The calendar may say March 2nd, and much as I long to start delving into spring full-time, the reality is that it's still pretty chilly a lot of the time and we're all sorta still wanting warm comforting dinners. And if you're looking for a warm one-pot satisfying meal, you can do no better than this hearty and delicious beef stew enhanced with the flavor of red wine. I just know it's going to become one of your go-to favorites!

Picture this:  you walk into the house around 6:00 p.m., exhausted from the day, everyone (including you) is starving and you open up the fridge to find a big pot of this stew just sitting there ready to be heated up in a few minutes and consumed! It's enough to achieve you super-hero status! Your eaters will be singing your praises--you may even start singing yourself--although some people may tell you to stop. That's what usually happens in my house! And all you have to do is a little advance planning by cooking this a couple of days before. Sure you can make this the same day and eat it but this, like pretty much all stews, only improves with a chilling day or two in the refrigerator, so plan ahead when you have some time and put this all together for at least one easy weeknight meal with plenty of leftovers (unless you're feeding an army or lots of teenage boys, and then all bets are off!) 

The meat is fall-off-your-fork tender and the carrots and turnips are meltingly perfect (really I could just pick them all out and leave the meat for the others) and the rich red wine sauce will have you licking the bowl (just do it when the kids aren't looking--don't want them developing any bad habits, right?)

On a sort of related note, I've got another stew recipe here on the site:  Autumn Brisket Stew, which I also love. The fact that it's made with cut up brisket makes it a bit more of an expensive choice, so if you're serving this to a large crowd, like for a Sunday dinner or something, I'd probably opt for this recipe instead--just a little bit of helpful fiscal advice!

Classic Red Wine Beef Stew

Makes 12 servings or you can easily cut it in half if that just seems too much for you

Prep Time: 30 minutes: Cook Time: 2 1/2 hours

Ingredients

• 4 pounds stew meat (you can buy it cut up or buy a piece of chuck and cut it into 1 1/2 cubes yourself)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 cup flour

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 pound carrots, peeled and finely chopped (you can do this in the food processor to save time)

• 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

• 2 pounds onions, roughly chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

• 2 cups red wine

• 2 cups chicken broth

• 4 cups beef stock (use the best you can)

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 pounds small new potatoes, unpeeled but cut into large chunks

• 2 pounds purple topped turnips, peeled and cut into large chunks

The Recipe

1.  Season the beef with salt and pepper and roll in the flour. Transfer to a plate.

2.  Place the oil in a large pot and heat till it's almost smoking over medium-high heat. Add as many of the beef cubes that can fit in a single layer and brown them on all sides. You will either have to do this in 2 batches or use a second pot. When meat is all browned, transfer to a plate. Do not wash the pot.

3.  Add the finely chopped carrots and cook over medium high heat for about 10-15 minutes until the carrots begin to brown. Add in the onions and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the onions become soft and translucent. Add a bit more oil if it seems too dry. Dump in the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.

4.  Place the beef back into the pot and add the wine, chicken and beef broth and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cover and cook for 1 hour.

5.  Add the remaining carrots, potatoes and turnips and cook for at least another hour or longer, until the vegetables and meat are both very tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove the bay leaves and serve.

6.  The stew is so much better if made the day or even 2 days ahead and left covered and refrigerated in the pot. This also allows you to skim off any additional fat. You can reheat the stew in the pot over a medium flame for about 20-30 minutes or portion out how much you will eat and reheat in a smaller pot.

7.  Leftovers keep well covered in the refrigerator for several days. Also, I have never frozen this, but I know it would freeze well too for a great make-ahead meal.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from Cooking for Comfort by Marian Burros. I changed a lot about this recipe--subbed in turnips for rutabaga, omitted oregano and thyme, subbed 2 cups of the red wine for chicken broth because I thought it was too heavy on the wine flavor with 4 cups of red wine but if you like it like that, go for it. I also used pre-cut stew meat instead of chuck or bottom rump, because it was on sale and it turned out great.