Beef Burgundy Stew

Main Dish

This is a main dish that doesn't need much in the way of sides. A loaf of home-baked bread is a pleasant addition but not necessary. French bread or an Italian loaf is good too. The directions are a bit "linear" but I follow them every time. Cooking time is long, but this is a recipe that can be prepared the day before. Plan on spending a full 3 hours fiddling with this. Stews are one of those dishes that are better on the second day…

Ingredients/Shopping List
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 medium carrots, 1-inch pieces
• 21 ounces low sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 ½ cups mushrooms, quartered
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 small onions, quartered
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 12 small red potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)
• 1 ½ lbs boneless round steak
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• ½ cup water
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 cups red wine

Directions

Trim fat from steak; cut into 1-inch cubes.

Heat oil in Dutch oven over high heat. Add steak, cook 5 minutes.

Drain well, clean drippings from pan, return steak to pan. Add bay leaves, garlic, and thyme; cook 1 minute over medium heat. Add tomato paste and wine; bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 ½ hours until steak is tender.

Add carrots, chicken broth, mushrooms, onions, potatoes and water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, simmer 40 minutes vegetables are tender.

Mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water; stir well; add to stew.

Cook until thickened stirring constantly. Approximately 5 minutes.

Remove from heat; discard bay leaves; stir in parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:

• Any red wine will do, but I've found dry reds, while flavorful, add a strong aftertaste. Lighter, fruitier, reds (I use travicello or contesina) work well for me.
• An increase in onion or garlic would have to be extreme to ruin this dish for me.
• If you can find it, mushroom broth is a worthy substitute for the chicken broth. You can also use beef broth if you wish. A little experimentation will serve you well.
• Instead of the ½ cup of water, you can use ¼ cup of BBQ sauce and ¼ cup of water. It makes a thicker stew and gives a strong tangy flavor. Mustard BBQ works with this too.
• One last possibility, marinade the steak in your favorite marinade. I like to make a marinade with coke or pepsi (enough to cover) and a tablespoon (at least) of Lea & Perrins worcesershire sauce. You can do the same with mountain dew (or any similar citrus-based soft drink) and Lea & Perrins marinade for chicken — also called white wine worcestershire.