Basic Beef Stew with Carrots and Mushrooms

A crowd-pleaser, this recipe is justifiably a classic. Purchase precut lean stew beef, or cut lean beef sirloin or chuck into bite-sized pieces. White potatoes, not to be confused with baking potatoes, are waxy in texture and hold up well in soups and stews; you can substitute red potatoes. Halve any mushrooms that are larger than 1 1/2 inches.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  olive oil, divided
• 1  pound  small cremini mushrooms
• Cooking spray
• 2  cups  chopped onion
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3  cup  all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
• 2  pounds  lean beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1  cup  dry red wine
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh thyme
• 2  (14-ounce) cans less-sodium beef broth
• 1  bay leaf
• 2  cups  (3/4-inch) cubed peeled white potato (about 1 pound)
• 1 1/2  cups  (1-inch) slices carrot (about 12 ounces)
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown. Spoon mushrooms into a large bowl. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.

Place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge beef in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned beef to mushroom mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining beef mixture and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Add 1 cup wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add thyme, broth, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Stir in beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is just tender.

Stir in potato and carrot. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beef and vegetables are very tender and sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

303 (29% from fat)

Fat:

9.8g (sat 3.2g,mono 4.7g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

26.4g

Carbohydrate:

26.8g

Fiber:

2.3g

Cholesterol:

71mg

Iron:

3.9mg

Sodium:

494mg

Calcium:

54mg