French onion beef stew with Gruyère gratin recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (2024)

FAQs

What is the famous French stew called? ›

A meaty stew of poultry, sausage, pork, and beans, all under a rich, dark brown crust. Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site.

Always sear your meat before you add the liquid and vegetables. A caramelised sear is essential to the flavour profile of a good stew, adding a rich undertone that you just won't get by throwing in the meat in its raw state. You want the stew to be slightly thickened, but not gloopy.

Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump. After adding the slurry, bring the stew to boil. This will cook out the flour taste and allow the starch to swell.

Add the wine and tomato paste to the onions and other aromatics in a pan before slow cooking. Plus, this helps to really deglaze any fond that's left. This ingredient is one that your mum and nan would probably use in their stews. It adds a bit of tang, sweetness and savoury spices that give an extra punch of flavour.

cassoulet, French dish of white beans baked with meats; it takes its name from its cooking pot, the cassole d'Issel. Originating in Languedoc in southwest France, cassoulet was once simple farmhouse fare, but it has been elaborated into a rich and complex dish.

Beef bourguignon starts with many common stew components: Onion, carrot, garlic, and flour. From there, a few ingredients fundamental to the dish are added: Sweet and small pearl onions, mushrooms, a pork fat base, and, perhaps most importantly, wine.

Add spices such as turmeric, coriander and cumin at the early stage of cooking, when you are frying onions and garlic, to enhance the taste of the beef stew. Fresh herbs like coriander and bay leaves also contribute a distinct flavour without making the dish too spicy for the younger members of the family.

If you mean into a pan to be cooked, you will almost always put the onions in first. They take a long time to caramelize (much longer than most recipes say) while garlic can release its aromatics in half a minute. It's often added right at the end. But it's going to depend on the recipe and the goal.

I contacted Laurence to get the lowdown on why she adds tomato paste to her beef stew. "I include tomato paste in many braised recipes because it adds a depth of flavor without increasing the liquid quantity in the dish," Laurence explains.

If were talking while it's being made; garlic, onion, various herbs, “horse chester sauce” tomato paste, stone ground mustard, or even a small splash of A1 sauce will all “rich up” the broth. So will sauteing the veggies in butter before adding to the stew.

What can I add to stew to make it tasty? ›

If it tastes off-balance, add some finishing flavors to bring it to the next level. Try adding soy sauce or Worcestershire for extra savory (or umami) flavor, a touch of honey or brown sugar for sweetness, lemon zest or vinegar for brightness or chili powder or smoked paprika for spice and depth.

The three main thickening agents for gravies are flour, cornflour and arrowroot. The first two are normally used in savoury dishes while arrowroot tends to be used in sweet dishes – that said, arrowroot will work in a savoury dish as it has no flavour.

The most important key to making stew meat tender is being sure to cook it for a long time. If you want super tender beef, you'll need to cook it on a low heat in a Dutch oven on the stove or a slow cooker for at least a few hours.

Add vegetables: After 1 hour 30 minutes, carefully remove pot from oven and use oven mitt to remove lid. Add vegetables and stir gently to combine. Carefully replace lid on pot and return stew to oven to cook for an additional hour.

Vegetables that work well in a beef stew include Hardroots vegetable, carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, and parsnips. These vegetables add flavor and texture to the stew while complementing the richness of the beef. You can also consider adding mushrooms, turnips, or peas for variety.

Bouillabaisse – a stew of mixed herbs, fish, and vegetables. Garbure – a thick French soup or stew of ham with cabbage and other vegetables, usually with cheese and stale bread added. Oille – a French potée or soup believed to be the forerunner of pot-au-feu composed of various meats and vegetables.

Pot-au-feu is to France what roast beef is to England. A hearty stew, flavoured with herbs and thickened with marrowbone and root vegetables, it seems to encapsulate all that is best about Gallic culture.

Pot-au-feu is a slowly simmered meat and vegetable dish that appears on most home tables in France. Pot au Feu, which literally translates to 'pot in the fire', started its life in working-class homes as a way to make less expensive cuts of beef more tender and palatable.

According to tradition, cassoulet was invented in 1355 in the town of Castelnaudary, under siege by the English during the Hundred Years' War. In medieval times the dish was referred to as an estouffet. The Dictionnaire de l'Académie française dates the term cassoulet to no earlier than the 19th century.