oil shimmers, add the beef cubes and spread them out in an even layer in the pan. Reserve the flour mixture that remains the bowl. Let the meat brown on one side without moving it, about 3 minutes. Turn the meat with tongs or a fork to brown on a second side, another 2 minutes. If the bottom of the pan begins to scorch, reduce the heat. Transfer the meat to a plate. The bottom of the pan will be browned with reduced meat juices.
3. Quickly add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to the hot pan along with the carrot, celery, shallot, garlic, onions, thyme, and remaining seasoned flour. Sauté the vegetables until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the red wine and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine boils and reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and browned meat (along with any juices that accumulated on the plate) and bring the stew to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook at a bare simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the peas and half of the parsley and return the heat to medium-high. Simmer vigorously until the juices reduce and the stew thickens somewhat, about 3 minutes. Taste the stew and add more salt and pepper, if it needs it.
4. Scoop the stew into warmed shallow bowls, sprinkle the remaining parsley over the top, and serve hot.
it’s that easy: It’s possible to make a quick and delicious beef stew if you upgrade from tough stew meat to tender sirloin. Stew meat requires hours of cooking to get tender, but the meat in this stew will be ready in about the same time as the vegetables. Browning the sirloin takes a few minutes but it’s an important step that prevents the meat from steaming to an insipid gray, so for the best-tasting stew, make sure you first sear the meat on at least two sides for a nice crispy, caramelized brown crust. (All six sides would be fabulous, but is time-consuming and not crucial.)
extra hungry? Put a slice of good bread, drizzled with olive oil and toasted in your broiler or toaster, in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the stew over the top.
in the glass: In my mind, there’s nothing like a full-bodied glass of red wine to go with a rich and warming stew. Use whatever wine you added to the stew, preferably an affordable claret or red blend like Apothic Red or Newton.
Veal Piccata
with BRUSSELS SPROUT HASH and APPLES
If you’ve ever wondered how cookbook authors come up with recipes, here goes: We love Brussels sprouts at our house, but they aren’t a “quick sauté” kind of vegetable . . . that is, unless you slice them down into whisper-thin slivers of cabbage confetti. I’ll call it . . . Brussels Sprout Hash. And something sweet and tart would give it a lift—how about a diced apple? And I want to keep the veal simple and not dust it with flour (it makes such a mess)—just salt and pepper and a quick two-minute sauté. To make it piccata, I’ll squeeze half a lemon over the cutlets just as they’re finished cooking. I’d like to eat that for dinner tonight. . . . That’s generally how a recipe is born.
........
START TO FINISH 30 minutes
...
HANDS-ON TIME 20 minutes
...
serves 2
........
4 veal scallops (cutlets), about 3 oz/85 g each, pounded even thinner (see “It’s that easy”)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 slices bacon, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
12 Brussels sprouts, each cored and cut into at least 6 thin slices
1 Jazz, Braeburn, or other sweet-tart apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
⅓ cup/75 ml dry white wine, chicken broth, or water
½ lemon
2 tsp minced fresh chives (optional)
1. Sprinkle the veal with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the bacon and cook, stirring, until it renders its fat but hasn’t browned, about 2 minutes. Add the veal to the hot pan
3. Quickly add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to the hot pan along with the carrot, celery, shallot, garlic, onions, thyme, and remaining seasoned flour. Sauté the vegetables until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the red wine and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine boils and reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and browned meat (along with any juices that accumulated on the plate) and bring the stew to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook at a bare simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the peas and half of the parsley and return the heat to medium-high. Simmer vigorously until the juices reduce and the stew thickens somewhat, about 3 minutes. Taste the stew and add more salt and pepper, if it needs it.
4. Scoop the stew into warmed shallow bowls, sprinkle the remaining parsley over the top, and serve hot.
it’s that easy: It’s possible to make a quick and delicious beef stew if you upgrade from tough stew meat to tender sirloin. Stew meat requires hours of cooking to get tender, but the meat in this stew will be ready in about the same time as the vegetables. Browning the sirloin takes a few minutes but it’s an important step that prevents the meat from steaming to an insipid gray, so for the best-tasting stew, make sure you first sear the meat on at least two sides for a nice crispy, caramelized brown crust. (All six sides would be fabulous, but is time-consuming and not crucial.)
extra hungry? Put a slice of good bread, drizzled with olive oil and toasted in your broiler or toaster, in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the stew over the top.
in the glass: In my mind, there’s nothing like a full-bodied glass of red wine to go with a rich and warming stew. Use whatever wine you added to the stew, preferably an affordable claret or red blend like Apothic Red or Newton.
Veal Piccata
with BRUSSELS SPROUT HASH and APPLES
If you’ve ever wondered how cookbook authors come up with recipes, here goes: We love Brussels sprouts at our house, but they aren’t a “quick sauté” kind of vegetable . . . that is, unless you slice them down into whisper-thin slivers of cabbage confetti. I’ll call it . . . Brussels Sprout Hash. And something sweet and tart would give it a lift—how about a diced apple? And I want to keep the veal simple and not dust it with flour (it makes such a mess)—just salt and pepper and a quick two-minute sauté. To make it piccata, I’ll squeeze half a lemon over the cutlets just as they’re finished cooking. I’d like to eat that for dinner tonight. . . . That’s generally how a recipe is born.
........
START TO FINISH 30 minutes
...
HANDS-ON TIME 20 minutes
...
serves 2
........
4 veal scallops (cutlets), about 3 oz/85 g each, pounded even thinner (see “It’s that easy”)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 slices bacon, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
12 Brussels sprouts, each cored and cut into at least 6 thin slices
1 Jazz, Braeburn, or other sweet-tart apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
⅓ cup/75 ml dry white wine, chicken broth, or water
½ lemon
2 tsp minced fresh chives (optional)
1. Sprinkle the veal with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the bacon and cook, stirring, until it renders its fat but hasn’t browned, about 2 minutes. Add the veal to the hot pan
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