Tender Beef with Carrots and Peas Topped with Puff Pastry
On a cold winter day I absolutely love to make a big pot of stew. You need to take your time with stew, it is not something that you can rush. The good news is that beef stew tastes great for several days so you can make it when you have some free time and then refrigerate it for another day. You can also freeze the stew for two months so it is the ideal dish to prepare and freeze in portions.
I take the beef stew up a notch by serving it in individual tureens that are each topped with golden puff pastry. It adds such a nice touch to beef stew. I think that serving beef stew this way makes it perfect to serve on a regular night or for a holiday. Make the stew the day before and then warm it up, put it in individual oven safe tureen bowls, top with puff pastry and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. I like to make mashed potatoes on the side. Some people like to eat the beef stew out of the tureen, others spoon the beef stew over the mashed potatoes. The combination of the buttery puff pastry and the tender beef with gravy is simply delicious. It will warm you up from the inside. There is something special about slow cooked beef stew.
Just out of the oven. These beauties are ready to be served.
Please note that it is not mandatory that you serve the stew in individual tureens topped with puff pastry. The stew is delicious served without the puff pastry as well. The puff pastry just makes it a little more special. I also intentionally do not put potatoes in my beef stew because I like to serve it with mashed potatoes or buttered noodles on the side but you can absolutely add some cubed potatoes to the stew when you add the carrots if you prefer to serve a one-pot meal. I would recommend peeled and cubed yukon gold potatoes. The carrots and peas add such beautiful color to the velvety brown gravy. The addition of Dijon mustard to the stew creates a little spice and another layer of flavor. You will notice in some beef stew recipes they add vinegar, the Dijon mustard is a replacement The tangy spice of the Dijon mustard adds depth of flavor to the beef stew. As always, you can email me with any questions and I will be happy to answer them. You can also comment below.
Hearty Beef Stew Topped with Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ cup flour
- 1¼ lb stewing meat
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 cup red wine
- 5 carrots peeled and cut in ¼ inch rounds
- 1 cup peas frozen is ok
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1¼ cup water
- ½ tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp thyme leaves only, no stem
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1½ sheet puff pastry
- 1 egg mixed with 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- dredge meat in flour
- heat 2 tbsp oil in heavy bottom pot
- sear meat in batches, adding more oil as needed and place beef on side
- saute onion in pot for 3 minutes until translucent
- deglaze with red wine
- add beef broth and water
- add tomato paste, thyme, salt and pepper
- put beef back into pot
- add bay leaves
- mix cornstarch with ¼ cup water and add to pot
- add dijon mustard
- bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer and cover
- simmer for 45 minutes then skim fat off top
- cover and simmer for another hour
- add carrots and simmer for 30 minutes
- add peas and simmer for another 15 minutes until beef is fork tender
- you may need to simmer for an extra 15 minutes, you want the meat to be tender when pierced with a fork
- remove bay leaves and spoon stew into individual tureens
- roll puff pastry a little and cut out rounds that are just bigger then top of tureens
- place puff pastry on each tureen and press to seal, cut a small slit on top to release steam, brush with egg wash and place on baking sheet
- bake on middle rack at 400 for 15 minutes until golden brown