Stew is a dish that evokes the cold season and the tomato sauce that envelops the meat as it slowly cooks.
And here I am, ready to turn your certainties upside down with a recipe for stew without tomatoes and cooked quickly; more adapted to the spring and summer season.
Do you know the tricks to keep the meat of the stew tender, even when cooked quickly?
My spring stew recipe.
After marinating the meat in lemon juice, tamari sauce (which you can replace with unsalted soy sauce), and a bouquet of fresh herbs to add fragrance and flavor, cook the stew in the pan with the colorful garden vegetables.
To intensify its already rich flavor, use the freshness of lemon, brought out by butter (see Food Tips below), juice and grated zest, and the savouriness of tamari sauce. Spring stew is also suitable for the summer season (replace peas with zucchini).
During cooking, over low heat, as the onion melts, the meat remains soft and the vegetables intact. The stew should retain a thin, brothy base until the end of cooking, which will become an excellent sauce.
Serve in the cooking pan with freshly sliced bread on the side.
For me, it is also excellent served at room temperature but not cold from the fridge.
In the Food Tips section below, you’ll find some suggestions for making a tender, juicy stew in 30 minutes or less.
Buona cucina, Monica
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Food tips.
In order to shorten the cooking time of the stew, buy different meat from classic stewing steak (which needs to cook for a long time to become tender). For example, a cut of meat fat. Such as belly, priest’s hat, shoulder, or brisket. Finally, cut into little bite-sized pieces, all the same size. This will also help you to have a softer but shorter-cooked stew.
To make this recipe, I used lightly salted butter flavored with lemon. If you want to make it homemade, do this: melt 50g of butter, add a teaspoon of grated lemon zest, pour into a small bowl, put it in the fridge. Leave to rest for an hour to overnight.
Tamari is similar to soy sauce, only more intense. I often use it as a brown base to accentuate the umami.
Spring stew with quick cooking
serves 4
Ingredients
veal, 500 g
large, juicy organic lemon, 1
Large white onion, 1
shelled peas, 150 g
Carrots, 3
tamari or soy sauce, 50g
butter, preferably lemon-flavored (see advice), 50g
white flour, 70g
meat or vegetable stock, approx. 200ml
bouquet of herbs: 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, 1 sprig of fresh sage, and 1 sprig of fresh oregano
olive oil and black pepper to taste
I have not used salt in this recipe (except for the salt in the butter). The flavor comes from the tamari sauce. Depending on your taste, add salt to the vegetables before adding the meat to the cooking pan.
Directions
Wash and dry the aromatic herbs, tie up the bunch with kitchen string.
Transfer the meat to an airtight container, add 20g of tamari or soy sauce, and the juice of half a lemon.
Rub the meat with your hands, add the garnì bouquet, close the box and marinate for an hour to overnight.
After this time, remove the bouquet and marinade liquid.
Lightly flour the meat and beat gently to remove excess flour.
Set aside.
Clean and chop the carrots. Set aside in a bowl of cold water.
Clean and slice the onion and cook in a pan with olive oil over a low flame, letting it brown gently. Choose a small-medium cooker and use a medium-low flame.
Add the carrots and pour in 50 ml broth and the juice of half a lemon, stir and simmer slowly for 4-5 minutes. Then add the peas, stir and continue to stew the vegetables slowly.
Melt the butter with 30g tamari or soy sauce in a small saucepan and set aside.
With the help of a spoon, move the vegetables towards the edges of the pan and create a space in the middle to accommodate the meat. Pour in another 50-100ml of stock (if you see that the bottom is very dry, use 100ml of stock), add the meat and pour over the meat evenly the butter that you have melted with the soy sauce to glaze the meat. Do not stir.
Put the lid on and cook for 30 minutes over a gentle flame. Halfway through cooking, turn the meat (and add broth if necessary, I guess). When there are 10 minutes left, remove the lid and finish the preparation with the pan uncovered.
If it seems a little dry, remove the meat, add a little stock or water and liven up the cooking juices before putting the meat back into the pan.
With the heat off, grate a little lemon zest and sprinkle with black pepper.
Replace the lid and leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
