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Beef Stew with Oven Baked Polenta

  • November 9, 2020

Although we’ve had warm, nearly 80-degree days here in New Jersey recently, it’s most unusual for this time of year. Cold weather in November is as predictable as election results on the first Tuesday of the month (oh wait………. well, let’s not go there).

And when the down comforter comes out, and the fireplace kicks in, so does my need for comfort food. One of my favorite meals to make (and eat) when the temperature drops, is this beef stew. You may like potatoes in your beef stew, and if so, feel free to add them. But I prefer mine served over creamy, cheesy, soft polenta. And this polenta doesn’t require stirring over a stove for an hour since you make it in the oven, stirring only once every twenty minutes. If you prefer, you can also serve the stew over mashed potatoes, buttered noodles or rice.

Another reason I omit potatoes from beef stew (aside from the fact that reheated potatoes never taste that good) is because I like to set aside some of the beef stew (before the addition of peas and carrots) to use in another recipe, one that I’ll write about in an upcoming blog post. Without divulging that recipe right now, suffice it to say that it’s worth making this beef stew just to have the leftovers. I know you’ll thank me for it later. For now, the beef stew and polenta is pretty darn comforting too.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

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Beef Stew with Oven Baked Polenta
Author: 
Serves: 4-6 servings
 
Ingredients
  • FOR THE BEEF STEW:
  • 2½ - 3 lbs beef cubes
  • flour for dusting
  • salt and pepper to season the meat
  • ¼ cup olive oil, or more as needed to brown the cubes
  • one large onion, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup canned cherry tomatoes, (or crushed tomatoes if you can't find the cherry tomatoes)
  • salt, pepper
  • 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, minced
  • 2 T. minced fresh sage
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 or 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 squirt of "kitchen bouquet" (if you can find it - it helps make everything a richer brown color)
  • FOR THE OVEN BAKED POLENTA:
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. If the beef cubes are large, cut them into smaller pieces, about ½" to ¾."
  2. Dust the cubes with flour, salt and pepper.
  3. Saute the cubes in the olive oil, in one layer, repeating as necessary, and turning on each side until browned,
  4. Remove the beef cubes from the pot, add more olive oil, if needed, and cook the onions over low heat until translucent.
  5. Add the garlic cloves and cook for another couple of minutes
  6. Put the beef cubes back into the pan, and pour in the red wine.
  7. Let it cook for a minute, then add the canned tomatoes, beef broth and water, and season with salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary and sage.
  8. Place the lid on the pot and place in the oven at 325 degrees for 2 - 3 hours, or until the meat is fork tender.
  9. Place the frozen peas in the pot about ½ hour before removing it from oven.
  10. Boil the sliced carrots in water and when nearly done, remove the carrots from the water and add to the beef stew in the oven, stirring to blend everything,
  11. If you can find "Kitchen Bouquet," add about 1 teaspoon to the pot.
  12. It will give it a rich, brown color.
  13. If the liquid in the beef stew is not thick enough, remove the cover, and cook on top of the stove for a bit, until some of the liquid has evaporated and thickened.
  14. Serve over polenta, noodles or mashed potatoes.
  15. FOR THE POLENTA:
  16. Whisk together the cornmeal, milk, water and salt.
  17. Place in the oven, uncovered, with the beef stew during its last hour of cooking.
  18. Whisk or sttir every 20 minutes.
  19. If it looks like it needs more liquid, add more water or milk.
  20. After an hour, it should be thickened enough. It will thicken some more when you add the cheese.
  21. If it's still not thickened enough, return to the oven for another 20 minutes,
  22. Add the butter and stir.
  23. Remove from the heat, and stir in the parmesan cheese.
  24. Serve with the beef stew.
 

Mushroom Beef Barley Soup

  • March 29, 2019

Although the calendar says Spring, there’s still a nip in the air most days, and it will be a while before we in the Northeast U.S. can reliably leave the house without wearing a jacket or sweater. So for those days in between seasons, when it can still feel a bit chilly, this mushroom beef barley soup is like a warm hug at the dinner table. You can make this without the beef, but I found it an ideal way to use up a small bit of leftover pot roast I had made a couple of days earlier. It was only a couple of ounces, but when shredded and added to the soup, it added a real depth of flavor.

Use any kind of mushrooms you want – from supermarket white button mushrooms to shiitake. I used baby portobello mushrooms. I also added a parmesan rind to the soup as it was simmering, something I do with many kinds of soups.

It takes only about forty five minutes from start to finish to make this satisfying and delicious soup, and with a side salad and a good loaf of bread, dinner is ready.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

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Mushroom Beef Barley Soup
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Ingredients
  • ¼ cup minced carrot
  • ¼ cup minced celery
  • ½ cup minced onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 2 T. butter
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped (I used baby portobello mushrooms, but use any mixture you like)
  • 1 cup pearled barley
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 leftover parmesan cheese rind
  • 1 cup shredded leftover beef stew (optional)
  • salt, pepper
  • minced parsley
Instructions
  1. Sauté the onion, garlic, celery and carrot in the olive oil over low heat, until limp.
  2. Add the butter and mushrooms and sauté a few minutes.
  3. Add the barley, the broths, the water, the parmesan cheese rind, the leftover beef stew plus the salt and pepper.
  4. Cook over low heat for about 30- 45 minutes or until barley is softened and flavors have blended.
  5. Add parsley at the end, and serve with grated pecorino or parmesan cheese.
  6. The barley will swell as the soup cooks and if the soup gets too thick, add more water.
 

 

 

Lidia Bastianich – Beef in Sguazet (Beef Stew)

  • February 25, 2019

Spring may be just around the corner, but we’ve still got a few days left in February, and if March is anything like last year, when we were socked with three major snowstorms, then there’s still plenty of time to make warm, stick-to-the-ribs comfort food, like this recipe from Lidia Bastianich.

Who doesn’t know Lidia, who has written numerous cookbooks and children’s books; whose show on public television has captivated us for years; whose restaurants in New York, Kansas City and Pittsburgh are magnets for lovers of good Italian food; whose food emporium in New York – EATALY – is chock full of any kind of Italian product you could wish for; and Lidia – whose journey as an immigrant to the United States is explained in her heartfelt memoir, “My American Dream”?

Image result for lidia bastianich my american dream

Fans of Lidia in the Princeton, N.J. area were treated to an afternoon with her yesterday, when she agreed to speak at the Italian cultural organization where I’m a board member – Dorothea’s House.

The house was founded more than 100 years ago by the father and husband of Dorothea Van Dyke McLane, a well-to-do Princetonian who ministered to the needs of recent Italian immigrants at the turn of the 20th century. Sadly, Dorothea died during childbirth at age 24, along with her baby daughter. Today Dorothea’s House is a vibrant Italian cultural center, offering Italian language classes for adults and children, monthly programs on Italian topics, an Italian movie series, and scholarships for high school students.

Dorothea's House Exterior

During the afternoon, Lidia spoke to a packed crowd about her early life in Pula, a town in the Istria peninsula that was once part of Italy but was annexed to Yugoslavia after World War II, and now is part of Croatia. The audience listened with rapt attention as she spoke of details about her journey to a new country and consequent life in the U.S., including her rise to success in the restaurant business.

Lidia, whose family fled Communist Yugoslavia, arrived in the United States at twelve years old, after having been interned for two years in a refugee camp in Trieste, Italy. Thanks to Catholic Charities, her family settled in the U.S., where she was able to eventually realize her American dream. She is involved in many philanthropic causes, and agreed to return to Dorothea’s House (she last spoke here in 2003) as a benefit for our scholarship fund.

Lidia exudes warmth and a genuine interest in people, which in turn endears her to anyone who meets her. She was gracious enough to sign books for everyone there, including my granddaughter Aurelia.

Lidia will be doing a book tour to promote her memoir, and if she comes to a city near you, don’t miss the chance to meet her in person. Click here to read about her upcoming appearances.

If you can’t make it to see her in person, there are always her cookbooks to inspire you. This recipe comes from one of her earliest cookbooks, “La Cucina Di Lidia.” For this dish, which is reminiscent of the food of her childhood, Lidia says that paprika and/or sour cream were also added sometimes, a nod to the Eastern European influence of her birthplace. I used bone marrow here, as called for in the recipe, but the dish is delicious even without it. Serve it over polenta as I did, or noodles, or rice.

Click here to find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more).

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Lidia Bastianich - Beef in Sguazet (Beef Stew)
Author: 
Cuisine: Italian/Istrian
Serves: serves 8
 
A hearty stew that marries well with polenta, pasta or risotto,
Ingredients
  • ½ ounce (about 6 pieces) dried porcini mushrooms
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 2 large onions, minced
  • 2 beef marrow bones
  • 3½ pounds stewing beef, cut into 1" cubes
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 2 whole cloves
  • ¼ tsp. salt (I added ¾ tsp.)
  • 1 cup dry red wine, Chianti or Barolo
  • 4 tsps. tomato paste
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • (Lidia also says that in her childhood, paprika and sour cream were sometimes added to this stew, so I added 1½ tsp. sweet paprika, ½ tsp. hot paprika and a good grinding of black pepper)
Instructions
  1. Soften the dried porcini about 30 minutes in a cupful of warm water, trim, and reserve the strained liquid.
  2. In a large skillet, heat the oil and sauté the onions for about 10 minutes over medium-high heat, until transparent.
  3. Add the bones, meat, bay leaves, cloves, salt, pepper and paprika, and sauté 10 minutes longer.
  4. Add the wine, raise the heat, and cook about 10 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half.
  5. Add the tomato paste and the porcini.
  6. Stir slowly and thoroughly, and add the reserved mushroom liquid.
  7. Simmer five minutes.
  8. Add half the chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the sauce thickens, about two hours.
  9. As the mixture cooks, add the remaining stock little by little.
  10. When the sguazet is finished, there should be about 6 cups of thick, chunky sauce.
  11. Serve with pasta, polenta or rice.
 

 

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