ATK Easier Weeknight Beef Stew for 2 & beef pot pie

NOTES

This can be used for small-to-medium sized beef pot pie.  Use the recipe for pie crust and adjust the size of the crust for a medium dish.

Additional notes are at the bottom.


INGREDIENTS

between 3/4 to 1 lb of sirloin steak tips
1 small onion or leek
1 carrot
about 6 mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp tomato paste
1/4 to 1/2 tsp anchovy paste
several sprigs of fresh thyme (or up to 1 tsp dried thyme)
1 Tbl flour
3-6 Tbls dry red wine (eg Cabernet savignon)
1-1/2 to 2 cups beef broth
1 small potato, about 6 oz (Yukon gold recommended)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of frozen green beans
1 tsp soy sauce
salt
pepper
oil


PREPARATION

1. Pat beef dry and if necessary, cut steak tips into 1/2 inch pieces (beef-stew size), and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Peel the carrot and cut into 1/4" thick pieces. Set aside in a small bowl.

3. Mince the onion (leek) combine with the carrots, and set aside.

4. Cut potato into 1/2" pieces, place into small bowl of water to prevent from browning, and set aside.

5. Mince the garlic and combine with tomato paste and anchovy paste. Set aside.

6. Cut mushrooms and set aside.

7. In a medium (3-qt) saucepan, heat small amount of oil on medium-high.

8. Sear half of the meat, about 4-6 minutes to brown all sides, remove meat from pot and set aside in medium-small bowl.

9. Add a bit more oil to pot, repeat with second half of meat, and add seared meat to first batch.

10. Reduce heat to medium so as not to burn the fond (see Notes below), add and heat a bit of oil if necessary, and begin sautéeing mushrooms and carrots in the pot.

11. After a few min, add onions and continue sautéeing for a brief time.

12. Stir in garlic mixture and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

13. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.

14. Slowly whisk in wine, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out lumps.

15. Stir in broth and potatoes; add a few sprigs of fresh thyme; bring to a simmer.

16. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender 15-20 minutes, checking about halfway through:  If sauce is too thin, look at the note below on how to thicken.  If sauce is too thick, add more beef broth.

17. Add salt and pepper to taste.

18. Add back to the stew the beef and any accumulated juices, the green beans, and soy sauce; return to a simmer for a few minutes to heat beef and beans to temperature.

19. Remove woody parts of thyme and serve, or place in pot pie dish and top with crust (see Notes below).


ADDITIONAL NOTES

1. To thicken the stew, make a paste with 1 Tbl of cornstarch and 1 Tbl of water, then add it to the stew and continue to simmer for at least 10-15 min to allow it to blend with existing flavor.

2. Original recipe called for 1/2 of anchovy fillet.  One fillet = 1/2 tsp of anchovy paste.

3. Original recipe called for only 1/8 tsp of dried thyme or 1/2 tsp fresh thyme. The flavor was barely there.

4. Original recipe didn't call for mushrooms.

5. If fond from seared beef starts to burn, remove vegetables, deglaze the burned part of pot, add oil, reheat pot, and return vegetables to continue sautéeing.

6. If using the recipe for pot pie, look at the recipe for chicken pot pie for ideas on how to prepare it in the crust and how to bake it.

7. Try over rice, or make without potatoes and put it over egg noodles.