Beef Stew Recipe

Stewing is probably the most ancient cooking technique, virtually any type of meat or vegetable can be stewed, and every local or regional cuisine includes at least one stew recipe among its typical dishes.

Of course, there are different ways to stew the same ingredient, so your idea of beef stew may be different from mine. The recipe in this article is a family recipe, and I had official approval from my Grandma to make it public (no, seriously).

A good stew starts at the butcher's shop. The importance of good meat can hardly be underestimated. About the perfect meat cut for a beef stew, everyone has their own opinion, but in my experience, the shin (in red in the picture) has by far the best taste, even if it requires a long slow cooking.

Tools you will need:

• a large saucepan
• a smaller saucepan
• sift
• chopping board

Time preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 3 hours

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 1 lb beef
• 2 pints of boiling water
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tin of plum tomatoes
• 3/4 glass of red wine
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• a leaf of bay (optional)

The butcher will likely have the meat already cut in pieces, but you still may need to cut the pieces in two or three: ideally they should be bite size, or perhaps a little bigger.
Take a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the leek. Let it stir-fry at low-medium heat for about 10 minutes, and then add the meat. Move the meat gently with a wooden spoon until all the angles of the meat pieces are stir-fried. Now turn up the heat and add the red wine. When it has completely evaporated, lower the heat, add the carrots and the parsnips and cover with water. Now, remember the old saying "a stew boiled is a stew spoiled." Keep the heat low enough to make the stew simmer for at least two hours. From time to time, take off some of the fat that has come to the surface with a metal spoon.

After two hours the meat should start to lose the raw taste, and become tender. Using a sift, separate the stock from the rest. Put the stock directly in a smaller pan, on a low heat and the meat and the vegetables back in the saucepan with a low-medium heat. Add the plum tomatoes, the bay of leaf, and two ladles of stock, and let it evaporate before adding the second one. Start adding salt and pepper a little at the time until you reach the perfect level of saltiness.
Whereas the stew did not need particular care during the first two hours, not it will need constant attention, or it will stick to the saucepan.
This last phase should last at least one hour, but feel free to cook it for more if it's not tender enough. The final result should be not too dry but not liquid either, you should be able to eat it with a fork.