Beef Stew

Ingredients

0 of 15 out on the counter

• 1½ lb boneless beef chuck mock tender steak, all visible fat trimmed off, cut in 1½-inch cubes (680 g trimmed)
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped (about 2 cups, 320 g)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 5 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 4 large carrots, peeled, cut in 1-inch chunks (about 1 lb, 454 g)
• 1½ lb potatoes, peeled, cut in 1½-inch chunks
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added white beans, drained and rinsed

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 325 °F. Pat the beef dry and toss it with the flour, salt and pepper until every cube is dusted.
2. 2Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in one or two batches, about 3 minutes a side, leaving space between the cubes so they brown and do not steam. Move each batch to a plate.
3. 3Turn the heat to medium. Cook the onions in the same pot for 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits. Stir in the garlic powder and tomato paste and cook 1 minute.
4. 4Pour in the broth and add the bay leaves and thyme. Return the beef and its juices. Bring to a simmer, cover, and put the pot in the oven.
5. 5Braise for 1 hour 50 minutes. At 5,300 ft simmered meat needs about a quarter longer than at sea level, so a pot that takes 1½ hours near the coast takes about that much more here.
6. 6Stir in the carrots and potatoes, cover, and braise 40 minutes more, until a fork slides into a cube of beef with no resistance and the potatoes are tender. Beef will read well above the 145 °F whole-cut safe temperature by then. Skim any fat that has risen to the top with a spoon and throw it out.
7. 7Lift out the bay leaves. Stir in the peas and white beans and set the pot on the stove over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until they are hot. Mash a few potato pieces against the side of the pot to thicken the broth. Taste before you reach for salt: the ½ tsp in the pot is all the recipe measures, and a bowl comes to about 555 mg of sodium with the beef, beans and broth counted.
8. 8Cool leftovers in shallow containers, no more than 2 hours, then refrigerate or freeze. Reheat soup to a boil, stirring, before you eat it.