THE morsels or beef stew with dried mushrooms and potatoes they are a hearty main course with an ideal side dish for cold winter evenings. It is made by browning the beef bites, to which it is added tomato pulpor, water, diced potatoes and soaked dried mushrooms. The stew is then left to cook for about 1 hour and a half, thus obtaining a very soft meat and a dish full of flavor. The dish is enriched with marjoram leaves, but other spices such as bay leaf, rosemary, sage or thyme can also be used. In our recipe there we suggest the use of dried mushrooms, very comfortable and versatile as well as rich in flavour, but you can also use fresh or frozen mushrooms. If you are a stew lover and want to try delicious variations, try also the pork stew, the wild boar stew and, for a vegetarian version, the curry soy and pea stew!

Preparation

1

Open the package of dried mushrooms and pour them into a bowl with 300 ml of warm water. Let them soak for about 20 minutes.

2

Pour the oil into a pan, bring it to the heat and turn on the low flame. When the oil has heated up, add the beef bites and moderate the heat. Brown the morsels to fix the juices from the meat.

3

While the meat is browning, prepare the sauté: start by peeling half an onion. You can use the variety of onion you prefer, but for a more delicate taste we recommend using the white onion or, alternatively, the golden onion.

4

Place it on a cutting board and finely chop it with a knife or crescent.

5

Peel the carrot, cut it into slices and then into sticks. Chop the sticks very finely.

6

Also cut the celery into sticks and chop everything, thus completing the preparation of the vegetables for the sauté.

7

In the meantime, use kitchen tongs or a wooden spoon to flip the beef bites to the other side.(

8

When the meat is well browned on all sides, after about 5 minutes, add the chopped onion, carrot and celery.

9

Leave the sauce and the meat to flavor for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. We advise you not to use forks or sharp instruments to avoid piercing the meat.

10

Drain the mushrooms and filter the soaking water with a fine-mesh strainer, keeping the liquid in a small bowl. Set the mushrooms aside temporarily.

11

Add the tomato pulp to the pan and add the salt to your taste.

12

Cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour, keeping the flame very low.

13

Halfway through cooking, add the mushroom water. If necessary, filter it twice: it must not contain soil residues.

14

While the stew is cooking, peel the potatoes.

15

First cut them in half, then into slices and cut each slice into cubes the size of the stew pieces.

16

Once the cooking time has elapsed, add the potatoes, the soaked mushrooms and 200 ml of warm water to the pot.

17

Taste and season with salt, then add the marjoram. Cover with a lid and cook for another 30 minutes.

18

After half an hour, check the cooking of the potatoes. If necessary, continue for another 5-10 minutes, adding very little water if the sauce is too dry.

Advice and tips

The best pieces of meat for preparing this beef stew with dried mushrooms and potatoes are the leg or shoulder of the beef, because they are more suitable for long cooking. Get advice from your trusted butcher, who will also ask you to cut the stew. You can also choose to use veal, whose meat is more delicate.

It is important that the meat brown properly in the pan before adding the rest of the ingredients: by sealing the pieces of meat you will ensure that it remains juicy and soft, thus avoiding drying out during cooking.

At the end of cooking, the beef stew with mushrooms and potatoes should be quite creamy, but not runny. If it is liquid, remove the lid and let it cook another 10 minutes on medium flame. On the contrary, if it dries out too soon, add 1 ladleful of hot water or, if you prefer, vegetable broth.

Cooking time may vary based on the cut of the meat and the size of the pieces, so check the texture of the meat often as it cooks.

We advise you to choose a tasty variety of mushrooms, such as porcini. Alternatively you can use champignon mushrooms.

storage

Beef, mushroom and potato stew can be preserved in the refrigerator for up to 1 dayin an airtight container.

If you have only used fresh ingredients, you can also freeze it, inside a closed container, for a maximum of 2 months. At the time of use, we advise you to let it thaw in the refrigerator.