil on medium-high.  Once hot, brown the flour-coated meat on each side.  You do not need to cook the beef through, just brown the outside.  You may need to brown the beef in multiple batches, depending on how much meat you have and the size of the pot.  Once all the beef is browned, set it aside.

2. Saute the Onions
Coarsely chop the onions.  In the stew pot, head some vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Once hot, add the chopped onions and saute until soft and slightly brown.

3. Start Simmering
Once the onions are ready, add the beef back into the pot.  Pour in a bottle of wine, and add 4 cups of water.  Add bay leaves, salt, pepper, and thyme to the pot. Cover the pot and bring it up to a simmer, then cook for about 70 minutes.

4. Add the Carrots
Peel and chop the carrots (Big chunks!  This is a stew for men, not little babies).  Add them to the pot, cover, and return to a simmer. Let cook for about 30 minutes.

5. Add the Taters
Peel and dice the potatoes.  Make sure to set them in water as they are diced so they do not turn brown.  Again, big chunks are best!  Add the potatoes to the pot, cover, and let it cook for about an hour (or until the potatoes are soft but not mushy).  You may want to add a little more water (or wine, if you have another bottle); you want the top layer of chunks to be just above water level.

6. Keep Cookin' (if necessary)
The stew is ready at this point, but if it's still soupy you want to cook it uncovered for up to another hour in order to boil off some water; your goal is a stew which is very thick!  If you cook it too long the potatoes will disintegrate which isn't really desirable.

7. Add the Peas
Add the frozen peas into the pot.  Return to a simmer and let it cook for about 5 minutes.  Season to taste with additional thyme, salt, pepper, or anything else you want to put in there.

8. Resist Temptation
Smell your stew.  Mmm . . . delicious.  Now don't eat it.  This stew will taste much better in a day or two. Put it in the fridge and let it "stew" for a while.  It can also be frozen and stored for quite a while.

9. Enjoy!
If you made it right, this will be a stew you can eat with a fork.  I recommend a nice loaf of bread to mop up the sauce, and I'm told a nice bottle of red table wine (perhaps the one you didn't finish off while cooking) goes very nicely with it.