Italian Beef Stew Cooking Light Recipes

BRAISED ITALIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper.
• Place it in a wide, deep baking pan (like a turkey roaster).
• Preheat the broiler, and put the rack 4" from the heat, or enough room to allow for the pan.
• Put the meat under the broiler and leave the door ajar so the element stays lit.
• Broil for about 15 min, or until a deep brown.
• Turn it over, and broil for 5 min more.
• As the meat cooks, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
• Add the onion, celery, and carrot.
• Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 min, or until softened. If the vegetables begin to burn or stick, turn the heat down.
• Add the garlic to the softened vegetables.
• Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally for another 3-4 minute.
• Scrape the softened vegetables into the pan with the browned meat.
• Add the wine (or beef broth), tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf.
• Heat oven to 300ºF.
• Cover the pan with foil, and crimp it tightly.
• Bake for 3 hours.
• Remove the pan from the oven, and remove the meat to a serving platter.
• Remove and discard the bay leaf from the sauce.
• Put the sauce into a blender (or use a hand held immersion blender) to blend the liquid and vegetables into a smooth sauce.
• Cover the meat with the sauce and serve.
• Serve with mashed potatoes. Leftovers freeze well.
• **NOTE: For a GREAT leftover dish. Shred the leftover roast in a skillet with the leftover sauce (like BBQ pork/beef) with two forks. It is easier to do when the roast is warmed. Serve this over the pasta of your choice, we like fettuccine.

PRESSURE COOKER ITALIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• I browned the meat with oil and onions in my PC, you can use a separate pan for browning if you prefer.
• Add the mushrooms and garlic, and let cook until the mushrooms release their liquid.
• Add the tomato sauce, wine, bay leaf and all seasonings EXCEPT salt.
• Add a bit of water, maybe 1 1/2 to 2 cups (to bring ingredient level to just over 1/3 capacity of my PC).
• Secure lid, bring to HIGH pressure and cook for 18-20 minutes.
• Let pressure release NATURALLY (it took about 15-18 minutes in my PC).
• Add potatoes and carrots, give all a good stir.
• Secure lid again and bring to HIGH pressure, cook veggies for 4 minutes.
• Quickly release pressure (with quick release valve) and test carrots & potatoes for doneness (they should still be a bit too firm).
• Add the green beans and give all a good stir. Secure lid and bring the PC up to LOW pressure, and cook for 2 minutes.
• Remove from stove, quick release pressure (with quick release valve), removed lid and give the stew a stir.
• Carefully (very hot!) sample it, adjust seasonings to taste (I added a bit of salt).
• If stew is too thick, add a bit of water to thin to desired consistency.
• If stew is too thin, let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

NORTHERN ITALIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in batches in hot oil until browned completely, about 5 minutes per batch. Remove browned beef cubes to a plate lined with paper towels, keeping skillet over heat and retaining the beef drippings.
• Cook and stir onion, celery, and carrots in the retained beef drippings until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir mushrooms and garlic into the onion mixture.
• Pour red wine into the pan; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking the mixture until the wine evaporates, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir tomatoes into the mixture.
• Return beef to skillet with potatoes, basil, thyme, marjoram, and sage. Pour beef stock and tomato sauce over the mixture. Bring the liquid to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer until the beef is very tender and the sauce is thick, 4 to 6 hours.