Beef Stew Provencal

Here in Austin, the weather is not very holiday-ish. It's cold and raining and so gray as to be what I like to call gloomyGus. (That's how I see it in my head. One word; intercap.)

The bone-chilling damp makes me wish that I would walk in the house and find a warm fire with a bowl of steaming stew on a small table next to a squishy chair... like when poor Jane Eyre finally arrives at Thornfield Hall, and Mrs. Fairfax is kind to her after her long journey.

Give the unlikelihood of that scenario, I've been taking matters into my own hands and making dino-chow comfort food. And now I'm going to share with you.

Aren't you lucky?!

So... forget what you think know about beef stew... the waterlogged carrots and potatoes, the mushy peas, the thick brown gravy.

Now... imagine thyme-scented meat, tender zucchini, and salty black olives in a red wine-infused broth. Sounds pretty great, right? It's both comforting on a cold evening and good enough to serve to  company.

When I was in college, I subscribed to one of those housewife-y, mail-order cooking school things. Every month, McCall's Cooking School would send me recipe pages I could buy for, like, $9.95 to put into the big-ass binder they gave me for free.
The binder is long gone, but I kept one recipe when I moved out of my college apartment: Beef Stew Provencal. The page has been photocopied several times, and it's stained with drops of red wine from previous batches of stew. I found the wrinkled page again last weekend when I sorted through my cookbook shelf, and I realized that with a little love, Beef Stew Provencal would make an excellent dino-chow recipe. It also freezes well, so make a double batch and sock it away for the next rainy day.

I've given you both the original and the dino-chow versions below. The original is recommend only if you want a treat meal because it includes little potatoes and flour for browning the meat. The dino-chow version is excellent and – because it's Good For Us – is approved for everyday eating. I like that!

Beef Stew Provencal - Dino Version
Makes about 10 servings, approx: 280 calories / 11g fat / 11g carbohydrate / 27g protein NOTE: This works great cut in half. I'm not a fan of those little boiling onions, so I just skipped them.

Ingredients:

3 lbs. boneless beef chuck
salt & pepper
1 leek, washed
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon olive oil
10 small white onions, peeled
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, undrained
5 zucchini (2 lbs)
1 can black olives
chopped parsley

Marinade:
1 orange
1.5 cups dry red wine
1.5 tablespoons dried thyme leaves

Directions:
1. Cut beef into 1.5-inch cubes. Make marinade: Cut strip of orange peel 1 inch wide by 3 inches long. In large bowl, combine orange peel, red wine, and thyme. Mix well. Add beef and toss to coat.

2. Refrigerate, covered, 2-3 hours. Drain well; reserve marinade and peel. Trim leek: cut off root and most of the the dark green.

3. Slice leek into coins, 1/8-inch thick. In large pot or Dutch oven, melt coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add beef cubes in single layer – do not overcrowd. Sprinkle genrously with salt and pepper. Brown beef on all sides in batches. Remove beef to a bowl as it browns. When all meat is done, add leeks, onions, and garlic to drippings. Saute until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove to a bowl. Return beef to pot. Add bay leaves, tomatoes, and marinade.

4. Stir until well combined. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour. Slice zucchini into 1-inch thick rounds. At one hour mark, add onions and leeks to beef.

5. Cook 40 minutes, covered. Add zucchini and olives; cook 20 minutes or until beef and vegetables are tender. Stir occasionally. Serve topped with chopped parsley.

I like to pretend I'm on a cooking show and
arrange my ingredients before I start.

Cut the beef into equal-sized chunks; about 1 to 1.5 inches.

The marinade makes the magic.

Leeks don't come up very often, but along with garlic, they

make the base of the stew rich and savory.Ta-da! Dinner.

If you're feeling indulgent, here's the original version.

Beef Stew Provencal - Original

Ingredients:
3 lbs. boneless beef chuck
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 leek, washed
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 small white onions, peeled
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, undrained
10 small new potatoes
4 zucchini (1.5 lbs)
12 ripe olives
chopped parsley
Marinade:
1 navel orange
1.5 cups dry red wine
1.5 tablespoons dried thyme leaves

Ingredients:
1. Cut beef into 1.5-inch cubes. Make marinade: Cut strip of orange peel 1 inch wide by 3 inches long. In large bowl, combine orange peel, red wine, and thyme. Mix well. Add beef and toss to coat.

2. Refrigerate, covered, 2-3 hours. Drain well; reserve marinade and peel. On waxed papaer, coat beef cubes with flour mixed with 1 tablespoon salt and pepper. Reserve remaining flour mixture. Trim leek: cut off root and most of the the dark green.

3. Slice leek into coins, 1/8-inch thick. In Dutch oven, heat butter and oil over high heat. Add beef cubes in single layer - do not overcrowd. Brown beef on all sides in batches. Remove beef to a bowl as it browns. When all meat is done, add leeks, onions, and garlic to drippings. Saute until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove to a bowl. Return beef to pot. Add bay leaves, tomatoes, and marinade.

4. Stir until well combined. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour. Pare strip around potatoes. Slice zucchini into 1-inch thick rounds. At one hour mark, add onions, leeks, and potatoes to beef.

5. Cook 40 minutes, covered. Add zucchini and olives; cook 20 minutes or until beef and vegetables are tender. Stir the flour into 1/4 cup water until smooth. Stir into the beef. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Stir occasionaly. Serve, topped with chopped parsley.