Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced into coins
1 lb Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 turnip, cubed
1 large eggplant, cubed
1 1/4 lb cubed sirloin or other beef for stew
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup cognac vinegar (can sub red wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
1 bay leaf
super fine flour (like Wondra flour)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Toss the beef with the salt, pepper and some super fine flour to coat. Set aside. Heat some olive oil in a Dutch oven and add the beef. Saute until the beef is lightly browned on all sides. Pour the mixture into a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients Stir. Cover and cook for 8 hours. Remove the bay leaf prior to serving. Stir prior to serving.
My thoughts:
After an unseasonably warm November, there is actually a bit of a chill in the air. We’ve busted out our slippers, flannel sheets and now the slow cooker for the season. I’ve been wanting to make beef stew for a while but it really didn’t seem appropriate when the days were 65 and sunny so when yesterday was rainy and dreary I popped some ingredients in the slow cooker and had a lovely, hearty meal come dinnertime. I’ve rarely cooked eggplant in the slow cooker (despite the hundreds of slow cooker recipes in my cookbooks)but that’s a shame, slow cooking renders eggplant silky and tender with nary a hint of bitterness. The perfect counterpoint to the rich beef.
