There's nothing better than sitting down to a piping hot bowl of stew on a cold day. True, it only gets to about 40 degrees here in LA during the winter but I still crave my winter stews. The current recipe on rotation? This Spanish beef stew. Inspired by Spanish flavors, this stew hits all the marks of comfort in a bowl. Plus, you really can't go wrong with a bold sofrito based stew, tender beef, and buttery potatoes, am I right?

Print Recipe

Spanish Beef Stew

Total Time3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Spanish

Keyword: beef

Servings: 6

Author: Cherry on My Sundae

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon oil divided
• 2 lb chuck roast cut into large chunks
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 anaheim pepper diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
• 1 cup sherry
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup water
• 4 medium potatoes peeled, cut into large chunks
• 4 medium carrots peeled, cut into large chunks
• ¼ cup Spanish olives sliced
• ¼ cup parsley finely chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chuck roast and sear on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the roast with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Heat another tablespoon of oil in the Dutch oven and add the onion, Anaheim pepper, and garlic. Saute the vegetables until they are softened, about 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Add back the beef along with the remaining ingredients, except for the potatoes and carrots into the pot. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, and continue to braise the meat in the oven for 2 hours.
• Remove the pot from the oven and add the potatoes and carrots. Continue to cook the stew in the oven for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Season the stew with salt and pepper. Ladle the Spanish beef stew into bowls and top with sliced Spanish olives and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

This Spanish beef stew takes the concept of a classic beef stew with potatoes and carrots and gives it a twist. I fell in love with Spanish flavors while visiting Spain last year and so I decided to gather that inspiration and pour it into this dish. The result is a stick-to-your-bones damn good bowl of deliciousness. Trust me, you need to give this a try.

Like all beef stews, this one starts with the beef. What's great about this dish is that you don't need to empty out your wallet to purchase the ingredients. You need a leaner roast, which means you don't need to buy the expensive cuts. In fact, if you use more tender cuts, they will end up being tough by the end of the cooking process because all of the fat will melt away. I personally prefer chuck roast but you can also use a round steak.

Cut the beef into large chunks and sear them until browned. Remove the beef and start working on the sofrito. What is sofrito? Simply put, it's the flavor base for stews, beans, rice, and other dishes. If you ever heard of mirepoix, it's the same idea.

Saute the chopped onion, Anaheim pepper, and garlic until softened. Toss the vegetables in flour and add the beef back to the pot. The flour will thicken up the stew and give it that rich thick consistency beef stews need.

Add the remaining ingredients including the sherry, beef stock, canned tomatoes, paprika, and dried herbs. Now cover the pot and let it do its thing for the next 2 hours or so. You can also prepare this Spanish beef stew in the instant pot or slow cooker.

In the last half hour, add the potatoes and carrots and continue cooking the stew until the vegetables are tender. Give it one last seasoning and finish the stew with olives and fresh parsley.

I gotta say, when you make beef stew, the smells are almost intoxicating...in the best possible way. It built up my anticipation so much for dinner and luckily, this Spanish beef stew delivered. Flavor bomb to the max!

For more stew inspiration check out this kalbi tang recipe!