Das Stew

On New Year's Eve, I made a delicious beef stew in the slow cooker. I started with this stew recipe, and sushi'd it up. I've been wanting to cook a stew (with carrots - in season this month!) and this was perfect!



Ingredients:

2 lbs chuck roast, cubed
flour
salt
pepper
butter

3 cans beef consommé + water to equal 4 cups
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried parsley
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp pepper
salt
dash of paprika

6 small potatoes, chopped
6 small carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped

4 tsp cornstarch
4 tsp water

I mixed flour with salt and pepper, dredged the meat in it and then browned them in butter. I browned the meat in three batches, to make sure each piece had lots of space. I think it's best to do this on a fairly high heat, so they get nice and browned on the outside quickly and don't cook too far in.

Once done, I drained off most of the butter then poured some consommé into the pan to pick up the nice little bits cooked on to the bottom. I poured all the consommé in to the slow cooker with the rosemary, parsley, bay leaves, pepper, salt and paprika then placed the meat in.

I cooked that all on high for a few hours, then added in the veggies and the cornstarch and left it on high for a few hours longer. Since the recipe was on the stove and I used a slow cooker, I ended up having to add extra cornstarch (4 tsp, instead of 2 called for in the recipe). Next time, I'll probably use one less can of consommé instead. I think I'll probably also use basil butter, add garlic and some thyme.



We've had the perfect weather for stews and soups and slow cooker cookin' and I'm thinking about picking up The Gourmet Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the World. Doesn't that sound yummy?