Beef with tomato and mushrooms in red wine sauce

A satiating and hearty dish, as well as comforting for those colder days of the year, prepare a beef stew with tomato and mushrooms in red wine sauce! This is a delicious dish that your guests will surely want to repeat and even ask you for the recipe; we'll show you how to make it!

How to prepare beef stew with tomato and mushrooms in red wine?

Before getting down to work with the recipe, we recommend you buy special beef for stew; that is to say, the one that comes in pieces to be prepared in a pot. As it is a stew for which you will need to cut the meat into details, it is advisable to ask the butcher to do it for you. You can also buy prepared beef and cut it into small cubes.

If you are the one who cuts the meat, do it in cubes that have more or less the same thickness. This will allow the cooking to be uniform!

Ingredients

• 400 grams of veal for stew.
• Two carrots.
• One medium onion.
• One leek.
• One garlic.
• A glass of red wine.
• 100 grams of crushed natural tomato. It can be homemade or purchased.
• A glass of meat, chicken, or water broth.
• 200 grams of fresh sliced mushrooms.
• Aromatic herbs.
• 100 grams of flour.
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Extra virgin olive oil.

Elaboration

• Take the meat out of the refrigerator to let it come to room temperature.
• If you do not buy it cut, it is time to take out the knife and cut it into pieces of approximately 20 grams. In addition, you should clean the meat to remove the membranes and pour some cold water to clean it.
• Peel the onion and chop it finely.
• Peel and chop the carrots and leek into small cubes.
• Slice the garlic.
• If you do not use ready-to-serve crushed tomatoes, you will need to use fresh blanched tomatoes; this will allow you to peel them, remove the seeds and grind them in the food processor or with the help of a mortar and pestle.
• Pour olive oil into a pot of sufficient depth.
• When the oil is hot, add the meat, previously seasoned with salt and pepper.
• It is advisable to coat the meat in flour before placing it in the pot.
• When the meat begins to color, remove it from the heat and set it aside.
• In the same pot, poach the onion with the carrot and garlic. You will have to leave it on the fire until the onion begins to take a transparent color and texture.
• Return the meat to the heat and stir.
• Pour in the tomato, stirring constantly.
• Add a glass of red wine and the beef or chicken stock; if you don't have any, you can use a glass of water. If you do not have liquid stock, you can always dissolve a cube in a glass of water.
• Stir so that the ingredients are well integrated.
• Sprinkle the aromatic herbs of your choice on top. Adding a fresh bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary previously washed is advisable.
• Stir and lower the heat until it is low.
• Cover the pot and let it cook for about 90 minutes.
• From time to time, check how the stew is going. If it is drying, add more water or beef broth. It is essential to stir at least every 10 minutes to prevent the meat and other ingredients from sticking to the bottom.
• While the stew is on fire, slice the mushrooms if you have bought them in pieces. Wash and dry the mushrooms with absorbent kitchen paper.
• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the mushrooms lightly.
• Add the mushrooms when the stew has been on the heat for an hour.
• When the time has elapsed, remove from the heat and serve the guests.

Tips for a good stew

Cooking time depends on the type of meat you have purchased. Keep in mind that some cuts take longer to cook than others, so the 90 minutes may be reduced or extended a bit; to do this, poke the meat with a toothpick to see if it is done and remove it from the heat. Also, remember that the meat must be cut into pieces of more or less the same thickness so that the cooking is uniform; you don't want any undercooked parts!

If the beef stew with tomato and mushrooms is too runny, thicken the mixture. How do you do it? Dissolve a little cornstarch (flour can be used, but it is better to use cornstarch) in a glass of cold water and add it to the stew. Stir so that the broth gets a little thicker.

Finally, did you know that beef stew tastes better the next day? Yes, it does! We recommend that you prepare it the night before or get to work early in the morning. After a few hours, even if you heat it later, the ingredients will have finished settling.

If you are wondering what to serve with this delicious stewed veal stew, we can tell you that doing it alone is a great idea, as it is a very hearty recipe. If you run short and more diners arrive at the table or want to save some for the next day, serve a little rice to the restaurants. Do not forget to accompany it with bread! The wine sauce is perfect for dipping!