Beef Stew - Pressure Cooked
A hearty and savory stew adapted from the Beef and Vegetable Casserole recipe in ‘Pressure Cooking The Easy Way: Healthy One-Pot Meals Everyone Will Love’ by Maureen B. Keane and Daniella Chase, Prima Publishing, 1997. Makes a stew in 20 minutes of cooking that tastes like it's been simmering all day on the stove.
Ingredients:
1. 2 tablepoons canola or other vegetable oil
2. 1 large onion, sliced into bite-sized pieces
3. 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped into chunks
4. 1 to 1 1/2 lbs beef stew meet or beef chuck steak, cut into ~ 1 inch pieces
5. 2-3 stalks celery, chopped into bite-sized pieces
6. 2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
7. 3-4 medium Yukon or other firm potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
8. 1 bay leaf
9. 1 teaspoon dried basil
10. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
11. 3 cups beef stock, or 1 quart container of beef broth, preferably low salt
12. 1/2 to 1 cup red wine ( I use an inexpensive Merlot)
13. 1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional) (add these at end)
14. 1 tablepoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/3 cup of water (add at end)
1. Saute the garlic and onion: Heat oil in the pressure cooker and cook chopped garlic and onions over medium-high heat until onions are translucent, about 5-6 minutes.
2. Brown the meat: Add the beef chunks to the onion and garlic and brown meat on all sides.
3. Add other ingredients: Add the other ingredients (except cornstarch and mushrooms) to onions and beef. Stir well, scraping any onion bits down from the side of the cooker.
4. Cook: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, bring the cooker up to high pressure on medium high heat, then turn down heat and cook at high pressure for about 15 to 18 minutes. When cook time has ended, remove cooker from heat and allow the pressure to come down on its own before opening the lid.
5. Thicken the stew: After pressure cooker is opened, add the cornstarch solution to the stew and stir well, then put the pressure cooker back on a burner on medium-low heat and cook until stew is bubbly and slightly thickened. If adding mushrooms to stew, add along with the cornstarch and cook for another 10 minutes until mushrooms are soft.
Makes 4 generous servings of stew that go well with sliced baguette or other crusty bread. Good reheated the next day; since the stew thickens on standing, you may want to add a bit of water when reheating.