Beef Stew Both Ways

It’s spring. No, it’s not; it’s still winter. It’s warm and I’m wearing a light jacket. Oh, it’s going to be cold this week, let me unpack my winter coat again.

Mother Nature has been playing with us here in New York City. One day, it’s warm enough to walk around without a jacket, the next day my neck is so cold because I didn’t carry my scarf with me. The good thing about this beef stew is that for warmer weather, you can lighten it up by skipping the potatoes and adding more broth so it’s more liquid than sauce-y. If it’s cold outside and you want something heartier, serve this with potatoes, pasta, bread or rice and you got yourself a heavy meal.

I prefer the lighter version served with a few jigs of Tabasco sauce for a little kick. In either version, you mix all the ingredients together and simmer. You don’t even need your silly crockpot to replicate them.

Ingredients:
oil
1 pound of stewing beef, cubed
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 white onion, chopped
3 sprigs of thyme
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large can of whole tomatoes
vegetable broth
salt, pepper
1 can of corn kernels, drained
a handful of parsley, roughly chopped

1. In a large heated Dutch oven, add some oil. When hot enough, brown beef cubes by cooking and stirring occasionally until most of it has changed color.
2. Add garlic, onions and thyme and sauté with the beef. Add carrots, plus the whole tomatoes with its juice and enough vegetable broth for most of the beef to be submerged. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in low fire for 30 minutes.
3. When beef cubes are tender enough that the meat gives with a soft prod of a fork, add corn kernels and parsley. Cook for another 10 minutes just to make sure corn is well-combined with the rest of the stew. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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