This is a recipe I adapted from the current issue of Fine Cooking magazine. The original recipe calls for serving it with blue cheese croutons, which is a mixture of butter, blue cheese and walnuts spread on baguette slices and broiled til crisp. I preferred to serve this more as a soup than a stew with a plain baguette alongside.
It also turned out that I had everything I needed, except for the blue cheese, for this dish, so that meant no last minute trips to the grocery store if I didn’t make the croutons. I had a little more squash and a little less beef than the recipe called for, but no problem there. Since I didn’t have any Sauvignon Blanc, I used Pinot Grigio. That’s the great thing about cooking as opposed to baking …you have a good deal more flexibility to tweak the recipe according to your tastes, or for that matter, what’s in or isn’t in your pantry.
The recipe calls for beef chuck, which is a cut of beef used often in stews. Although quite flavorful, chuck requires a long, moist cooking method such as the oven-braising used here to turn this otherwise tough cut into a tender piece of meat. And wouldn’t you know it? I had a small piece of chuck in my freezer that I hadn’t used in my Boeuf Bourguignon, so it was my destiny to make this dish!
However you decide to tweak the recipe you’ll find this is a delicious hearty dish. It is loaded with good veggies, barley, and the essence of sage and nutmeg making it a great seasonal entree for lunch or dinner.
Beef, Barley, and Butternut Squash Stew ( Fine Cooking, Oct/Nov 2010)
Serves 6
1 and ¾ pound boneless beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large leeks (white and light-green parts only), halved and thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium ribs celery, chopped
1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
6 cups lower-salt chicken broth
2/3 cup pearl barley
3 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon finely grated nutmeg
1 small butternut squash (about 1 and ½ lb), peeled, seeded, and cut into1/2 inch cubes (about 3and1/3 cups)
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup half-and-half
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Season the beef with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and then toss in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of the flour. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the oil in a 5 and1/2-to-6 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook half of the beef until browned on several sides, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a plate. Repeat with the remaining beef.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pot. Add the leeks, carrots, celery, and a pinch of salt, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, until evaporated, 7-8 minutes. Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons flour and cook for 1 minute.
Whisk in 5 cups of the broth. Stir in the barley, bay leaves, sage, nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt, and the beef along with any accumulated juices.
Bring to a boil. Cover the pot snugly with foil and then a tight-fitting lid and braise in the oven until the beef is almost tender, about 1 hour. Stir in the squash and the remaining 1 cup broth.
Cover with the foil and lid and continue braising until the beef and squash aare very tender, about 30 minutes more.
Remove and discard the bay leaves from the stew and then stir in the parsley and half-and-half. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Blue Cheese Croutons (optional)
1 and ½ tablespoons softened unsalted butter
3 oz. blue cheese, crumbled (about3/4 cup)
3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
18 ½-inch-thick baguette slices
In a small bowl, combine the softened 1 and ½ tablespoons butter with the blue cheese, walnuts, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Spread the mixture evenly onto the baguette slices. Transfer to a baking sheet.
Position a rack about 8 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler on high. Broil the croutons until deep golden-brown and crisp, 2-3 minutes. Serve the stew with the croutons.