Good Golly it's Gumbo

Long before ever visiting Louisiana, and later actually living there over the Y2K times, I had heard of Gumbo, as well as Etoufee, Jambalaya and a lot of other dishes, not all of which I really associated with Louisiana. Red beans and rice I'd had in Guatemala as a very young newlywed expat. maybe these were not the Louisiana-spiced version, but the concept was there. Boudin rouge or boudin noir are a sausage made with blood as part or most of its ingredients, but I had eaten those in Guatemala as well, under the name Moronga or Morcilla. Not a banana fan at any time, Bananas Foster never held any interest whatsoever. And long, long before ever learning that bread pudding was pretty much Louisiana's state dessert (according to me, anyway, as it was found in every single restaurant), I had been making and loving bread pudding.

When it came to hearing about Gumbo, I heard about okra as an ingredient, and I am absolutely not an okra fan. Thus, Gumbo held no interest. I like tomatoes, tomato sauces, spaghetti sauces, but there are times I just cannot abide them. At least my stomach seems to completely rebel at times, and then sometimes not. Etoufee, mainly tomato-ey red in color, was not high on a list of things I wanted to try. 

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

And then, we moved to Louisiana. Just north of Lake Ponchartrain, there were an amazing assortment of the best eating establishments all grouped so closely near to one another that you could barely toss a stone without hitting one, and we frequented them, almost all, in a constant rotation. My husband will not touch seafood, and not even fish. This is a mental allergy mind you, not a physical one. But as Louisiana cuisine is really all about fish and seafood, crawfish being absolutely huge there, there were many restaurants that had no meat on the menu, and some with a whole lot of truly stellar gourmet seafood dishes available, and with one lone hamburger plate on the menu, generally served with coleslaw (which my husband will not eat) and fries. They truly are not catering to the meat lover diet.

Exploring Gumbo Flavors

As we began exploring food in our new home area after we moved there, I was excited to taste this Gumbo I had heard and read about. I was willing to overlook okra, if the dish was good enough. And I had a couple samplings that were passable, for sure. But it was down in New Orleans proper, that I first had a small bowl of File Gumbo. Being a complete neophyte in the Gumbo world, I had asked the waitress what was the difference. she explained that Okra Gumbo used the okra as a slight thickening agent, whereas File Gumbo used File powder as it's slight thickening agent. Obviously okra has its own flavors as well, as does file powder, but I wasn't aware of that, then. 

➤File powder is nothing more than the powdered leaf of sassafras. It is generally

File Powder

available in the spice aisle. This flavoring agent should never be added to the pot, but only stirred in at table. If cooked, it can become stringy.

On tasting the little bowl of File Gumbo, I was suddenly aware that this was amazingly good! Oh my, was it good! And then I went on a search. In each and every restaurant, I tried at least a small bowl or cup of Gumbo, just to see the range of flavors, and just how good, good can be. 

While living there, I never even attempted to make Gumbo. More often than not, the Gumbo in restaurants contained crawfish or shrimp. At the time I still wasn't aware of why I was swelling so much all the time, so I blithely ate my way through crawfish, shrimp, crab, blue crab, lobster and a lot of other shellfish. Now, sadly, I have long been aware of my intolerance for those most wonderful foods. Sigh.

Making Roux

Moving away from Louisiana, as all good things must end one day, I longed for Gumbo. As I set about learning what made a good Gumbo, I learned about roux. While I had made roux plenty of times, in preparation for a gravy, those were always a very blond roux, just cooked enough for the raw flour taste to be gone, but not for color. In Louisiana, there is ROUX. Pronounced, "ROO." And this is one not to be messed with. Every young girl must learn the way to make a proper roux, or you will not ever attain a proper gumbo. And this roux must be cooked until "mahogany colored." This requires constant attention to the pot, or the roux will burn. This disaster cannot be repaired, and the only solution is to begin again. This process of cooking oil and flour to a mahogany color can take 15 minutes or it can take an hour, completely dependent on the skill and ease of the one making it. If unskilled, as I was the first time, it took an hour over medium or medium low heat. Over a higher heat, and a lot of quick stirring, it can be accomplished in much less time, but without this very dark roux as a base, the gumbo will not be right. 

Holy Trinity added to Roux

The next important thing to know is that many, if not most, dishes in Louisiana are based on the flavors of the 'holy trinity, a phrase coined by chef Paul Prudhomme. This trinity is a combination, in equal parts, of chopped onion, green pepper and celery. These should be prepped and ready, as they are the first addition to the Gumbo pot, once the roux is ready. 

Andouille sausage, pronounced ahn-DOO-ee, in Louisiana, is generally very highly spiced, with a strong chili kick. For the unwary, this can be a shock. The Andouille found in other areas of the country is but a poor relative, in comparison. I've used Aidell's brand, as I can tolerate the salt levels, though it is not spicy hot. 

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Serves 8 to 10

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

ROUX:

½ cup shortening or oil
½ cup all-purpose flour

----------
2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 medium onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 whole chicken, cut up
2 - 4 Andouille sausages, sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
¾ teaspoon dried oregano flakes
¾ teaspoons dried basil leaves
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon ancho powder or cayenne
6 cups water or stock
Salt & pepper, to taste

File Powder, for serving

MAKE ROUX: In a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, melt the shortening or oil over medium heat. Add in the flour and stir continually with a wire whisk until the mixture becomes a deep mahogany brown. This can take from 10 minutes to half hour, depending on your heat setting. Do not scorch the roux or you will need to begin again. Set aside, off the heat.

ASSEMBLE GUMBO: In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté the onions, green pepper, celery and garlic until softened, about 10 minutes. Add to the pot with the roux. Dry the chicken pieces and brown them on all sides in the skillet, then remove them to the pot along with the sliced Andouille, all the spices, chili powder and water or stock. Add in about 1 teaspoon of salt, to start, and some freshly grated black pepper. Stir well, then cover and cook on very low heat for an hour, or until the chicken is very tender. Once the gumbo has cooked, check for seasoning and adjust as needed. Leave chicken on the bone, or remove the skin and bones, if preferred, returning the chicken meat to the pot. Serve with a scoop of rice. Serve File Powder on the side. Use 1 to 3 teaspoons per serving, to taste.

NOTES: If using shrimp or crawfish, add these in to the pot only about 5 to 7 minutes before ready to serve, to just cook through. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Amazing Short Rib Ragu

For me, beef short ribs are more of a pain than they are worth. Generally speaking. As a child, my Mom made a dish that I loved, called Beef with Sweet Cabbage - - - except for the fact that she used beef short ribs and there was sometimes about one bite of meat to a short rib. The dish is one that I reworked, still called Beef with Sweet Cabbage, using brisket instead, cooking the brisket and then cutting and shredding it into manageable bite sized portions. 

Short Rib Ragu over Pappardelle Pasta

Aside from the small amount of meat to be had on some short ribs, they are fatty. So fatty in fact, that they will leave a thick layer of fat atop any soup or stew, which then needs to be removed. Eating a "whole" short rib, with the bone and fat and gristle, well, no, that's just not going to happen. Not in my house.

However.

A few years back my ex-daughter-in-law told me about a Short Rib Lasagna, which I went on to recreate as best as I was able. It is delicious, truly. The catch is working with the short ribs.

Okay, I have made that Short Rib Lasagna twice now, and working to get the meat out from all the fat is still a royal pain, but the meat is nice and tender, and already in bite sized morsels, just due to the way the meat is distributed in the short ribs. So, when my son's birthday was coming up and he had a nice Italian Amarone wine he wanted to drink, I said I would work on a dish that would pair with his wine. We discussed what kind of dish to use, what flavors to add, and came up with a Short Rib Ragu. I planned to serve the ragu over homemade pappardelle pasta. In essence, the recipe is not far off from the way I cooked the short ribs for the lasagna recipe, but just a few differences became pertinent to the flavor profile I wanted.

Short Rib Ragu over Pappardelle Pasta

Key flavors I wanted to add in with the short ribs were some Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds or "heels", mushroom powder (from dried shiitakes, ground to powder then sieved), lots of onions (I chose red onions for sweetness), a head of roasted garlic, some finely grated carrot (again, for sweetness), tomato sauce & strong wine (Cabernet). In a departure from my norm, to date, I opted to oven braise the dish, instead of using a slow cooker. Fresh rosemary and thyme with some bay leaves were the main herbal flavors. Something my son wanted in the flavor profile was fennel seeds. In all my planning, I did mean to add a substantial amount of parsley, which I completely forgot, and never once did I think of the fennel seeds, though I did a light smashing of some fennel seeds which we added at the table. These certainly would have been good, added in to cook with the ragu.

MAKE AHEAD

It is good to make things ahead when possible, thereby giving oneself time on the day of serving. I made this dish 4 days ahead of serving. Any longer and it would be preferable to freeze until the day before it is needed. To thaw, allow to thaw in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days and then return the ragu to a heavy pot with a tight fitting lid and warm gently over very low heat, stirring occasionally, or in the oven. The roasted garlic can be made ahead. (Cut off top quarter inch from the whole garlic head, set into foil, drizzle with olive oil, crimp foil at top and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Once done and cooled, squeeze out all the soft garlic into a lidded container, drizzle on more olive oil, cover and refrigerate until needed.)

NOTE

Parmesan "heels" are the rind ends of good Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. These ends are hard and not usable to grate, but are excellent when tossed into a soup or stew to cook, giving flavor, but not leaving sticky cheese to coat everything. Save these rinds in the fridge or freezer, well wrapped. Cook in any soup or stew, then remove them once the meal is ready to serve.

Short Rib Ragu

Short Rib Ragu over Pappardelle Pasta

Serves 10 (Freezes well)

4 to 5 pounds beef short ribs
Oil, for browning
I head roasted garlic, cloves all squeezed out of their skins
2 large red onions, in thinly sliced quarter-rounds
1 red bell pepper, chopped small
2 carrots, grated very finely on small holed grater
1.5 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms, blitzed to powder, strained
2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon red wine
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 - 3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 - 2 Parmesan "heels" if available
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
2 bay leaves
0.5 cup of chopped parsley, optional
2 - 3 teaspoons whole fennel seeds, optional

Heat oven to 250 or 260 degrees, or whatever temperature will maintain a simmer. Have ready a heavy, large, oven safe pot with tight fitting lid, such as an enameled cast iron pot or braiser.

Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat and add in a tablespoon of olive oil. Brown a few short ribs at a time, not overcrowding the pan. Turn them to brown all sides evenly. 

While ribs are browning, slice the onions and place half the onions into the pot or braiser. Add in the red bell pepper and carrots, part of the rosemary and thyme. As the ribs are browned, remove them to the pot. 

Once all the ribs have been browned and added to the pot, pour off all but a tablespoon of grease from the skillet, then add in the red wine and cook quickly to reduce by half. Once reduced, add in the mushroom powder and stir. This will want to thicken. Scrape all the mushroom/wine mixture atop the ribs in the pot, then add in all the remaining ingredients: tomato sauce and paste, remaining rosemary and thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper, Parmesan heels, parsley and fennel, if using. Set the pot on the heated burner and bring the ingredients to a simmer, then cover with tight fitting lid and set in the oven for about 4 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bones.

Once tender, remove from oven. Remove the ribs, bones, and any pieces that have fallen off bones, to a plate to cool. Use sheets of paper toweling, set briefly on top of the stew in the pot to remove the thick layer of grease. Discard these grease-soaked paper towels. Repeat with more paper towels if needed. 

Once meat is cooled, remove the meat, shredding if needed. Discard all bones and fat or gristle. Return the meat to the pot and stir. The sauce is now ready to eat, but will taste better with at least a day's rest in the fridge, or freeze if preparing ahead. Also, this is a large amount, so it can easily be divided into two portions, freezing one and keeping one out to eat. Serve over any pasta desired.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Simple and Wonderful Lamb Stew

The False Fat Diet

I have been absent from blogging for a while now, and hopefully I am back! Various things happened to cause the absence. Though none of them absolutely prevented me from coming up to my office to blog, it just became difficult to manage. One was that I went on a juice fast for 6 days. I wanted to purge, cleanse and hopefully relieve some of the edema I'd been having. I was following a book called "The False Fat Diet," by Elson Haas. I had followed this juice fast in the past, back when I originally bought the book, but it has been a very long time since then. I dropped 13 pounds of water, so thankfully, the edema is at bay, for now.

Then, just as I was coming to the end of the fast, my husband was once again in the hospital, and we had a bit of a scare there. Everything appears to be good for now, and since he's home, we have been following the Elimination Diet, also from that book. Basically, keeping most of the common food items that can cause sensitivity in the body out of our diet. So we are eating a whole lot of fresh vegetables (not my hubby's favorites!), very little meat (mostly chicken, turkey, fish and a little lamb), and some rice (mainly brown rice, or blended whole grain rice), quinoa or other complex grain or lentil and some fruits. Absolutely no wheat, corn, soy, eggs, dairy, cane sugar.

Lamb Stew

This is no news for me, because I have followed much of these foods all along, but also with all the offending possibilities like desserts, cheese (oh, how I love cheese), eggs and bread (though I eat only my own homemade whole grain breads). My husband, on the other hand - well - this is like totally uncharted waters. He is doing his best to follow and eat what I give him. Sometimes with more success than others, such as a cod fish stew that I just love, but he took two bites and asked if he could please eat something else!
 

Lamb Stew

All this in consideration, I have been coming up with new ways to accomplish things. I made almond milk so he could have it added to his oatmeal in the morning and was left with all the almond pulp. I kept is, because it is fiber, after all. When I made a lamb stew, I got thinking about how to thicken the stew, because my husband prefers soups and stews to be thick or at least thickened. Runny liquids just do not fit the bill. And since I had the almond pulp in the fridge, I thought of some of the Indian recipes I have made that call for pureeing nuts as part of the thickener for a curry. 

While I realize that not just everyone has almond pulp in their fridge (though making almond milk is so simple it seems everyone should make it), this Lamb Stew that I want to share is easily thickened with wheat flour, cornstarch, rice flour or even arrowroot, among other things. Or, if you do not have the need for a thickened stew, then just leave out the almond pulp.

All in all, the stew came out do absolutely delicious that I would very readily make it again. If you are not able to find lamb stew meat, or if you don't care for lamb, just substitute with beef. 

Lamb Stew

Lamb Stew 

Serves 4 

¾ pound lamb stew meat, in small cubes
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1½ cups carrots, in small cubes
1½ cups butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, cubed
4 cups water
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
¼ cup red lentils
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ cup almond pulp, optional
2 teaspoons salt
1½ cups frozen peas, thawed

In a large heavy stew pot, melt the coconut oil and add in the lamb pieces. Stir and toss until well browned. Add in the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. Add in the carrots, squash, water, thyme, bay leaf, lentils, parsley, almond pulp and salt. Bring to boil, then reduce to a temperature that will maintain a simmer. Cover tightly and simmer very slowly for about 2 hours. When ready to serve, add in the peas and stir, allowing them to heat through. If desired, serve with a small amount of rice.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Happy St Paddy's Day with Irish Lamb Stew

Leprechaun hiding in mug

Yesterday I wrote about my adventure making Irish Brown Bread, or Soda Bread. I am so very pleased with the outcome of that recipe, and plan to repeat it, trying out a few other things; one most notably, the use of barley flour in some amount. That aside, today I am making an Irish type of lamb stew, for a tip of the hat to St. Paddy's Day.

As I wrote yesterday, when looking at a new recipe, most particularly one from a specific ethnicity, I try to get all the information about the background as possible before actually creating a recipe. I may or not accede to all the strictures, but I make my decisions from an informed standpoint. Hopefully. Again, looking up traditional recipes and background, I learned that firstly, the traditional meat is mutton. The peasant Irish would have kept the sheep until other uses were no longer viable (milk, wool) and then the animal might be butchered, and voila, mutton. Nowadays, mutton is hard to come by, so the most selected meat to use is lamb shoulder. I only had access to what is available in my freezer. Either I cut up another leg of lamb, or use the stew-type cut called chislic in these parts. Unfortunately, chislic comes with an excessive amount of fat, so I spent time cutting as much off as possible.

In general, recipes for Irish Lamb Stew abound. There are recipes from many famous chefs as well as others like me, writing a blog and learning. Many of the recipes I read online called for using a dark beer such as Guinness Stout for some, if not all, the cooking liquid. I thought, "What a great idea!" And then when I came to read some admonitions about what an Irish peasant may have done long ago, using beer in their stew was absolutely not done. Much like with using butter in the Soda Bread, where the thought was that they'd rather slather butter on the finished bread than waste it in the recipe - the same goes for beer. Beer in the stew? Heavens no, they would rather drink it, when available. It seems that a true authentic Irish stew is made with mutton, onions, potatoes and water. The additions of barley and/or carrots is argued to give the "wrong" flavors. Oh well. While I like to adhere to basics as much as possible, I do like carrots and barley, so I opted to use them.

Irish Lamb Stew and Brown Bread

Up until this morning, I still had not set down definite amounts for the stew. When I make a stew of any kind, more often than not I am tossing things in until it looks "right" to me. I make a pile of something that seems a good amount, then measure it to write down the amounts. This is what I did with this stew. Another thing about traditional Irish Stew; the fat used. It is stipulated that the meat should not be fatty. Most old recipes do not call for browning the meat (I enjoyed this site and the information through the years), but instead layering it with onion and potatoes. I think I saw mention of a knob of butter somewhere in my reading, but generally, all the stew ingredients are placed into a pot, well covered and sealed and stewed slowly. I did use fat to brown the meat, dredged in flour. I do not often dredge meat in flour and had not initially planned to do this.

This required browning, and the only oil I keep is olive, which I do not believe would give a traditional flavor, much as I love olive oil! Browning in butter would just burn the butter, so I scrapped that idea. Instead, I used bacon fat. Maybe not traditional, but then neither is browning!  One thing that occurred while browning the dredged meat: a LOT of fond. It was so dark, though not - quite - burned, that when I added in a bit of water to loosen it up, it created the most beautiful, and beautifully fragrant, base for the stew. I added onion and garlic to this mixture and stewed them for about 20 minutes while prepping the other ingredients. The whole pot, once assembled, smelled heavenly.

Nicely thickened Irish Stew

If lamb is unavailable, beef stew meat can be substituted, by the way. The best pot to use is an enameled cast iron. It heats wonderfully and does not burn food easily.

I had planned to make a small pot of lamb stock to use as the liquid in the stew. And then I forgot. I had one bone from a leg of lamb just waiting in the freezer, so I pulled it out this morning and set it in a 375 degree oven for an hour to brown it. This bone I set into the center of the stew pot, to hopefully also lend its magical flavors. I am anticipating a wonderfully redolent pot of stew for dinner tonight, with some flavorful Brown Bread alongside.

My Irish Lamb Stew

Irish Lamb Stew

Serves 6 to 8

2 pounds lamb shoulder meat, or other lamb stew meat
½ cup flour, for dredging
1 teaspoon salt
few grinds of pepper
2 tablespoons bacon fat, or other oil
1 cup water or beef stock
1 large onion, cubed
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups celery, sliced
1½ cups peeled, sliced carrots
½ cup chopped parsley
¼ cup long-cooking barley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
more pepper if desired
5 cups water or stock
2 pounds potatoes

All done!

Preheat oven to 275 degrees, or whatever temperature will maintain a low simmer. Cut the meat into chunks, if it is not, already. Mix the flour, 1 teaspoon of salt and some pepper and dredge the meat in this mixture. Heat an enameled cast iron pot (preferable, if available) over medium high heat and add in 1 tablespoon of oil or bacon fat. Brown half the beat, removing to a plate. Brown the second half of the meat and remove to the plate. Add 1 cup of water or stock to the pot and stir, scraping up the deep brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add in the onion and garlic and stir, allowing this to cook gently while prepping the celery & carrots. Once ready, add the meat back into the pot along with the celery and carrots. Add the parsley, barley, thyme, bay leaves, the extra teaspoon salt, more pepper if desired and the 5 cups of water or stock. Let the stew come to a gentle boil. Peel and cut into very small chunks one of the potatoes and add in. This is to help with thickening the stew. Cover with a tight fitting lid and set into the oven to cook slowly for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Peel and cut the remaining potatoes into larger chunks and add to the stew. Cover and return the pot to the oven for at least another hour, or until the potatoes are cooked through.
Too many ingredients? Maybe. This stew suited my husband and me just fine, regardless.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Wonderful, Warming Winter Stew

Carbonnades Beef Stew with Beer

I read about this stew a very long time ago. The book, no longer in print, was called Glorious Stew, by Dorothy Ivens, copyright 1969. It has been one of my favorite cookbooks since I got it as a soon-to-be new wife, way back then. The stew is supposedly Flemish in origin, and according to Ms. Ivens, the meat was meant to be cut in thin, flat pieces. Two things that made this stew stand out was the amount of onions and that it used beer as some of the cooking liquid.

I tried making the stew as Ms. Ivens suggests, but over time, some things just seemed easier to do a slightly different way. I liked the idea that the onions should be equal in weight to the meat. Onions are very sweet when cooked, and these just seem to melt down to nothing during the stewing period. I like beer, and learned to drink heartier beer while living in Guatemala, so a heartier beer is what I have always used. Ideally, a Belgian Ale would be the right beer for this stew. In Guatemala, I only had Guatemalan beer to choose from. Since living in the US again, I have used German beer over the years. Now, beers from anywhere in the world are available, so finding a Belgian Ale is not such a difficult thing to find anymore. Still, as with wine; if it is good enough to drink, then it is good enough to use for cooking.

Ingredients for Carbonnades

This recipe is found all over the internet, and is made in widely varying manners. The only thing that is consistent is the use of beer as some or all of the cooking liquid. There are enough beers available singly that even if beer is not your drink of choice, a bottle can still be acquired to use for the stew. The alcohol is cooked out completely with the long stewing process, but the flavor is just wonderful. My husband absolutely dislikes anything bitter, and never, ever drinks beer. That does not stop him from loving this stew! I generally use one normal sized bottle of beer. If needed, I may open a second and use a little more (then I drink the remainder!).

Steps 1: Bacon and Beef in Pot

For me, a stew is a one-pot meal. I might, on a rare occasion, serve a salad first, but generally, if I make a stew; that is dinner. My husband will eat bread with it, but I find a stew filling enough on its own. The stew has potatoes in it. I put the potatoes in at the beginning of the cooking period, as I do not like extra pots to clean afterwards. If you prefer potatoes that still taste and look like potatoes, peel them and cut in chunks near the time the stew is finished. Cook them in salted water until just tender and then drain and add them to the stew as it is served. If tarragon vinegar is not available, use cider vinegar and add in a half teaspoon of dried tarragon or 1 to 1½ teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon.

Carbonnades Beef Stew with Beer

Makes about 4 servings

2 pounds beef rump or chuck

Step 2: Onions and seasonings in the pot

2 - 4 slices bacon, cut across into 1/4-inch pieces
2 pounds white onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 teaspoons salt
a few grinds of pepper
1 - 2 cups beer; Belgian Ale preferred
4 medium potatoes, peeled, cut in chunks
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
Extra parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to about 300 degrees. The stew should be able to maintain a simmer; adjust the temperature later, accordingly.
Cut the meat into 1 to 1½-inch cubes. Set the cubes of meat on paper toweling to dry; this ensures it will brown in the pan. Have a large stew pot or braising pan with a lid ready.

Step 3; adding the beer to the pot

In a skillet, brown the bacon. Remove the bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon and add to the stew pot. Retain the bacon grease in the skillet and add in the onions. Saute the onions until they are limp and golden colored, but not browned. Remove them to the stew pot with the slotted spoon. A few pieces at a time, brown the meat cubes. Do not crowd the pan or they will steam. Remove them to the stew pot as they are browned.


To the ingredients in the stew pot, add the

Step 4: Potatoes into the pot

sugar, 2 tablespoons parsley, bay leaf, fresh thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour in the beer and stir all the ingredients to combine. Set the stew pot on a burner and gently bring up to a simmer. Cover with the lid and set the pot in the preheated oven. Check the pot after about 45 minutes to see if it is at a simmer. If it is boiling, lower the heat; if it is not simmering, raise the heat slightly. Check again about halfway through the cooking time to make sure there is still enough cooking liquid. If it is dry, add either more beer, or supplement with beef stock or water. Cook for 2 to 2½ hours in all, or until the meat is tender.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and vinegar. Set the stew pot on top of the stove, remove the lid and set the burner on medium low. Gently stir in the tarragon and cornstarch mixture, stirring until the stew has thickened slightly. Allow the stew to continue at a simmer for about 5 minutes more, to ensure the cornstarch is completely cooked through. Garnish with more parsley before serving.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.