Beef Stew

This version of beef stew, or in some places known as carne de panela, uses dry red wine and was inspired by a French dish called Boeuf Bourguignon. In this recipe I cook part of it on the hob and finish it in the oven, so if you want to make it using only the hob, I recommend using a thick-bottomed pan and cooking over a low heat for 2-3 hours, which is why quite a lot of water is used. I have never tried it in a pressure cooker because I don’t use one.

Ingredients

• 500g stewing beef (coxão mole in Brazil?)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 carrots in rounds or half-moons
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 100g mushrooms cut to the same size as the carrots
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• Thyme on the sprig or herbs of your choice such as bay leaf also works
• Olive oil or oil of your choice
• 1/2 glass of dry red wine
• 2L beef stock, already hot (you can use the stock cube of your choice + 2L of water)

Instructions

1. Rub the pieces of beef, already in roughly 2x2cm cubes, with olive oil

2. In a very hot pan, brown the pieces of beef and then set aside together with the liquid released

3. In the same pan, add approximately 2 tbsp of olive oil and fry the mushrooms until they start to brown, set aside

4. In the same pan, add more olive oil if necessary, then fry the onion, garlic and celery until they are soft

5. Add the carrots and fry for a further 3 minutes and then add the red wine, wait for it to boil

6. Add the beef with whatever liquid is in the container and the beef stock

7. Place in a low oven (150°C) for 2 hours and after this time, check whether enough of the liquids have evaporated for the beef to be soft and juicy

8. If you think it is already tender, add the mushrooms and leave for a further 20 minutes, adjust the salt and black pepper if that is to your taste

9. Serve with mashed potatoes or boiled/roasted potatoes in their skins

10. Can be frozen for up to 4 months; in the fridge, 3 days including the day of cooking