Recipe
No-wine beef stew
Comforting nightshade- and wine-free beef braise.
Ingredients
- Stewing beef (chuck) — 12¼ oz (cubed)
- Carrot — 1¾ oz (1 small, chunked)
- Turnip — 4¼ oz (1, chunked)
- Parsnip — 4¼ oz (1, chunked)
- Thyme & bay
- Water — 1½ cups stock (no onion/garlic)
- Arrowroot flour — 1 Tbsp
- Garlic-infused olive oil — 1 Tbsp
- Sea salt & pepper
Method
- Heat oven to 300°F (150°C). Pat the beef dry and brown in batches in the oil (don't crowd); remove.
- Deglaze with a little stock, then return the beef with the rest of the stock, thyme and bay; cover and braise 2–2½ hours until fork-tender. Add the roots for the last 45 minutes. (Pressure cooker: ~35 minutes, then add roots.)
- Stir in the arrowroot slaked in cold water to thicken; season. Better the next day.
Notes
Without wine, the stew leans heavily on the brown bits (fond) on the bottom of the pot. Don't skip the deglaze step — scrape with a wooden spoon until the bottom is clean. Always better on day 2.
Nutrition
Calories ≈ 580 kcal · Protein 48 g · Carbs 19 g · Fat 35 g · Fiber 4 g
Braising method per Once Upon a Chef & America's Test Kitchen: brown, deglaze, low-and-slow to fork-tender.
Gram weights are listed for each ingredient; calories are approximate estimates per serving. Ingredient amounts make the stated number of servings; leftovers are built into the week.