Parker’s Beef Stew. Listening To Lori Meyers.

This is what it looks like over much of the US.

What to do?

Make stew.

This Beef Stew recipe is from the chef Parker Hodges, who worked at Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa store. It is rich, thick and redolent of wine. The smokiness of the bacon and the sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes takes this warming meal to the next level.

Parker’s Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds good quality chuck beef, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 (750-ml bottle) good red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
3 whole garlic cloves, minced
3 bay leaves
6 oz bacon, chopped
2 cups flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
2 yellow onions,chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
1 pound carrots, cut diagonally in 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 pound small potatoes, halved or quartered
1 (14 1/2-ounce can) beef stock
1 large branch fresh rosemary
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas

Directions:

1. Place the beef in a bowl with red wine, garlic, and bay leaves. Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight. (I marinated the beef for only 4 hours and it still had a lovely wine scented flavor)

2. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 300℉.

3. Cook bacon in a large skillet for 5 minutes, over medium low heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a large oven-proof Dutch oven.

4. Combine the flour, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper.

5. Lift the beef out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and discard the bay leaves, saving the marinade.

6. In batches, dredge the cubes of beef in the flour mixture and then shake off the excess. In the same skillet used for the bacon, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bacon grease and brown half the beef over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Place the beef in the Dutch oven and continue to brown the remaining beef, adding oil as necessary. Place all the beef in the Dutch oven.

7. Heat another 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet and add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the 2 tablespoons of garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add carrots and potatoes and cook for 5 more minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

8. Place all the vegetables in the Dutch oven with the beef.

9. Add the reserved marinade to the empty skillet and cook over high heat to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the beef stock, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables in the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat on top of the stove.

10. Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the preheated oven. Bake for about 2 hours, until the meat and vegetables are all tender, stirring once during cooking. If the stew is boiling rather than simmering, lower the heat to 275℉.

11. Before serving, stir in the frozen peas, season to taste, and serve hot.

Serves 6

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa Back To Basics Cookbook

Spanish band Lori Meyers will be playing SXSW this year as I learned in a promo email. “Canadá” is 4 years old, but I thought it was so deliciously catchy that I had to play it for my stew.