I love a great stew, can be made ahead, can be slow cooked in the oven or crockpot. I have never used an InstaPot but I assume it can handle the challenge. Nightshade-free cooking is my latest area of culinary experimentation and a move towards good health. Click nightshade free recipes in the Category link of this blog if you are curious. Like all stews you are likely using an inexpensive cut of meat, slow cooking and always a treat served with a crusty toasted sourdough baguette for that savory umami sauce or served sliced and poured over cooked and hot wide egg noodles, especially on a cold day....as in San Francisco in July (ha ha).
3 lb. boneless beef chuck roast
1 tea. kosher salt
1 tea. fresh cracked black pepper
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large yam, peeled and cut into chunks
3 carrots, unpeeled, chopped
10 cremini mushrooms, quartered
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1/3 cup Balsamic vinegar, good quality
2 Tbl. whole grain mustard
1 Tbl. dark brown sugar
2 tea. dried thyme
2 tea. dry bouillon
2 cups beef broth, or a blend of broth and white wine
3 Tbl. plain flour
3 Tbl. fresh chopped parsley to serve
Lightly trim off excess fat on the exterior of chuck roast and discard. Coat trimmed roast with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or cast iron pan and brown meat on all sides. Place in your oven proof baking dish or crock pot.
Lightly brown using th remaining meat juices onion, yam, carrots and mushrooms in separate batches, adding olive oil as needed. This process adds oodles of flavor. Add browned veggies to beef roast.
Add remaining ingredients: garlic, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, thyme, bouillon, broth/wine and flour.
Cook in covered crock pot on medium heat for four hours; or seal the over proof dish with aluminum foil and bake in a 325-degree oven for 4 hours. You need this amount of time for the collagen in the meat to breakdown and become fork tender. Increasing the temperature will not speed up the breakdown process.
Season with salt/pepper to taste, serve with hunks of toasted sourdough baguette to sop of the juices. Also yummy poured over hot cooked wide ribbons of pasta.
