Ingredients
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1 tablespoon unsalted butter
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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2 slices bacon, finely chopped
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1 onion, peeled and chopped
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2 cloves garlic, minced
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1 stalk celery, thickly sliced
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1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
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1 bay leaf
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2 teaspoons dried thyme
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1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (you can use less, if you wish)
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1/4 cup all-purpose flour
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2 lbs stewing beef, in large cubes
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1/2 cup red wine
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2 cups chicken stock
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1 1/2 cups peeled white pearl onions
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1 cup sour cream (lowfat is fine)
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2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
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1 carrot, peeled and sliced into thick coins
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1/2 lb button mushroom, cleaned and left whole
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter and add oil.
- Add bacon pieces to fat and cook, stirring often, until bacon starts to brown.
- Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, worcestershire, and herbs and spices.
- Cook, stirring often, until onion is softened (it takes about 5 minutes).
- Pat beef cubes dry with a paper towel, if necessary, then dredge in flour until cubes are evenly coated.
- Increase heat under Dutch oven to medium-high and cook beef, adding a few pieces at a time to pan; let pieces brown before adding new ones.
- When all beef cubes have browned, add wine to pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring and scraping up any brown bits on bottom of pan.
- Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, partially cover pot, and let simmer for one hour.
- Stir in pearl onions; if you don't want to be bothered peeling the pearl onions, substitute 1-1/2 cups of cubed yellow onion.
- Continue to cook on low heat, partially covered, for another hour.
- Remove pot lid and add mushrooms; simmer for 30 additional minutes; beef should be very tender.
- Just before serving, remove pot from heat and stir in sour cream and parsley; return to heat to heat through; DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL.
- Taste, add more salt and pepper if necessary, fish out bay leaf (if you can find it) and discard, and serve.
- I serve it with rice (personal preference) but mashed potatoes or egg noodles also work well.