Lemony Beer and Rosemary Beef Stew

Wintertime is stew time.  A good stew warms you in places a roaring fire, or even a snifter of Armagnac can’t reach. Although, Armagnac is a step in the right direction.

I am an unapologetic carnivore and while I do love seafood, chicken and pork, when it comes to stew, my taste buds beg for beef.

Beef stew is boring you say?  Ok, let’s clear away the childhood visions of bland brown gravy and meat and throw in some flavors your stunted imagination may not think of when you think of stew.  Beer.  Rosemary. Lemon. Roaring fire. Red wine. Flaming libido.

Been married a while?  Sorry, guess I shouldn’t have mentioned flaming libido.  Didn’t mean to make you cry.  Have another brandy. There are better things in life than ….no, hell no, there are no better things in life!  But this stew comes close. You’re stuck, I can tell. Better leave the bottle.  Aside from this delightful recipe, brandy is the only consolation I can offer.

But back to stew.  By the way, why do we call it beef when the meat comes from cattle?  Why do we call it pork when the meat comes from pigs?  Blame it on the Normans who conquered Britain in 1066 and brought the French language to the English court.  French words like boeuf and porc took over.  French was the language of English royalty and the upper classes and English was the language of the peasantry until about 1450.  Even today the motto of the English Monarch is in French, “Dieu et Mon Droit.” God and My Right.

Did I say, ‘back to stew?”  Well, this time I really mean it!

Lemony Beer and Rosemary Beef Stew

3 lbs Natural Chuck roast, cut into 11/2 inch cubes

2 Cups beef stock (I use Bovril and water to make the stock)

4 Carrots, peeled and cut on the bias

12 Button mushrooms quartered (I use the brown ones)

1 Can tomato paste

1 16oz bottle of beer (I use English ale, and have also used Irish stout, but any beer will do)

1 Large onion, diced

9 Cloves garlic, smashed, hard ends removed

2 Large sprigs rosemary

Juice of one fresh lemon (I also added the lemon rind.  Use a regular cheese grater...saves time)

Salt and pepper as desired.

Olive oil for braising beef and vegetables

Heat oven to 275ºF

Let’s do it!

Add a few squirts of olive oil to a large frying pan and braise the beef in three batches, adding salt and pepper to each batch, as desired. As each batch is braised, toss it into a large bowl.

Use a cup of beef broth to deglaze the pan and pour it over the beef. Let the beef rest while you braise the vegetables, except for the mushrooms.  Use a stew pot to braise the vegetables. About a 3 minute braise.

Put the stew pot on the stove, add the beef, the second cup of beef broth, the mushrooms, the beer, tomato paste, and lemon juice. Stir and bring to a boil.  Toss in the sprigs of rosemary. Don’t bother to pull off the leaves, they’ll come off in the cooking.

Cover the stew pot and slide it into the preheated oven.

I let my stew cook for about 4 hours, but you may not have to wait that long.  When the meat is ‘fall apart tender,’ the dish is ready to please your friends, confound your enemies and rebrand the cold winter as a time of pleasure.

It’s at this point I made mashed potatoes and opened a bottle of dark red Rioja wine.  I let it breathe for 30 seconds before I was overcome by an unrelenting thirst.

Not still thinking about the libido?  Well, I’ve done my job.

Mushy Peas to Warm a Beer Drinker's Heart

Everyone who has ever sat in an English pub…..and by that I mean a REAL English pub, with hand pulled ales, dark wood everywhere, and real Victorian era mirrors, not some make believe abomination in a drive-by mall with faux wood beams and where all the beer is fizzy and cold enough to crack tooth enamel….

So anyway, anyone who has sat in an English pub begins to salivate at the mere sound of the words mushy peas, which is pronounced, by the way, mooshy peas.

I know my well-traveled readers are salivating now!  But, but for the times you’re home-bound, and in my undying quest to bring you sights, sounds, and especially food from mother England, I offer this simple, handy, mouthwatering recipe for the fabulously green concoction I just mentioned.

Now, just relax, pour yourself a pint of England’s finest…but, first a word about English beer.  No, it is not flat.  No, it is not warm.  But, rather than being infused with gaseous waste from a cylinder, English beer or REAL ale is a product of natural fermentation, meaning the amount of fizz is just what mother nature intended.

And as for the temperature, in England pubs, barrels of real beer are kept in the cellar, at a natural temperature of about 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ok, so you’ve poured your cool English brew.  Now what?  Another question for the curious, and by that I mean beer drinkers.  Where do peas come from?

In a few words, peas come from the deep dark time before recorded history.  Evidence points to domestication of Pisum Sativum sometime around 7800 B.C.  Now they’re served all over the world, including China and India. Yeah, but who decided to mooshy the peas?  No idea.  Now, take another sip and let’s get to the heart of good cooking.

Mushy peas (a traditional accompaniment to fish & chips, or meat pies.)

This recipe is part Jamie Oliver and part your author’s scintillatingly delicious interpretation.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 lb bag of frozen peas, cooked according to package directions (and quickly drained, but not dry)

About 10 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

½ medium red onion, finely diced

2 generous pats of unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste (do not go heavy on either)

Put the oil in a medium sized frying pan and bring to medium heat.  Add the peas, mint, and onion.  Stir once or twice and periodically after that.  Allow the mixture to steam until the onions are soft, about five minutes.

Put the pea mixture and butter in a food processor (or use a potato masher) and pulse until the peas are well blended, but not silky smooth.  See photo.

That’s it!  Fry your fish and chips (we call them French fries), or bring your meat pie out of the oven and add a big spoonful of mushy peas on the side.  Hey, folks, if you’ve been doing this correctly, it’s time for another pint as you listen to applause from your enthusiastic crowd. 

Cheers!

Note:  Hunting for a good recipe for meat pies?  Try my version of steak and ale pie:  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4277603850536693845#editor/target=post;postID=2562771961949503113;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname