SOURCE: WEIGHTWATCHERS.COM
This most classic of French beef stews should be in everyone’s repertoire. Traditionally it is made with bacon, but it is delicious without. Though this is a bountiful Bourguignon, the ratio of vegetables to beef here is more than is customary, so each serving is a little lighter on the meat and your waistline while remaining completely satisfying. Add a side salad of tender-crisp butter lettuce leaves dressed lightly with a classic French vinaigrette and you have a meal fit for any table in the French countryside.
Ingredients
Uncooked lean trimmed boneless chuck steak- 3 pound(s), patted dry and cut into 1-inch pieces
- Kosher salt
- 2 tsp, divided, or more to taste
- Black pepper
- 1 tsp, or more to taste
- Olive oil
- 2 Tbsp, divided
- Uncooked onion
- 1 small, chopped
- Garlic
- 4 clove(s), chopped
- All-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp
- Tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp
- Red wine
- 25⅜ fl oz, preferably Burgundy (one 750 ml bottle)
- Reduced sodium beef broth
- 1 cup(s), plus more if needed
- Fresh thyme
- 2 sprig(s)
- Bay leaf
- 1 leaf/leaves
- Uncooked onion
- 10 oz, pearl variety
- Carrots
- 9 medium, peeled, cut in thirds (about 3 cups)
- Cremini mushroom
- 20 oz, trimmed, quartered
- Fresh parsley
- ½ cup(s), flat leaf-variety, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Season beef with 11⁄2 tsp salt and black pepper. Heat large Dutch oven over high. Add 1 tbsp oil and, working in 2 or 3 batches, cook beef, turning occasionally, until deeply browned on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes per batch. Transfer beef to plate between batches and reduce heat if browned bits on bottom of pot begin to burn.
- Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 tbsp oil to pot. Add white onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste starts to darken, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pot with wooden spoon. Return beef to pot. Add broth, thyme, bay leaf, and remaining 1⁄2 tsp salt and return to boil. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook in oven for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, bring large saucepan of water to boil. Add pearl onions and cook for 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Peel and trim onions, leaving root end intact to help onions stay whole.
- After stew has cooked for 1 hour, stir in pearl onions, carrots, and mushrooms. Cover, return to oven, and cook for 30 minutes more. Uncover partially and cook for another 30 minutes. Stir stew, return to oven, and cook, uncovered, until meat and vegetables are tender and sauce is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes more. Discard thyme and bay leaf. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley just before serving.
- Serving size: 1 rounded cup