Beef Stew One

It has been a rainy and bleak week over in my little corner of New England.  Every morning before committing to getting out of bed I would open only one eye and check my phone to see if it had miraculously snowed instead and I could continue sleeping.  Alas, no.  Over at The Fresh Dish they were cooking lamb stew, I thought stew was just what the doctor ordered to combat the ick factor of the weather.

My first Silver Spoon stew recipe (of many to come!) was very basic.  It consisted of sirloin chunks, pureed tomatoes and the basic onion, celery, carrot combo.  I started with butter and olive oil (it is pretty much a mandatory cooking action) and added the carrots, celery and onions.  While that was sauteing I pureed a can of San Marzano tomatoes and two very pink rocks that they called tomatoes at the store in the food processor, and added 2/3rds cup of water.   Do you use San Marzano Tomatoes?  They are so much more delicious than other canned tomatoes.  I love them!  My fiance's family taught me all about them, and it has spoiled me.  I now shy away from any other variety.

 I squeezed the beef chunks dry a la Julie and Julia in paper towel and then added to the beef to the pan to brown.  Beef browns so much better when it is dry!  After browning it on all sides, I seasoned and added the tomato puree mixture.  Then I let it cook for an hour.  The results, delicious but more like a tomato sauce than what I think a stew should be.  I served it with a green salad and garlic bread.  If you leave out the garlic bread, it is a fairly low carb stew, as stews go.    What have you all been cooking this week?  Leave a comment and let me know!