As much as we adore Julia Child and her wonderful recipes , times move on and as we keep cooking we do take small steps ahead to make it on our own and still come up with a delightful pot of stew ; so lets get this take on the recipe 🙂
Ingredients we’ll need : about 2 kg of good beef ( chuck , prime rib …) cut into good sizes of cubes ; red wine , at least 500 ml. , 1 cup of a good Brandi ; beef broth ( store bought ok ) -500 ml. ; diced canned tomatoes – about 4 cups ; button Cremini mushrooms – 1/2 lb or more if preferred ; Chipolini onions – 175 gr. pack , pearl onions – 175 gr. pack ; rainbow carrots – 1 lb. cut in chunks ; sweet peppers – about 1/2 each of red , yellow & orange nicely cut in chunks ; scallions – 1 bunch , chopped ; sweet onion ( Vidalia …) diced ; 4-5 cloves of garlic minced ; Knorr demi glace ( 1 packet ) ; rice flour – about 2 tbsp. ; olive oil ; brown sugar – 2 tbsp. ; Montreal steak spice – 1-2 tbsp. , 2 bay leaves and salt and pepper .
Classic start to a stew , add olive oil to a heavy pot , heat it up and add diced Vidalia ( sweet onion ) , minced garlic once the onion starts softening , add brown sugar and then add the beef and let start browning for a bit ; sprinkle over it the Montreal steak spice , drop the bay leaves , add salt and pepper ( just a little because you want to taste it all by the end ) ; pour the Brandi and yes , get a little flame going ( a lighted wooden skewer will do … and don’t panic , the alcohol will burn out fast 🙂 ) ; get the wine poured over and now let it all simmer together for a while , make sure there is enough liquid going on ; add next the beef broth ( or stock ) , add the diced tomatoes or as i often prefer crashed by hand whole plum tomatoes ( canned , San Marzano or similar ) ; let simmer until the beef starts getting more close to tender and then add the chunks of carrots and let simmer together .
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper , get the Chipolini and pearl onions , button mushrooms and chopped sweet peppers tossed with a little olive oil , s/p and roast in the oven at 425 for about 10 to 12 mins . ; when the beef is just nicely tender add the roasted veggies to the pot ; add the diced scallions ; let simmer for just a couple of mins. .
In a small bowl make a slurry from a mixture of Knorr demi glace and about 2 tbsp. of rice flour ( it will keep the stew gluten free while still thicken it ; add more of less as how thick you like the sauce ) and pour it over the stew while stirring and deciding if it is thick enough or if it needs a bit more rice flour slurry .
Et voila , get a bowl of delicious , hearty stew and enjoy 🙂