Beef Stew with Red Wine Sauce
With so little time in the day for all that must be accomplished, it seems unfair to return home to the immediate task of creating a meal. If dinner is a war against the clock that must be fought each night, it makes sense to be like a general and develop a battle plan. To save time, why not take advantage of fresh, precut vegetables in the produce department, pair them up with chicken, meat or fish, pour over Heinen’s Simmering Sauces and let the stove do all the work? You’ll be sitting down to a delicious dinner in no time flat. So, here’s the plan.
There’s nothing like a stew in the colder months and, while most stews utilize the tougher chuck or blade roast (which requires at least an hour simmer on the stove), the stew featured here is ready to eat in 45 minutes, start to finish, thanks to the more tender sirloin steak. Your Heinen’s butcher will be happy to cut the steak into bite-sized chunks so that all you have to do is add a package of fresh, ready-cut stew vegetables from the produce section and a jar of Heinen’s Red Wine Simmer sauce. To flavor this stew to perfection, I like to save time and pack a flavor punch by using a seasoning blend like Two Brothers Steak and Burger Seasoning. Would you rather grab 3 or 4 different jars of seasoning or just one? I think we know the answer to that question. Now you’re getting the hang of this.
Dinner victorious.
Beef Stew with Red Wine Sauce
Start to finish: 45 minutes
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Dinner can be simple and delicious. Just take advantage of precut vegetables and blended seasonings and sauces straight from the jar. Using a seasoning like Two Brothers Steak and Burger Seasoning, which contains salt, pepper, garlic, onion, basil, oregano and thyme, means you only use one jar of spice instead of multiples. Likewise, using a sauce like the Red Wine Simmering Sauce here adds complexity with just one ingredient instead of adding multiple products to this beef stew, allowing you to spend quality time with your family instead of your stove.
It’s that easy: The trick to making delish stew is in the first step; browning the meat. It’s important to get a good sear on the meat so that it browns and crisps a little bit. If you add all the meat to the hot pan at once, the excess meat will exude too much juice and simmer in liquid and not brown. Adding the meat in batches reduces the chance that all those juices will overwhelm the heat source and it will be able to stay hot enough to get a good sear on the meat. Once you add the simmering sauce and tomatoes all the flavorful brown bits on the bottom of the pan will incorporate into the sauce, making your stew delectable.
Serves 4 to 6
Beef Stew with Red Wine Sauce
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
- 1 1/2-lbs beef sirloin, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Two Brothers Steak and Burger Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- One 1-lb package Heinen’s Stew Starter Kit (red skin potatoes, celery, carrot, onion)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper
- One 16-oz jar Heinen’s Red Wine Simmer Sauce
- One 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
- Chopped parsley as garnish
Instructions
Season the stew meat with the Two Brothers Steak and Burger Seasoning.
Heat a 3-quart pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers add half the meat to the pan and cook without moving it for about 3 minutes or until it browns. Stir in the remaining meat and cook again for 3 minutes or until it begins to brown. Stir and cook another 3 minutes. The bottom of the pan should begin to brown but not blacken. Reduce the heat if it blackens in spots.
Add the vegetables, salt and a few grinds of pepper, simmering sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low so that the stew just simmers for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Add the peas to the stew and taste for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper to taste. Serve in heated bowls and garnish with the parsley.
Extra Hungry? How about adding Texas Toast Garlic Bread?
In the glass: Any of your favorite red bottles can work here. We had an open bottle of Manyana Tempranillo and it was just right, but you could also try a Malbec or Merlot.
