Braised Beef Stew With Mushrooms & Wild Rice

This rich, oven-braised beef stew features tender chunks of chuck roast simmered with mushrooms, cipolline onions, carrots, and herbs in a savory sherry broth, finished with baby potatoes and nutty wild rice for a comforting, hearty meal.

Recipe Information

Total Time:

Yield:

8 servings (2 cups each)

Ingredients

Braised Beef Stew With Mushrooms & Wild Rice

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 (2- to 2½-pound) boneless beef center-cut chuck roast, cut into 1½-inch cubes

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 (16-ounce) package whole baby bella mushrooms with stems, quartered

1 (8-ounce) package whole shiitake mushrooms with stems, halved

1 (7-ounce) package cipolline onions, trimmed and peeled*

3 medium carrots, peeled and bias-cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

1 head garlic, loose papery skin removed and halved

½ cup dry sherry

2 (32-ounce) containers beef bone broth, divided

2 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste

6 sprigs fresh thyme, divided; plus additional chopped thyme for garnish

4 sprigs fresh rosemary, divided

1 pound 1½-inch baby red potatoes, skin on; halved

1½ cups Lundberg Family Farms organic gourmet wild rice blend

1 recipe Parmigiano-Rosemary Cheese Straws; for serving

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Parmigiano-Rosemary Cheese Straws

1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets (2-count), thawed in refrigerator; divided

2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, divided

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, divided

Directions

Braised Beef Stew With Mushrooms & Wild Rice

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour, salt and pepper. Add cubed beef. Seal bag and shake until beef cubes are evenly coated. Remove beef from bag; shake off excess flour if needed.
In a 6- to 7-quart Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef; cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned on all sides, turning frequently. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat to brown remaining beef; transfer to bowl.
In the same Dutch oven, add remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, baby bella and shiitake mushrooms, cipolline onions, carrots and garlic halves. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until onions and carrots are crisp-tender, and mushrooms are golden brown.
Remove Dutch oven from heat. Stir in sherry; scrape brown bits from bottom of Dutch oven. Add 4 cups broth and tomato paste. Return to heat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly thickened and bubbly.
Divide 6 thyme sprigs and rosemary sprigs into 2 bundles. Tie each bundle together with a piece of 100-percent-cotton kitchen string. Place one herb bundle in the Dutch oven; set remaining bundle aside for garnishing.
Add beef to broth mixture in Dutch oven. Cover and place Dutch oven in oven; cook for 3 to 3½ hours or until beef is fork-tender.
Stir in remaining 4 cups broth, potatoes, wild rice blend and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook in oven for 1 to 1 hour 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Rice will still be slightly chewy.
To serve, remove and discard herb bundle in stew. Garnish with reserved herb bundle and, if desired, additional chopped thyme. Ladle stew into serving bowls. Serve with cheese straws.

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*Note: To easily peel cipolline onions, add to boiling water in a saucepan and boil for 30 to 60 seconds. Immediately transfer to a colander to drain and quickly cool under cold running water. Trim tips from onions and squeeze each to pop skins off.

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Parmigiano-Rosemary Cheese Straws

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Place a large sheet of parchment paper on a clean work surface. Sprinkle ½ cup cheese in center of parchment. Unfold and place 1 pastry sheet on top of cheese. Sprinkle an additional ½ cup cheese and 1 tablespoon rosemary on top of pastry sheet.
Place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the pastry-cheese stack; roll pastry stack into a 12×10-inch
rectangle, pressing cheese and rosemary into pastry. Remove top paper. With a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut pastry lengthwise into 16 (¾-inch-wide) strips.
To shape each cheese straw, stack 2 strips on top of each other. Holding both ends, twist ends in opposite directions to form a twisted pastry strip. Place the 8 twisted strips 1 inch apart on one of the prepared baking sheets, pressing ends down onto the baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Repeat to make 8 more twisted strips using remaining pastry sheet, 1 cup cheese and 1 tablespoon rosemary. Place the twisted strips on the other prepared baking sheet; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake twisted strips, one baking sheet at a time, on center oven rack for 12 to 13 minutes or until golden and crisp, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer cheese straws to a wire rack; cool completely.

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