French Onion Beef Stew

Day two of Hello Fresh recipes. It's a bit warm today for stew, but it's what was on the menu so I went with it. 

This recipe was labeled "difficult" and I guess if you're new to cooking it can be. But frankly, stews (and soups) are among the easiest dishes to prepare. 

I do not recommend salting as much as it says to salt in every layer. I only salted the onions to help them caramelize. I didn't salt the meat and didn't salt at every stage they suggest. At the end of cooking, I tasted and it was plenty salty. 

The "croutons" of this dish were weird. The instructions don't say anything about toasting them before you put the cheese on them and stick them under the oven. I wish I had toasted them. They were flimsy and a bit soggy. Which may be what they're going for with French onion soup stew, but I wanted them crunchier. 

Overall, this was a three star meal for me. My stew is better. What I did like is that all the ingredients were sorted and measured so I didn't have to buy an entire bottle of thyme.

French Onion Beef Stew

Recipe from Hello Fresh

Serves 2

• 1 lb beef for braising
• 2 onions, sliced
• 12 oz potatoes (Yukon gold are good for this)
• 2 large carrots, sliced at a diagonal
• 1 T flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 5 c beef stock
• 2 demi baguettes
• 4 slices swiss cheese

Halve, peel, and thinly slice onions. 

Dice potatoes into 1-inch pieces. 

Trim, peel, and cut carrots on a diagonal into 1-inch-thick pieces.

 In a medium bowl, combine beef, flour, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to coat. 

Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add coated beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to bowl used for seasoning.

Melt 4 TBSP butter in pot used for beef over medium heat. Add onions and 1⁄4 cup water; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and softened, 8-10 minutes.

TIP: Be sure to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot as onions cook! 

Add garlic powder, thyme, 2 tsp sugar and a splash of water; cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 2-3 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.

Add beef, potatoes, and carrots to pot with onions. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Add Worcestershire sauce, 5 cups beef stock. Stir to combine.

Bring stew to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium low. [JW note: I did not cover mine. It felt like too much liquid for only 45 minutes of cooking. Uncovered worked perfectly.] 

Cook until beef is cooked through and veggies are tender, stirring halfway through, 40-45 minutes. 

While stew cooks, adjust oven rack to top position; heat broiler to high. 

Cut each baguette crosswise into 8 rounds for a total of 16 rounds. Cut Swiss cheese slices into 4 squares each for a total of 16 squares. Spread out baguette slices on a baking sheet; top each with one cheese square. 

Broil toasts on top rack until cheese has melted and is lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. TIP: The broiler is a powerful tool! Keep an eye on the toasts to prevent burning.

 Serve family style or divide stew between bowls and top with toasts (or serve on the side).