Sunday, October 10, 2021

Ina Garten's Unforgettable Beef Stew and Air Fryer Eggplant Fries

Yesterday I picked up stew beef. I was going to try a different recipe, but why stray from a recipe that always works.


Ingredients-
1 pound good-quality beef chuck, cubed into ~ 1 ½" sized pieces
1 1/2 cups of good red wine
2 bay leaves 
1 cup flour  
kosher salt 
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil 
1 yellow onion, chopped 
2 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1 ½" chunks
1/2 lb small potatoes, halved or quartered
1 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp chopped dried rosemary
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

Method-

The night before, or a couple of hours before you start...
Place the beef in a bowl with red wine and bay leaves.
Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Brown the Beef
The next day, preheat the oven to 300° F.
In a medium-sized bowl, add the flour,  1/2 tbsp salt, and pepper, and combine.
Lift the beef out of the marinade with a slotted spoon, discard the bay leaves, saving the marinade.
In batches, dredge the cubes of beef in the flour mix before shaking off the excess.
Heat a glug of olive oil in a large pot and brown half the beef over medium heat for 5 - 7 minutes, turning to brown evenly. See the notes above.
Place the seared beef in a bowl and continue to brown the remaining beef, adding oil as necessary. (If the beef is very lean, you'll need more oil.) 
Remove the beef and place it in a bowl.

Prep the Veggies
In the Dutch oven, heat another glug of oil before adding the onions, carrots, and potatoes.
Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Add the vegetables to the bowl with the beef.
Finish the Soup
Add the reserved marinade to the empty Dutch oven and cook over high heat to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon 
Add the stock, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. 
Add the meat and vegetables, including all the juices to the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat on top of the stove. 
Cover the pot and place it in the oven to bake it for about 2 hours, or until all of the meat and vegetables are tender, stirring once during cooking.
If the stew is boiling rather than simmering, lower the heat to 250 or 275° F.


And those Eggplant Fries. We went out to dinner with my sister and Ralph last night and of course she gave me eggplant. At dinner, Ralph said to make Air Fryer Eggplant Fries


I found this recipe on Return To The Kitchen
Ingredients1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese1/2 tsp garlic powder1/2 tsp pepper3 eggs3 tbsp water1 eggplant1/4 cup all-purpose flourcooking spray
InstructionsPrepare your breading station. In one bowl, combine breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic salt, and pepper. Stir well. In a second bowl, combine eggs and water and whisk well.Peel eggplant (if desired) and then slice into "fries". Try to keep size uniform so they cook evenly.Before beginning breading, preheat your air fryer. Set it to 375 degrees for 10 minutes.Place all eggplant fries in a large bowl and add flour. Toss to coat.Then, dip the eggplant into egg then breadcrumb mixture. Repeat until all fries are breaded.Depending on the size of your air fryer these may need to be done in 2-3 batches. After the air fryer is preheated place a single layer of eggplant fries in the air fryer. Spray with cooking spray over the fries to help them get more crispy.Cook at 375 degrees for 6 minutes or until golden brown.Remove from the air fryer and sprinkle lightly with parmesan cheese if desired.Serve with pasta sauce for dipping or enjoy plain.

No comments: