Beef stew is a hearty dish made with chunks of beef and vegetables, cooked slowly to thicken the broth and blend flavors. Potatoes are a staple, but other ingredients like beans and tomatoes can be added. Leftovers can be used, and it’s popular to serve in a bread bowl.
Beef stew is a hearty dish that is made with large cuts of vegetables and chunks of beef. Cooked to a thicker texture than most soups, it makes for a simple yet filling meal that’s ideal for cold weather or rainy days. It is not unusual for this stew to cook slowly over several hours, allowing the broth to thicken and allowing time for the flavors of all the ingredients to blend.
One of the features that tends to distinguish beef stew from vegetable soup is that the ingredients are cut into larger chunks for the stew. Potatoes are a staple in this stew, and they help provide some of the starch that helps thicken the broth so it sticks to all the chunky vegetables. The most simplistic recipe calls for nothing more than chunks of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, and English peas. However, there is a wide variety of ingredients used in different beef stew recipes.
Sometimes beans are added to beef stew to add another element of texture and color. Tomato chunks can also be included along with the potatoes and carrots. It’s not unusual for green beans to even make their way into a simmering pot of beef stew in some areas of the world.
One of the benefits of beef stew is that it can be made using leftovers. By combining various vegetables in the pot and using the remains of a roast beef to provide a meaty texture and flavor to the dish, efficient use can be made of any leftover food that could not reasonably be served in its original presentation once again. Combining the ingredients into a thickened stew and serving it alongside chunks of bread and a small salad creates a meal that doesn’t feel like it’s leftovers but something new.
One of the most popular ways to enjoy beef stew at a restaurant is to order the stew in a bread bowl. A bread bowl is simply a large rounded loaf that has a thick crust. The top area of the loaf is cut open and a section of the inside is removed to create an edible bowl. The top crust and the section removed to create the bowl can be eaten alongside the stew. As the stew slowly permeates the body of the bread bowl, the section can be torn apart and eaten.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
