Meat & Potato Stew

Sometimes a stew doesn’t need a dozen ingredients to be good. This one needs seven.

Round steak cubes get browned in olive oil with salt, pepper, and oregano until they’ve built up a dark, crusty sear. That fond on the bottom of the pot is where all the flavor starts. Tomato paste and red wine go in next, loosening up those browned bits into a thick, rich gravy.

The beef simmers for 45 minutes before the potatoes go in. Adding them later means they cook through in 15 to 20 minutes without falling apart into mush. You want them fork-tender but still holding their shape so they soak up that tomato-wine sauce.

Serve this in deep bowls with thick slices of crusty Italian bread to mop up every drop of gravy. That’s not a suggestion, that’s how it’s meant to be eaten.

Kitchen Tips

• Brown the beef in batches. Crowding the pot steams the meat instead of searing it, and you lose that caramelized crust.
• Use a good drinking wine, not cooking wine. If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it. The flavor concentrates as it simmers.
• Quartered potatoes work best. They’re big enough to hold their shape but small enough to cook through evenly.

Variations

• Add carrots and celery with the potatoes for a more traditional one-pot stew.
• Use chuck roast instead of round steak for a fattier, more tender result that breaks down beautifully during the simmer.
• Swap red wine for beef broth if you prefer a non-alcoholic version. Add a splash of red wine vinegar for acidity.