Beef Stew with Root Vegetables

This melt-in-your-mouth Beef Stew is bursting with flavor and texture. Tender beef is simmered to perfection in a roasted garlic red wine beef broth. Adding a medley of root vegetables and potatoes, make this stew an incredibly hearty, satisfying comforting meal.

I love to serve with this recipe with a simple salad like the Kale and Blueberry Salad or simply a side of good bread. To round the meal off I always look for an easy dessert like Streuselkuchen.

The medley of root vegetables makes this stew really special.

I’m such a huge fan of root vegetables. Especially in the fall and winter. They are earthy, rich in texture, and flavor and often quite inexpensive.

Rutabaga adds a bit of welcome peppery sweetness to the stew.

If you can’t find it at your local supermarket, you can make the stew without rutabaga. But if you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend adding it to the stew.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds BEEF CHUCK
• 4 tablespoons FLOUR, divided
• 6 tablespoons BUTTER, unsalted, divided

Vegetables

• 2-3 large CARROTS, peeled, cut into ¼″ pieces
• 2 large TURNIPS, peeled, cut into ¼″ pieces
• 1 large POTATO, peeled, cut into ¼″ pieces
• 2 whole RUTABAGA, peeled, cut into ¼″ pieces
• 2 stalks CELERY, peeled, cut into ¼″ pieces

Liquids

• 1 cup RED WINE (if you don’t like alcohol in your dish
• 3 cups BEEF BROTH

Spices

• 3 GARLIC BULB, about 24-28 CLOVES (yes, really that many!)
• 1 tablespoon dried SAGE
• 1 tablespoon fresh THYME (dried works as well)
• SALT and PEPPER season to taste

How To Make It

Making beef stew is really easy. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit to make roasted garlic.

While the oven is heating up remove the garlic cloves (don’t peel the cloves) from the head and transfer into a small baking dish. Top with a tablespoon of butter. Proceed as described below.

Prep:

1. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Season meat with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with flour. Shake off excess flour.
2. Separate garlic cloves.

Roasting The Garlic

1. Add garlic cloves into a small baking dish. Top with 1 tablespoon of butter. Roast at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
2. Allow the garlic to cool for about 5 minutes. Press on the bottom of a clove to push the garlic out of its casing. Set aside.

Making The Stew

• Melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat in a dutch oven and brown the beef-stew on all sides. About 5-7 minutes.
• Add roasted garlic, sage, thyme, and beef broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour until the beef is tender.

• Add red wine and chopped vegetables and simmer for another 20-25 minutes.
• In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of softened butter. Mix until it becomes a smooth paste. Spoon butter-flour paste into the simmering beef stew.

• Stir and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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Recipe Success Tips

Red Wine

Most red wines will work – I recommend a dry red wine.

I always recommend using wine that is good enough to drink with the meal, rather than using a ‘cooking wine’. Beef stew is special, it’s not something we cook every day, so you don’t want to skimp on the quality of the wine.

I like Pinot Noir. That’s what I’ll usually use for this stew.

Adding wine adds richness to this stew, but if you are not comfortable using wine in your cooking, you can omit it. But you may need to compensate with additional beef broth.

Roasted Garlic

Making roasted garlic is really easy and doesn’t take much time. And it adds so much flavor and texture to this dish. Don’t skip this step.

It is less pungent and sweeter than sautéed garlic, but it still adds a ton of flavor to this stew. If you are in a rush you can skip this step and add minced garlic to the meat while you’re browning it.

Freezing and Storing Beef Stew

Beef Stew is a perfect freezer meal.

Allow the stew to cool completely and divide it into freezer-friendly ziplock bags. I typically will add two servings per to a bag. This way it’s easy for my husband and me to reheat the stew at a later date.

More Delicious Comfort Foods

• Lasagna Rolls
• Easy Cheesy Chicken Parmesan
• Roasted Lemon Chicken
• 3 Cheese Baked Ziti
• Buffalo Chicken Mac ‘n Cheese
• Easy Hungarian Goulash

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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