Classic French Beef Stew with Cilantro Lime Rice

Classic (for a reason) stew recipe that can feed 4 or more people with ease

Cooking for More Than Me

Cooking for multiple people can be hard for kitchen newcomers making not enough or too much will upset everyone. This recipe is designed to be easy to ‘supersize’ if you will as during the cooking process the only possible thing that can go wrong is your pot is too small. This veggie packed meal will surely satisfy any roommates unsettlingly huge appetites while remaining healthy even in huge quantities. This recipe should feed about 4 hungry people.

Rice:

2 cups of Wild Rice (You can use white rice if you’re a basic ass bitch)

2 cups of water

Juice of one lime

5-6 Sprigs of Cilantro

Salt and black pepper

1.       Honestly reading the package of rice should tell you how to cook it, knowing exactly how to cook your specific brand of rice is not something I’m currently capable of

2.       Mince the Leaves of cilantro your can save the stems if you wish to add them to the cheesecloth, we will be using later

3.       When the rice is done mix in the lime juice and salt and pepper, mix the cilantro only at the very end as it will lose the green color and become brown and ugly

4.       If you happen to have a standalone rice cooker Be sure to fluff your rice before mixing the lime and cilantro

Stew:

2-3 pounds of beef chuck, using cheaper, tougher cuts of meat is ok for this recipe as we will be cooking the meat slowly

2 Cups of AP Flour

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

½ cup of red wine

2-3 large carrots

2-3 stalks of celery

3 Bell Peppers (I use one red, yellow, and orange which usually come in a pack of three at the grocery store)

1 Leek

1 Yellow Onion

3-4 green Onions

5-6 sprigs of Thyme

5-6 Sprigs of rosemary

5-6 Dried Bay Leaves

1 Tablespoon crushed red pepper (More if desired)

Pinch each salt and black pepper

1.       Wash Your Root Vegetables and peppers and Chop Them

a.       Carrots: Just wash with cold water, chop off the ends as close as you can to the roots, Chop into rondelles (Disks) about ¼-1/2 inch thick

b.       Celery: Make sure to rub any dirt off the bottom with your hands sometimes the water isn’t strong enough, chop off most of the white from the bottom, chop about ¼-1/2 inch thick

c.       Leek: Make a long cut down the middle of the leek not through the root though, this will let you spread out the leek for washing but it will still be able to chop after, cut off the root leaving two halves, place them flat side down on your cutting board and cut ¼-1/2 inch thick

d.       Yellow Onion: Take off Skin from the outside, Chop off the top and a small amount of the root, chop in half through the root, this will let you chop the onion with out it falling apart so chop it into roughly equal sized pieces and take the rest of the root off at the end

e.       Bell Peppers: Take off the Top and Bottom and any white flesh in the middle, try to remove all the seeds and chop the remaining pepper into equal sized pieces

2.       Chop your meat into roughly ½ inch sized pieces keeping in mind they will shrink a little during the cooking process

3.       Make some Seasoned Flour by adding salt and pepper to a bowl with all the flour

4.       Dredge your meat in the seasoned flour, meaning just drop the pieces into the bowl and shake off the excess when you pick it up

5.       Get out a large pot and a large Saucepan put them both on the stove with a tablespoon of vegetable oil

6.       In the pot add your chopped veggies and begin to sweat (Just keep it at around medium heat while you work on your meat) stirring occasionally

7.       Heat the Saucepan over high heat until the oil is flowing easily and add your dredged meat, make sure not to overcrowd your pan you can even do it in multiple rounds if you must

8.       Sear all sides of the meat as best you can don’t worry about how cooked they are just transfer them into the pot once the sides are all brown

9.       Deglaze the pan with red wine (Only pour in wine with the flame off) to pickup all the little meat bits stuck to the pan, boil off the alcohol, pour into the pot

10.   Fill the pot with Water Until all the ingredients are either floating or submerged, heat to a boil, reduce to a simmer

11.   Now is the time to add your herbs, if you have cheesecloth make a little pouch with the bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, (cilantro stems), and a few whole black peppercorns, if you don’t have cheesecloth simply add those things to the stew and you’ll have to fish them out with tongs at the end, and use cracked pepper instead of whole ones

12.   Let the stew Simmer for at least 2 Hours but it can go for however long you want

13.   When time for serving chop and add the green onions a few min before so they remain bright and green

14.   Remove the herbs and dispose of them at the very end

Chef Notes:

For presentation I put a spherical mound of rice in the middle of a bowl with cilantro on top then the stew poured around the sides filling the bowl, in my opinion this is nice because it can keep some of the rice nice and fresh in the center if you need a light break from heavy stew flavors while eating

While the stew is cooking you can Depouillage frequently using a slotted spoon, basically you just try to skim any layers that form on the top of the stew most of which are just fat molecules congealing together

For a starch I would recommend either corn bread or a French baguette depending on whether or not you with to dip the bread into the stew, if you go for the corn bread you can also add a drizzle of honey on the top of it to add a sweetness the rest of the dish lacks