Many national food days have been declared over the years, such as national cookie day, national pasta day and even national greasy foods day. Today is national devilled egg day.
Don鈥檛 get me wrong, I love devilled eggs, but Nov. 2 isn鈥檛 the right time of year to be celebrating them. A lovely spring day around Easter is when I would have put national devilled egg day on the calendar.
According to the travel website hellobc.com, in November our rainy season has begun in Victoria. So I think today, at least locally, should have been declared national beef stew day. It鈥檚 a comforting, rib-sticking, budget-friendly concoction that鈥檚 ideal for this time of year.
That鈥檚 how I felt when preparing today鈥檚 recipe. The process of making the stew, from searing the meat, to cutting the root vegetables, to taking in the stew鈥檚 wonderful aroma as it cooks warms me inside, especially when it鈥檚 dark and gloomy outside.
Speaking of searing the meat, before you do, pat it dry, as excess moisture on it will cause the meat to steam, rather than sear. Before searing the meat, also make sure the cooking oil is hot, and don鈥檛 overcrowd the meat in the pot. Otherwise, moisture seeping out from inside the meat won鈥檛 have room to evaporate, and the meat, again, will steam, rather than sear.
Although you can buy pre-cut stew meat, I sometimes like to cut my own, as that way I can control what cut of beef is used. For stew, I most often buy chuck or blade steak, which is easy to cube and is deeply flavoured and becomes mouthwateringly tender when simmered in a stew.
The key liquid ingredients added to my stew were beef stock and dark beer. You can use just about any style of full-flavoured dark beer in the recipe, such as a stout, lager or ale.
I used Blackstone Porter, made by Victoria鈥檚 Driftwood Brewery. It鈥檚 a seasonal brew they describe as the perfect companion to good conversation when the rain is lashing at the windows. I can confirm it鈥檚 also dark, delicious and guaranteed to add richness and body to beef stew.
I like to serve biscuits with stew. Because I had a bit of Stilton cheese left over from a party, I crumbled and mixed some of it into them. If you don鈥檛 have Stilton on hand, you could use another type of blue cheese, or simply leave it out if you don鈥檛 care for it.
I started getting my biscuits oven-ready about 30 minutes before the stew was ready to come out of the oven. When it was, I set the stew, still covered, on the stovetop over low heat. I then increased the oven temperature, baked the biscuits and in about 12 minutes they were hot and ready to serve with the stew.
Note: If you don鈥檛 eat meat, check out my column on vegetarian stew, on Sunday.
Beef and Vegetable Stew with Dark Beer and Rosemary
For a filling and satisfying meal,听serve this rich and hearty stew over mashed potatoes or simmered-until-tender pot barley, with biscuits alongside.
听
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: About 105 minutes
Makes: Four servings
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1 1/2 lbs. (about 700 grams) boneless beef blade or chuck steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes and patted dry
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
鈥� salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
1 leek, white and pale green part only, halved lengthwise, washed and sliced
2 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and thickly sliced
2 medium parsnips, halved lengthwise and thickly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups beef stock or broth
1 1/2 cups dark beer (see Note)
1 Tbsp English-style or Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup frozen peas
鈥� sliced green onion or chopped parsley, to taste (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Place the flour on a wide plate and season with salt and pepper. Set on the cubes of beef and toss to coat with the flour.
Place the oil in a Dutch oven or large ovenproof pot and set over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, brown the meat, in batches, on all sides, and then set in a bowl. Reserve any leftover flour on the plate.
Add the leeks, carrot, parsnips and garlic to the pot and cook three to four minutes. Mix in the tomato paste and any leftover flour on the plate and cook two minutes more.
Slowly, stirring constantly, mix in the stock (or broth), and then the beer. Mix in the mustard, rosemary and Worcestershire sauce. Return the beef to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook the stew in the oven 90 minutes, or until the meat is very tender. Mix in the peas and adjust seasoning, if needed. If desired, top servings of the stew with sliced green onion or chopped parsley.
Note: If you don鈥檛 want to use alcohol, replace the beer with another 1 1/2 cups beef stock or broth.
Baking Powder Biscuits with Stilton and Thyme
Flaky biscuits, rich with bits of tangy blue cheese, scented and flavoured with fresh thyme.
These biscuits go great with beef stew. Because of the size of cutter I used, this recipe yielded smaller, two-inch wide biscuits. I like to bake them in that format, as I听don鈥檛 feel guilty having more than one of them.
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Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 12 to 13 minutes
Makes: 12 to 15 biscuits
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2 cups all-purpose flour, plus some for kneading (see Note)
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small cubes
3 oz. (85 grams) Stilton cheese, pulled into small, 1/4-inch wide nuggets (about 1/2 cup)
2 tsp minced fresh thyme (see Note)
3/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the 2 cups flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. With your fingers, two forks or a pastry cutter, work the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until thoroughly distributed. Gently toss in the cheese and thyme.
Gently mix in the milk until a听loose dough forms, then turn it听onto a floured surface. With floured hands, knead and shape the dough into a ball.
Flatten the dough into a 1 to 1 1/2-inch thick disk. Use a听lightly floured, two-inch round cutter to cut the dough into rounds and place them on the baking sheet. Gather up the scraps of dough, and press and cut into more biscuits.
Bake the biscuits in the middle of the oven for 12 to 13 minutes, until puffed and golden.
Serve warm.
Note: If you don鈥檛 have fresh thyme, try another fresh herb, such as rosemary, parsley or chives.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook. His听columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
