Yesterday morning I was thinking about the warmest coziest dinner I could possibly make, and I knew I wanted beef stew over mashed potatoes. Would you like a recipe for the warmest coziest dinner? Here you go.
Coat the bottom of your Instant Pot with olive oil and turn it to sauté mode. While the oil heats, put about 3 tablespoons of flour into a plastic bag, along with a pinch of salt, a half-dozen grinds of black pepper, and a bunch of smoked paprika. Shake it all together and chuck your beef cubes into the bag. (For last night's batch of beef stew, I used 1.3 lbs of cubed stew beef.) Shake the bag some more, making sure that the flour gets into all the places where the beef cubes are stuck together.
If you're using about the same amount of beef I was, tip half of the floury cubes into the hot fat. You need the beef cubes to fit in an uncrowded single layer so they brown instead of steaming; you'll want to work in batches. Chop your veggies while the beef is browning: mince a large onion and two ribs of celery, cut 3 fat carrots into skinny batons about the length of your pinkie finger, and slice up five cloves of garlic. I found that the time required for chopping (with a little help from Joe, who said, "Would you like me to chop the onion so it doesn't irritate your eyes?") allowed me to get both batches of beef cubes browned up and removed to a bowl.
Next I poured in a half-glass of red wine, scraped up the delicious fond, and added a little more oil in which to brown the veggies. Into the pot went the onions, celery, and carrots, but not the garlic. You'll have better stew if your veggies get browned and not just softened, but garlic will burn in the time it takes the other veggies to brown. Once they're most of the way to brown, pitch in the garlic slices.
Okay, this is the weird part. Nigella Lawson's How To Eat, the cookbook that taught me to be confident when I wing it with a stew, has a recipe for a beef stew with anchovies. I came across this recipe in early 1999, when I thought anchovies were nothing more than acts of violence against innocent pizzas, so it was a leap of faith for me to try the recipe. But she's right: if you sauté a finely chopped anchovy or three, the bits disappear into the hot fat, leaving only a subtle and pleasing bass note that goes beautifully with beef. Anchovies are the reason why people like Worcestershire sauce. Anchovies are OUR FRIENDS (I mean, okay, I know we don't usually eat our friends but there's a first time for everything), and I have kept them in my kitchen ever since. If you have whole anchovies, chop a few of them very finely and add them with the onions. If you have anchovy paste (worth keeping on hand), add a squeeze after the vegetables are browned.
But last night I couldn't find any anchovies, and I was bummed until it dawned on me that fish sauce would probably work, since anchovies are also the reason that Thai food tastes like Thai food. I tipped in about a tablespoonful and immediately regretted it. "YOU BROKE THE BEEF STEW," exclaimed my inner worrywart as she smelled the steaming fish sauce. I reminded myself that fish sauce always smells like Rancid Death Potion to my unsophisticated nose, but also it always seems to work out in the end.
This is also where I poured in a generous glass of wine, and about 3 tablespoons of tomato paste, and a little bit of water (like maybe a half-cup, or maybe a little more). If I'd had good beef broth on hand I would have used a cup or two of that instead of a bit of water, but (a) I did not have any, and (b) stews are flexible, so flexible, and (c) anchovies are a powerful but subtle flavor booster so I wasn't worried about having a bland stew. I dumped the beef cubes back into the pot along with the liquid that had accumulated in their dish while they waited for me.
At this point all you have to do is seal up your Instant Pot and put it on the Meat/Stew setting for 30 minutes.
While the Instant Pot magic is happening, choose your starch and set your table. I wound up serving the stew over buttered egg noodles because I didn't really want to make mashed potatoes at that point. I served this meal to joyous shouts of acclaim, so I recommend it for your consideration the next time you are searching for a cozy winter dinner.
Be sure to tell me whether you like the anchovies!
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