Down here in the southern climes, we’re heading steadily towards winter and the nights are getting pretty cold. Time to break out the stews!
There really is nothing so comforting as a bowl of piping hot stew, with its meat and vegetables swimming in rich gravy. The trouble is, especially if you’re working full-time, you don’t want to spend hours over the stove cooking it. And, while I have every good intention to set the slow cooker going before work, more often than not I’m in a race against time.
Enter, the pressure cooker – one of the best investments I’ve made this year. You pretty much just bung all your ingredients together in it, fire it up, and let it go… Before you know it, you’ve got a meal you’d swear was cooked long and slow for hours!
This 20 minute Beef Stew recipe, which I found on Williams-Sonoma.com, looked just the ticket and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The meat was succulent, and the red wine gravy was drool-worthy. And, with all the veges thrown in, it ticks the nutrition box too. Enjoy!
Pressure Cooked Beef Stew with Red Wine Gravy
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless stewing beef (I used chuck steak), cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- to taste salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1-1/2 cups red wine
- 1 large yellow or red onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 lbs new potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tbs tomato paste
- 1-1/2 cups beef stock
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1/2 cup frozen peas or beans (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss the beef with the flour, salt and pepper to coat evenly.
- If your electric pressure cooker has a 'brown' setting, use it (otherwise simply put the cooker on a medium high heat). Add the olive oil and warm, then add half the beef and brown on all sides – 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef and transfer to the bowl. NB: Alternatively, you can brown the meat in a separate fry-pan (skillet) if you prefer.
- Add the wine to the pressure cooker (or fry-pan) and bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape up the browned bits. Add the beef, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, frozen peas or beans (if using), potatoes, tomato paste, stock and thyme and stir to combine. Cover and cook on high heat for 20 minutes.
- Take the cooker off the heat and use the quick release method to stop the cooking.
- Serve immediately with a salad or sides.
The purpose for using red wine to create the juicy and tender texture of beef? Correct me if I am wrong. Never use red wine. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Nathanael. Sorry, I’m not quite sure I’m with you – beef cooked in red wine is a classic way of tenderizing meat isn’t it? Beef Bourguignon?
If halving recipe, would you reduce cooking time?
Hi Margaret. I haven’t done it personally, but looking online it seems that for pressure cooking, the time remains the same.