Country Beef Stew

I love stew in the fall and winter. To me, stew is the culinary version of curling up on the couch in my pyjamas and watching tv - it's so cozy and comforting. I make a cheater version of boeuf bourguignon with diced onion rather than pearl onions (I'm too lazy to peel all those little onions) that is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. And I have a recipe for chicken stew with tomatoes and tarragon that I love almost as much. Today, I couldn't decide which I wanted, so decided to combine the two and make a beef stew with burgundy, tomatoes and tarragon.

The Ingredients:


-4 strips bacon, cut into 1” pieces (in our house, we prefer turkey bacon, but use whatever you prefer)
-1 large onion, medium dice
-3 carrots, peeled and large diced
-8-10 mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (today, I used shiitakes, but button mushrooms, portobellos, or creminis would all be good, too)
-1 ½ - 2 lbs beef chuck, cubed
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp butter
-salt and pepper
-flour, for dredging
-1 26 oz box tomatoes (or a can of tomatoes, whatever you have in your pantry. I used diced here, because I like the texture, but use whatever you have on hand.)
-1 bottle red wine (I used a burgundy, but any red wine that you'd drink is good. Or use stock if you prefer.)
-2 bay leaves
-3 tbsp minced tarragon, divided
-1 bag wide egg noodles
-½ tbsp butter


The Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300° F. Heat dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil and butter. When butter melts, sauté bacon and onions until onions are translucent and start to caramelize. Remove from pan and reserve.
2. Season beef with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour. Sear in batches in dutch oven until all sides are browned. Add all beef back into dutch oven. Add box of tomatoes and enough wine to cover beef completely (it took a full bottle for me to cover the beef, but you may not need a full bottle). Add 2 bay leaves to dutch oven, cover and place in oven. Cook 2 -3 hours (the meat should be very tender and start to fall apart when touched – time will vary depending on size of cubes), stirring occasionally.
3. After 2 - 3 hours, add reserved bacon, onions, carrots and mushrooms to stew, cover and put back in oven to cook for 1 more hour.
4. About 20 minutes before stew is done, bring water to a boil for egg noodles, and cook noodles according to package directions. (Make the amount you will eat with the stew – save the rest to make with leftovers.) Toss noodles with butter and 1 tbsp tarragon.
5. When stew is done (the meat should fall apart when you touch it), stir in 2 tbsp tarragon and serve over egg noodles.

The stew was everything I hoped it would be. I cooked it for about 4 hours total, and the meat was so tender, it fell apart when I touched it with a fork. The flavors of wine, tomatoes and beef all combine for a rich gravy, and by adding the veggies and bacon at the end, they aren't totally mushy and still have a strong flavor. And the tarragon gives a great earthy flavor, but also gives it some brightness. I think adding rosemary would be another great way to go with this stew. We definitely have enough left for lunches during the week!