Plain Brown Stew

This is adapted from a Julia Child recipe. Nothin’ plain about it, but that’s her title

One slice of bacon or slice of pancetta (deli counter) cut into ¼" slices
Cooking oil
2 lbs. stew beef
½ cup carrots (salad bar)
1 onion chopped
2 cups red wine (I know, I know)
1 can beef broth
Bay leaf
½ TSP thyme
½ TSP dried orange peel
1 TBS tomato paste (from tube)
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a Dutch oven or other heavy pan, render bacon/pancetta in oil over moderate heat for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from pan.

Heat fat until smoking and brown beef in batches (so you don’t crowd) on all sides until richly brown. Remove and put with bacon in bowl.

Add carrot and onion and sauté for three minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add wine to pan scrapping bottom and bring to boil until winey smell is gone. Add broth, meat and bacon along with tomato paste and herbs.

Return to boil. Cover top of pan with foil and put lid on. Place in oven for two hours.

Remove from oven and let rest for 1 hour.

Strain stew through colander into another pot.

Wash original pot. Melt butter in pot and stir in flour, browning a little. Add broth ladle by ladle to butter mix, stirring to dilute. Add meat to gravy.

Press any liquids out of veggies and add to broth. Discard veggies. When stew is warm, serve over noodles.

4-6 servings

3 hr

This freezes well for leftovers