Winter comfort beef stew

Makes 8 servings.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 3 1/2 hours

Ingredients

  • 4 large carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, sliced
  • 3 large potatoes, coarsely chopped
  • 1 small rutabaga (500 g/1 lb), peeled and chopped (also called waxed turnip)
  • 250 g (8 oz) button mushrooms, quartered
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 beef eye of round roast (about 1 Kg/2 lb)
  • 25 mL (2 tbsp) dried Italian seasoning
  • 15 mL (1 tbsp) dried oregano leaves
  • 10 mL (2 tsp) dried basil leaves
  • 5 mL (1 tsp) dried tarragon leaves
  • 2 mL (1/2 tsp) freshly ground black pepper
  • 900 mL (1 box) reduced sodium beef broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 125 mL (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
  • 125 mL (1/2 cup) water

Directions

In a large roasting pan, combine carrots, celery, potatoes, rutabaga, mushrooms, onions and garlic; set aside.

Trim any visible fat from beef roast and cut into 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces; add to vegetables.

Sprinkle Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, tarragon and pepper over beef and vegetable mixture and using hands, toss to distribute herbs evenly.

Pour stock over mixture and add bay leaves.

Cover pan with foil or lid and roast in 180°C (350°F) oven for 3 hours.

In small bowl, whisk flour and water together until smooth.

Uncover pan and, using spoon, push beef and vegetable mixture over to one side.

Whisk flour mixture into pan juices until combined. Stir into beef mixture to spread evenly.

Return to oven, uncovered for 30 minutes or until thickened and beef and vegetables are very tender.

Remove bay leaves before serving.

Nutritional information per serving

  • Calories: 328
  • Protein: 31 g
  • Total fat: 4 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2 g
  • Cholesterol: 48 mg
  • Carbohydrates: 43 g
  • Fibre: 6 g
  • Sodium: 370 mg
  • Potassium: 1,201mg

How Heart&Stroke dietitians reduced the fat content in this recipe
We used a leaner cut of beef, which saved us about 3 g fat per serving. We made our own sauce that replaced a salad dressing with more 8 g fat per serving just from this one change.

How Heart&Stroke dietitians reduced the sodium in this recipe
We omitted the gravy powder and store-bought salad dressing, which saved about 500 mg of sodium. We did need to use a sodium-reduced beef broth,  which provided 280 mg of sodium. The sodium savings in the total recipe was 240 mg of sodium.

Take home tips

  • For a more tender beef stew and to cook more evenly, purchase a beef marinating roast like an inside or outside round or eye of the round and trim any visible fat and cut into bite size pieces for your stew. Each piece will cook evenly and taste absolutely delicious. It may cost a bit more but the results are priceless.
  • Use lots of spices to enhance the flavour without needing to add salt.
  • Make your own sauces. Don’t rely on store-bought dressings.

Recipe provided by the Heart and Stroke Foundation. To receive more exclusive heart-healthy recipes, please sign up for He@lthline, the Foundation’s free monthly e-newsletter at www.heartandstroke.ca/subscribe.