It’s not rainy and it’s not cold here in Florida but I couldn’t put off making this stew anymore. Then I made it and I kicked myself for not making it sooner. This was another great recipe from eatingwell.com. The stew is inspired by Carbonnades Flamandes which is the national dish of Belgium. I only made a few changes to better suit our schedule and tastes. The recipe below is written for a slow cooker but I made the stew in my dutch oven because I was already home. The recipe also says that it serves 8 for 272 calories but I added 1 cup of beef stock and think that the recipe realistically serves 6 for dinner with a salad. Either way you should definitely make it. It would be perfect for a chilly Fall night or a 79 degree evening in Florida. 😉

P.S.   There are two ingredients that really make this stew sing, Dijon mustard and caraway seeds. If you’ve never used caraway seeds before, you can buy a small jar of them for a dollar or two in the spice aisle. They are amazing. They give Rye bread its flavor and next week I’ll be posting a recipe for braised cabbage with caraway seeds so it won’t be a waste of money, you can make that too!

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours-slow cooker; or 2-3 hours oven

Flemish Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• 2 pounds bottom round, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3/4 pound sliced cremini, or white button mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 bottle brown ale (I used Newcastle Brown Ale)
• 1 cup low sodium beef stock
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf

Preparation (for slow cooker)

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half the beef and brown on all sides, turning frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker. Drain any fat from the pan. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and brown the remaining beef. Transfer to the slow cooker.

Return the skillet to medium heat, add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they give off their liquid and it evaporates to a glaze, 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms; cook undisturbed for 10 seconds, then stir and cook for 30 seconds more. Pour in ale (or beer) and beef stock; bring to a boil, whisking constantly to reduce foaming, until thickened and bubbling, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the slow cooker.

Add carrots, onion, garlic, mustard, caraway seeds, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.

Put the lid on and cook on low until the beef is very tender, about 8 hours. Discard the bay leaf before serving.

To prepare in the dutch oven: Preheat oven to 275. Prepare meat as instructed above, browning in two batches. Once the mushrooms, beer and stock have thickened as instructed above (about 2-3 minutes) add beef back in along with carrots, onions, garlic and all seasonings. Cook for 2 hours in oven. After two hours, stir and check for seasonings. Allow to cook until beef is tender and vegetables are cooked through. (may take up to 3 hours). Serve immediately.

Nutrition** Approximate-recipe has been edited to add 1 cup of low sodium beef stock.

Per serving :272 Calories; 9 g Fat; 3 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 72 mg Cholesterol; 17 g Carbohydrates; 27 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 359 mg Sodium; 609 mg Potassium