Light Beef Stew
1 lb lean well trimmed stewing beef, boneless beef top sirloin, or tenderloin, cut into 1" chunks
1 large Spanish or yellow onion, cut in 1/2" slices
3 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 pint white/button mushrooms, cleaned, any large mushrooms halved or quartered
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
5 hearty fresh thyme sprigs
3 bay leaf
Juice of 1 lemon
5 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
3/4 cup apple sauce (it is VERY important that is an unsweetened or no sugar added sauce. A normal apple sauce will make this something uber-sweet and highly unpleasant. It's not hard to find, even Mott's makes an unsweetened organic apple sauce which is what I use)
1 1/2 cups low sodium beef stock
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
flour or corn starch for dredging
-Heat 1 tbs of oil in dutch oven or other heavy bottom pot
-Salt and pepper meat, then lightly dredge in flour and shake off all excess
-Brown meat in oil until a nice crust forms, about 8 minutes total, set aside
-Add second tbs of oil and cook onions and garlic until softened, about 10 minutes
-Pour in 1/2 cup of stock and with wooden spoon, stir up any browned bits
-Add the rest of the stock, herbs (you can tie these up with some cotton string to make a bouquet garni or simply fish the bay and thyme stalks out later), vinegar, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and apple sauce. Stir to combine and bring to boil
-Taste and adjust the seasoning before adding carrots, mushrooms, and beef, reducing to low, and simmering for 1 hour covered
-After 1 hour, remove cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. For the final 15 minutes, put heat to high and let boil to create a richer, thicker stew
-Before serving, remove bay leaf and thyme stalks
Serves 3-4
