With more time under the clouds than the sun here in the Midwest, my stomach kept yearning for something heartwarming and comforting. And I think everyone knows that there is nothing as satisfying as a nice beefy stew on an early fall day.
But I didn’t want to slave over the stove all day so it needed to be easy and simple yet not sacrifice the stewy flavor that I was craving. And unless the stew is Julia’s bœuf bourguignon or something magical out of the slow cooker overnight, I always found it a little boring so I wanted to give it a little twist.
So what’s the “twist?” I threw in minced jalapeños when I sweat my onions for the kick that I feel beef stews lack. The next part of the “twist?” Instead of just plain ol’ potatoes, I mixed it up a bit and added sweet potatoes in the pot also.
This stew was done within 2 hours, and I spent most of those 2 hours simply lounging on the couch while the stew was simmering away. The chopping was the most complicated part, if you could call it that!
My sister who cringed at first at the idea of sweet potatoes mentioned that it was the best part about the stew (aside from the beef of course), and since I deveined and deseeded my jalapeños, the kick was subtle yet definitely present. I cooked this at my mom’s, so I didn’t have a bottle of wine handy… If I was at home, I would have definitely replaced some of the beef stock with the leftover Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Now THAT would have been ideal!
Aww, little Yoshi knew something beefy was goin' on in the kitchen...
Easy Beefy Stew w/ a Twist (serves 6-8)
Ingredients:
- 2-3lbs beef chuck roast
- 2 medium sized potatoes, cubed
- 1 large sweet potato, cubed
- 5 small carrots, diced
- 2 jalapeños, minced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 bundle Italian parsley
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 28oz can of whole tomatoes
- 32oz beef stock
- Salt & pepper for seasoning along the way
- 2 fresh roma tomatoes, diced (optional)
Dice the chuck roast into 1” cubes, season with salt and pepper then brown on all sides in batches. Put browned meat aside.
In the same pot, sweat/sauté the onion along with minced jalapeños.
Once the diced onions become translucent, sauté the carrots, potatoes, and the sweet potatoes (and tomatoes if desired). Salt and pepper to taste.
When the vegetables are browning, add the browned meat.
After 3-5minutes, add the can of tomatoes with the beef stock. Crush the whole tomatoes with the spatula while in the pot.
Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low.
Chop about 1/2cup of fresh parsley for garnish.
Top the pot with the bay leaves and the leftover bundle of parsley.
Close the lid, let simmer for 1.5 – 2 hours until vegetables are soft and meat is tender.
I thought about adding the butter + flour mixture to thicken the stew but with patience and over time, the stew thickened itself…
Once finished, salt and pepper to taste, remove bay leaves, then garnish with fresh parsley.
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