Beef and Mushroom Stew

We love all meat yet try to limit our consumption of red meats. So I developed a recipe for beef stew that uses only half a pound of meat. By adding a pound of mushrooms, I boost the umami taste. I sneak in more vegetables, too.

This is a pressure cooker recipe that’s easily adapted to slow cooking. By using the pressure cooker, we get that cooked all day flavor in about half an hour.

Recipe

Beef and Mushroom Stew

Makes 4 one-cup servings

• 1/2 pound beef (chuck or round works) cut into 1” chunks
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced and cleaned
• 1 cup broth + 1 Tbsp (reserved for slurry)
• 2 tsp. Oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 small red or gold potatoes, sliced or cubed
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced or sliced
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

• Preheat cooker pot.
• Add oil.
• Generously salt and pepper the beef.
• Brown the beef on all sides, then remove from pot and set aside.
• Sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms 1 minute.
• Add cup of broth, deglaze bottom of pot, and return the beef to the cooker.
• Seal and cook under high pressure for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare slurry by combining Worcestershire sauce, reserved broth, and cornstarch.
• Remove pot from heat (or hit Cancel if using electric) and allow pressure to drop on its own.
• Carefully open pot and add potatoes and carrots. Reseal.
• Bring to pressure and cook 1 minute under pressure.
• Remove from heat, allow pressure to drop 5 minutes on its own, then release remaining pressure.
• Carefully open the cooker and check vegetables for doneness.
• Stir slurry again right before adding it to the pot. Return to heat (or use sauté mode on electric models) just until sauce thickens.
• Remove from heat immediately and check for seasonings. Add salt and pepper if needed and serve.

Adding fresh chopped parsley before serving adds flavor. Unfortunately, I was out of parsley when I cooked this stew today. Next time …