Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Artichokes

While things are a bit quieter now, thank G-d, it’s been an eventful few weeks and I promised you guys a “set it and forget it” dinner.

When life gets complicated and you have little time or patience, there’s nothing quite like a slow cooker meal. When the whole family sends each other WhatsApps and pictures of themselves sheltering against missile and bomb attacks and for the most part coping and putting a good face on it, you find yourself either fussing in the kitchen to take your mind off it (couple days like that) or just wanting to throw a meal together without any fuss at all.

This slow cooker meal has the amazing advantage of literally tossing everything in the crockpot and no browning of the meat. It’s just not necessary since I find the meat stays juicy (you are using a cut of chuck, low and slow works a treat) and browns in the cooker. Why complicate your life more than absolutely necessary?

So, mea culpa, only thing I forgot to take a picture of is the cornstarch which is optional, since some prefer a thinner texture to the stew liquid but I prefer a little thickener in there. This too is with no muss or fuss. You will see the directions below and let it gently burble in the slow cooker till lightly thickened. It’s a hearty dinner that’s cooking away while you go about your business and a delightful, aromatic and toothsome meal to sit down to. It’s become a real favorite with all who try it and to my great amusement, our grandson Shachar, our adventurous eater, downed four (!) bowls of the stew and we practically had to snatch the serving dish away so others could have some. Proof of the pudding, like they say.

So gather your ingredients

Don’t get excited about the type of wine I used, it was simply leftover from Shabbat and really, any wine that’s not terribly sweet will do (this is semi sweet). So take out your slow cooker and put in the carrots and artichokes (if you use frozen, just defrost sufficiently to break them apart, no need to wait till completely defrosted), carrots, raisins (don’t skip adds a nice flavor), peeled garlic, don’t need to crush or chop it, peeled shallots, Demerara sugar (don’t skip, offsets the tomato paste), salt, tomato paste and wine.

Add the meat on top

Make sure you put some hot water in the crock and float the slow cooker bag in it. Turn the cooker to high

and cook about 5 hours. Poke the meat with a wooden skewer to see if it’s soft enough, if still not, continue cooking about another half an hour. About 15-20 minutes before serving, take 2 rounded tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolve in 1/3 cup of cold water and stir well till the cornstarch dissolves. Remove lid from cooker, and stir cornstarch mix into stew. Recover the cooker and cook just till slightly thickened. Wonderful served as is or with rice or mashed potatoes.

For those who want to cook it on low, simply cook for 8-10 hours and thicken on high as described above.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Artichokes

2 cups (350 grams) peeled baby carrots
14 ounces (400 grams) frozen artichokes, defrosted just enough to separate them
2 tablespoons raisins
2 peeled shallots
6 peeled garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Demerara sugar (or light brown or dark brown sugar is fine)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 cup (118 ml) red, rose or white wine
4 tablespoons (100 grams) tomato paste
2.2 pounds (1 kilo) cubed stew meat – chuck (#2 cut in Israel)

Optional for thickening stew: 2 rounded tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water

Directions:

Place boiling water inside the bottom of the crock of a slow cooker (6-8 quart slow cooker) and float a cooker bag in it to make clean up a snap. Into cooker bag, layer carrots, artichokes, raisins, shallots, garlic cloves, sugar, salt, vinegar, wine and tomato paste. No need to stir it up. Layer meat over the top. Cover the cooker and cook on high for about 5 hours. Check tenderness of meat with a wooden skewer. If not soft enough, cook an additional half hour till tender. Fifteen to twenty minutes before done, if you wish to thicken the stew, mix the cornstarch into the cold water and stir vigorously till fully dissolved. Remove cover of crock, stir into stew, recover crock and let thicken for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot with cooked rice or mashed potatoes or as is. A note, if you wish to cook this on low, simply cook for 8-10 hours, check with skewer to check tenderness of meat and turn to high if you are adding the cornstarch slurry to thicken, as above.