Provincial Beef Stew Recipes

Steps:

• In a 4-qt. slow cooker, combine the first 12 ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the beef, flour, salt and pepper; toss to coat. In a large skillet, brown beef in oil in batches. Transfer to slow cooker., Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until beef is tender. Serve with noodles.

Steps:

• Dredge meat lightly with flour. In a large skillet, heat half the oil over medium-high heat. Cook meat in batches, adding more oil as needed, for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer to a large ovenproof casserole.
• Drain most of the oil from skillet. Saute garlic and thyme for 1 to 2 minutes, or until garlic is softened. Pour in tomatoes, stock, and vinegar, stirring to scrape up brown bits and mashing tomatoes with fork. Bring to boil, then pour over meat. Add orange juice, bay leaves, orange rind, and pepper. Cover casserole dish.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour.
• Stir in carrots, mushrooms, and onions. Bake for 40 minutes.
• Stir in pasta, and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove casserole from the oven, and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves and orange rinds. Serve.

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt and pepper. Reserve 1 tablespoon flour mixture and set side.
• Lightly coat beef with larger amount of flour mixture.
• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in stockpot over medium heat until hot. Brown 1/2 of beef; remove from stockpot. Repeat with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and remaining beef. Remove beef from stockpot.
• Add onion and garlic to stockpot; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes or until onions are tender.
• Add wine; increase heat to medium-high. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until browned bits attached to stockpot are dissolved.
• Stir in broth, tomatoes, herbes de Provence and reserved flour mixture.
• Return beef to stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer 1-1/2 hours or until beef is fork-tender.
• Add potatoes, zucchini and yellow squash to stockpot; continue simmering, covered, 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Add olives and basil; cook, uncovered, 2 to 3 minutes or until olives are heated through.
• Serve with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the oil to the skillet and heat just until beginning to smoke. Brown the meat all over and sear the roast, turning as each side turns a deep mahogany, about 10 minutes. While the meat browns, put the flour into a medium bowl and whisk with about 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth until smooth.
• Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; stir in their juices, 3 tablespoons of the cognac, herbes de Provence, and the 2 teaspoons salt.
• Transfer the browned meat to the slow cooker. Add the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth to the skillet; let it bubble for a minute and then stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour over the meat, then scatter the garlic, carrots, fennel, and onion over and around the meat. Pour the flour mixture over. Cover the cooker, set it on HIGH, and cook for 4 hours. Set the cooker on LOW and cook until the meat is very tender, up to 2 hours more (for a total of 6 hours). Transfer the meat to a cutting board. Skim any excess fat off the top of the sauce in the cooker.
• To finish the sauce: Stir the remaining 1 tablespoon cognac, the tomato tapenade, parsley, and orange zest into the vegetables and sauce in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Slice the meat and lay the slices down the center of a serving platter. Arrange the vegetables around the meat and spoon some sauce over the top. Serve with hot buttered egg noodles. Pass the remaining sauce.

Steps:

• Marinate the beef in the red wine, vinegar, carrots and 1/2 of the onions for 6 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove the beef from the marinade (reserving the marinade) and dry gently with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the bacon lardons until crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside, reserving the fat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the bacon fat in the Dutch oven and brown the beef on all sides. Once the beef is browned, add in the reserved marinade, bacon lardons, the remaining onions, rosemary, thyme, garlic and bay leaves. Add 2 cups water and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cover tightly and cook in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. Check the daube every hour and add a little more water if needed. Remove the herbs and serve the daube (be sure to reserve the sauce) with the Macaronade.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a gratin dish.
• Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package's instructions for al dente. Drain and toss with the cheese and daube sauce. Place the pasta in the gratin dish, and top with the breadcrumbs, sprinkle with salt and pepper and dot with the butter. Bake 15 minutes and serve with the daube.

Steps:

• In a large bowl or sealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, the Cognac, the beef and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cover and set aside to marinate at room temperature for 2 hours.
• Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 325 degrees.
• In a wide, heavy casserole with a tight-fitting lid, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add onions, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, orange zest and 2 big pinches salt; stir well to coat and heat through. Reduce heat to low, cover, and sweat (cook without browning) for 8 to 10 minutes, until onions and garlic are softened.
• Add beef and its marinade, tomatoes, wine, bouquet garni and peppercorns. Stir to combine.
• Cover and bake in the center of the oven until meat is ultratender, 3 to 4 hours. There is no need to stir or baste, but check from time to time to make sure the liquid is at a very gentle simmer; boiling will make the meat tough.
• When the stew is ready, adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Or, refrigerate overnight or longer, skim any hardened fat from the top, and reheat before serving.
• Serve over hot pasta, garnished with parsley and orange zest, if desired.

Steps:

• Place the beef in your crock pot, on high heat.
• Add onion, mushrooms and garlic to a 12" non-stick skillet and saute over medium high heat for 5 minutes, or until soft. Stir occasionally. Add to the crock pot.
• Add carrots.
• Place the beans in a blender or food processor, with the broth, and blend until pureed. Add to the crock pot.
• Add all remaining ingredients.
• Cover and cook on high for 6-7 hours. Garnish with fresh thyme.
• I served this over spinach, but it would be nice in a big bowl with some lovely French bread!

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper; dredge in flour. Add beef to pan; saute 2 minutes, browning on all sides. Place beef in slow cooker or crock pot.
• Add onions and garlic to skillet; saute 5 minutes. Add wine to skillet, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Place onion mixture in slow cooker.
• Add broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, and tomatoes to cooker; top with zucchini and carrots.
• Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or until beef is tender. Stir in remaining 1 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.