Congraulations to Nancy Latulippe of Ontario, the Grand Prize Winner in Taste of Home's "Comfort Food Favorite" contest!
Her delicious beef stew carries the intense flavors of dried mixed mushrooms and whole baby portobello mushrooms in a rich beef base that includes chunks of chuck roast, chopped carrots and onions, minced garlic and rosemary. Topped with crumbled blue cheese, we think that you'll agree that this beef stew is indeed worthy of the Grand Prize!
We used cauliflower and boletes that we had dried last fall.
Mushroom Beef Stew
32 oz. carton beef broth
1 oz. dried mixed mushrooms
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
2 pounds of boneless beef chuck roast, cubed
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound whole baby portobello mushrooms
5 medium carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Hot cooked egg noodles, optional
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- In a saucepan, bring broth and dried mushrooms to a boil. Remove from heat. Let stand 15-20 minutes or until soft. Use a slotted spoon to remove mushrooms. Finely chop. Strain broth through a fine mesh strainer. Set aside mushrooms and broth.
- In a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour, salt and pepper. Set aside 1 tablespoon for sauce. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, to the remaining flour mixture and shake to coat.
- In a Duch oven, brown beef in oil in batches. Add portobello mushrooms, carrots and onion. Saute until onion is tender. Add garlic, rosemary and rehydrated mushrooms. Cook 1 minute. Stir in reserved 1 tablespoon of flour mixture until blended. Add mushroom broth.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is tender. Cool. Transfer to freezer containers. Freeze for up to months.
- To use frozen stew: Thaw stew in the refrigerator overnight. Place in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water. Gradually stir into pan. Return to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Serve with noodles, if desired. Top with blue cheese.
Recipe provided courtesy of Taste of Home magazine. Find more great recipes at www.tasteofhome.com