Beef Stew with Sherry Sauce, and Winter Days in Valencia
Beef stew with sherry sauce is not the recipe I would have wanted to post/make, but climate made me. Where is Spring? We eagerly received it a month ago, soon after confinement was mandated, but the weather keeps telling us it’s not time for warm temperatures yet. In a way, it could be a good thing, as I would personally rather be watching a gray day outside than a sunny one, given the circumstances that keeps us indoors.
Beef stew with sherry sauce is a recipe I wanted to post last January, but for one reason or another I didn’t. These days we are seeing more and more people spending time in the kitchen, trying new recipes or simply spending more time improving the ones they used to make. Families are dining together, even cooking together. So even if the weather is gray and dreary, at least in these parts of the world, many positives come out of it.
Carlos Ros Library
Beef stew with sherry sauce is one of my go-to winter recipes, and it was even more so when Matthew was in college, because it’s such a good recipe to make in a large batch and freeze in smaller portions. When Matthew came home every few weeks, he would go back to college with a small load of homemade frozen meals. This is also one of the recipes I made before I traveled to Valencia and Marrakech last January, for the family members that were staying at home. I thought I share some photos of the Valencia part of that trip, which included a number of interviews related to the recent publication of my book Yo fui el primero (check here if you’d like to know more about the book, and here for the Marrakech part of the trip).
These days, the large batch doesn’t last for more than one meal and maybe some small leftovers for lunch, as there are more (and bigger) mouths to feed. My mom used to make a very similar stew, to which she also added potatoes, and made it more soupy. That’s one of the comfort food dishes of my childhood, and I am sure this beef stew with sherry sauce will be one my children remember as they grow up and older: comfort food from their childhood.
It’s worth noting that, because the beef will be slow cooked for a few hours, it will become very tender, so you can use a tougher cut of meat like bottom round, or eye of round. You won’t even need a knife to cut it, after a few hours cooking, the meat is so tender it breaks, and the sherry wine gives the sauce an extra layer of flavor. This recipe is also available on the the feedfeed website, where you can also find amazingly good recipes from other bloggers and cooks. Go check it out! It’s a wonderful resource.
In the meantime, stay home, stay safe, and keep cooking!
BEEF STEW WITH SHERRY SAUCE
Estofado de Ternera con Salsa de Jerez
Ingredients:
3 pounds boneless beef bottom round or beef eye of round, cut into about 1-inch pieces
4 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 or 6 large carrots, cut into 2/3 to 1-inch chunks
1 cup sherry wine
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Season the beef generously with salt and freshly ground pepper.
In a large cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add about half of the beef. Cook, over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the browned beef to a plate and cook the remaining meat. Transfer it to the large plate.
Add the carrots to the casserole and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the diced onions and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent. Transfer the vegetables to a plate.
Return the meat to the casserole, add the sherry and simmer until the alcohol has evaporated, 5 or 6 minutes. Add the stock and the bay leaves, place the lid on the casserole to cover tightly, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 2 hours.
Add the vegetables to the casserole, adjust the seasoning, cover tightly and cook for about 30 more minutes, or until the beef is very tender. Uncover and cook for an extra 15 minutes so the sauce reduces and thickens a bit.
You can serve with steamed potatoes (or like we do, with baguette bread).
