Beef Stew with Mushrooms (Crock Pot)

By SaraKearney

Adapted from Old Fashioned Beef Stew with Mushrooms (680 calories per serving)

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 lb beef chuck, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper or to taste
• 4 regular carrots, coarsely chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 4 stalks of celery, coarsely chopped, into 1 inch pieces
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 leek, coarsely chopped
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup hearty red wine, such as shiraz
• 2 32 oz packages of beef stock
• 1/4 tsp Herbe de Provence
• 2 sprigs thyme or 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks,
• 1 lb mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, chanterelle, oyster and/or stemmed shiitake), quartered
• 1/4 lb green beans, coarsely chopped into 1 inch pieces
• salt to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• Roux
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Garnish
• chopped fresh parsley, for topping

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 320mins

Preparation

Step 1

Trim any gristle or large pieces of fat from the beef and cut the beef into 1 inch cubes.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat.
Season the beef with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add to the pan in batches and cook, turning and adding more oil as needed, until browned all over, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the beef and juices to a crock pot.
Add the carrot, celery, onion, leek, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, wine, beef stock, herbe de Provence, thyme sprigs (or bay leaves) and potatoes. Cook on high for 1 hour and on low for 3 hours, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon.
Add the green beans about 1 hour before serving and stir them into the stew.
Add the mushrooms about ¼ of an hour before serving and stir them into the stew.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux, then let it bubble (do not brown), 2 minutes. Whisk in 2 cups of the cooking liquid from the crock pot. Stir the roux into the crock pot, stirring often, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Remove the thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper; sprinkle with parsley.