Stew has to be one of the most delicious and versatile one pot meals. And with cold winds blowing and rain falling around here, it’s certainly the right time of year to pull out my stew recipes! This one utilizes many of the delicious flavors in season right now, such as sweet squash and earthy mushrooms. I gave a basic beef stew in my ecourse that is a favorite. For this stew, I challenged myself to make a great tasting tomato free version. Because many of us didn’t get to can our own tomatoes this year (at least I didn’t) and all canned tomato product (excepting a few in glass jars) have BPA in it, I thought it would be a good thing to have in my stew repertoire. I also know that many avoid nightshades, so this is a great stew for you too. However, to make this nightshade-free you will also need to replace the potatoes. Popular chocies are radishes, quartered, or cauliflower pieces. To make it high in flavor without the acidic tomatoes, I’ve added red wine and rich balsamic vinegar. Love it. It’s going to be my new recipe to turn too.
Beef stews often have very high amounts of beef in it, making it a not very frugal choice. I’ve found with a little experimenting that one doesn’t need 5 pounds of beef to make a pot of stew. 1-2 pounds does fine when you’ve added plenty of vegetables to the mix. Just remember that stews, like soups, are very versatile. You can easily play around with the ingredients and amounts to make it fit your preference.
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