BEEF - ZINFANDEL OF BEEF

For 6 to 8 servings

3 to 4 pounds boneless beef stew meat cut into cubes about 1 ½ to 2 inches

Cooking oil

2 cups sliced onions

2/3 cups sliced carrots

5 to 6 cups liquid – all red wine or a mixture such as 1 bottle of wine plus beef stock or broth)

2 or 3 large unpeeled cloves of garlic, smashed

2 cups tomatoes (1 whole unpeeled tomato, cored and chopped, plus canned drained Italian plum tomatoes)

1 imported bay leaf

1 teaspoon thyme

Salt

3 tablespoons and 2 tablespoons softened butter blended to a paste, for the beurre-manié sauce

Browning the meat:  Dry the meat thoroughly with paper towels – damp meat won’t brown.  Film the frying pan with 1/16 inch of oil and set over moderately high heat.  When very hot but not smoking, brown as many pieces of meat as will fit in one layer without crowding.  Turn frequently to brown on all sides – 3 to 5 minutes; transfer the pieces as they are done to the casserole.

Assembling:  Skim all but a spoonful of fat out of the frying pan (if burned, discard all and add fresh oil); turn in the sliced vegetables, stirring and tossing for 3 to 4 minutes to brown lightly before scraping them out over the beef.  Pour a cup of the liquid into the frying pan, swishing and scraping up any coagulated juices, and pour into the casserole.  Add the garlic and 4 more cups of liquid to the casserole; fold in the tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, and salt to taste.  You should have enough liquid almost to cover the beef;  add more if needed.

Ahead-of-time note:  May be prepared a day in advance; cover when cool, and refrigerate.

Stewing the beef 2 ½ to 3 hours or more at 325F.  Bring to the simmer on top of the stove;  cook at the slow simmer either on top of the stove or in the oven, turning and basting the meat serveral times until just fork-tender.  If your casserole is not flameproof, set it in a 425F oven for 10 minutes or so, until the simmer is reached;  then reduce to 350F and start timing.

Finishing the stew:  Pour the contents of the casseroles into a colander set over a saucepan;  wash out the casserole and return the pieces of beef to it.  Press juices out of the residue in the colander into the saucepan;  degrease the cooking liquid and taste very carefully for seasoning.  You should have about 3 cups.  Boil it down rapidly if its flavor needs concentrating; remove from heat.

Traditional beurre-manié sauce:  Remove the sauce from heat, whisk in the butter-flour paste, and when thoroughly absorbed, bring briefly to the boil and the sauce will thicken – if not thick enough, repeat the process with, say, ½ tablespoon each of flour and butter.

Ahead-of-time note:  Let cool, cover, and refrigerate.  Shortly before serving, bring to the simmer, gently folding for several minutes until well heated through.

MY NOTE:  (1) I used 5 pounds of beef and 4 cups of red wine (2) I have used Zinfandel, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot and it was good.  Buy a good bottle for this.  (3) I used about 3 cups of St. Marzanos whole peeled canned tomatoes. 

From The Way To Cook by Julia Child.