Catalan-Style Beef Stew with Mushrooms

 

Catalan-Style Beef Stew with Mushrooms

Remove the woody base of the oyster mushroom stem before cooking. An equal amount of quartered button mushrooms may be substituted for the oyster mushrooms. Serve the stew with boiled or mashed potatoes or rice.

Ingredients

Stew

• 2tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped fine
• 1/2teaspoon sugar
•   Kosher salt and pepper
• 2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, pulp grated on large holes of box grater, and skins discarded
• 1teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2cups dry white wine
• 1 1/2cups water
• 1large sprig fresh thyme
• 1/4teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 1/2pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes

Picada

• 1/4cup whole blanched almonds
• 2tablespoons olive oil
• 1slice hearty white sandwich bread, crust removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1/2pound oyster mushrooms, trimmed
• 1teaspoon sherry vinegar

Instructions

• 1. FOR THE STEW: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add onions, sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring often, until onions are deeply caramelized, 30 to 40 minutes. Add tomatoes, smoked paprika, and bay leaf; cook, stirring often, until darkened and thick, 5 to 10 minutes.
• 2. Add wine, water, thyme, and cinnamon to pot, scraping up any browned bits. Season beef with 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and add to pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered. After 1 hour stir stew to redistribute meat, return to oven, and continue to cook uncovered until meat is tender, 1½ to 2 hours longer.
• 3. FOR THE PICADA: While stew is in oven, heat almonds and 1 tablespoon oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring often, until almonds are golden brown, 3 to 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer almonds to food processor. Return now-empty skillet to medium heat, add bread, and cook, stirring often, until toasted, 2 to 4 minutes; transfer to food processor with almonds. Add garlic and process until mixture is finely ground, about 20 seconds, scraping bowl as needed. Transfer mixture to bowl, stir in parsley, and set aside.
• 4. Return now-empty skillet to medium heat. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil until shimmering. Add mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring often, until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl and set aside.
• 5. Remove bay leaf. Stir picada, mushrooms, and vinegar into stew. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.
• TO MAKE AHEAD: Follow recipe through step 2 and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To serve, add 1 cup water and reheat over medium heat. Proceed with step 3.

Technique

• Shaking Up Stew Standards

  To achieve the supremely beefy and complex flavor profile of Spanish beef stew, we learned a few new tricks—and gave up some long-held notions.
  
• START WITH SOFRITO
  A slow-cooked mixture of onions, tomatoes, spices, and herbs—known as sofrito in Spain—forms a flavor-packed base for the stew.
• GO FOR WHITE WINE
  We typically use red wine in beef stew. Here, we agreed with Spanish cooks that red wine ­competes with beefy flavor, so we reached for white instead.
  
• SWAP THE ROAST FOR RIBS
  Most stew recipes (including many of ours) call for chuck-eye roast. Boneless beef short ribs are even beefier-tasting and are easier to break down.
  
• SKIP THE SEAR
  By cooking the stew in the oven and leaving the pot ­uncovered, any part of the beef not ­submerged in liquid can brown, making searing unnecessary.
  
• END WITH PICADA
  A mixture of ground toasted bread, almonds, garlic, and ­parsley—the picada—stirred in before serving brightens the stew’s flavor and thickens the broth.