Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [76]
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2½ to 3 pounds beef sirloin, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1½ teaspoons dried thyme
2 cups beef broth
3 medium carrots, cut into ½-inch rounds
8 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths
1½ cups frozen white corn, defrosted
Mashed Potatoes for Stews or Pot Pies (recipe follows; see savvy)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
combine the salt, pepper, and flour in a large zipper-top plastic bag. Toss the beef to coat in the flour and shake off any excess.
heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the beef a few pieces at a time and brown on all sides. Transfer the meat to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.
add the onion and thyme to the same skillet over mediumhigh heat and sauté until the onion is softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
pour the mixture over the beef in the cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, until the meat is tender. Add the vegetables to the stew and stir to combine. Cover the stew with the mashed potatoes, being careful not to push the potatoes into the stew.
dot the top of the potatoes with the butter. Cover and cook for an additional 1 hour, until the butter is melted.
serve the stew by scooping out a portion covered with mashed potatoes for each diner.
serves 8
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not-so-shepherd’s-pie savvy
If you would prefer not to top the stew with potatoes, bake biscuits and split them, serving the stew over the biscuits.
mashed-potato savvy
Chef Laurent Tourondel, of BLT restaurant fame, suggests that the butter and cream be heated before adding to the potatoes, and I agree. The potatoes take on an ethereal quality that doesn’t happen when you add cold cream and butter.
Mashed Potatoes for Stews or Pot Pies
Mashed potatoes that cover stews or pot pies have to be stiff, but that doesn’t mean they have to be flavorless! These potatoes are filled with butter and sour cream, which give them terrific flavor, and they won’t sink to the bottom of your stew. Make sure you add the liquid to the potatoes a bit at a time and keep the consistency stiff, not runny. Feel free to leave the peels on the potatoes if you like more texture. Lumpy mashed potatoes are fine, too! Great additions include your favorite cheeses, cooked crumbled bacon, and caramelized onions.
8 medium russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 medium shallots, finely chopped (see savvy)
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper (see savvy)
¼ cup finely chopped chives for garnishing (optional)
combine the potatoes and shallots in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil uncovered for 20 minutes, until a knife goes into the potatoes easily. Drain the potatoes thoroughly in a colander and return to the pot over low heat.
warm the butter and cream in a small pan until the butter is melted. Pour half the butter mixture in the pot and mash the potatoes until they are smooth. Add the sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and some additional butter mixture and mash to achieve a nice stiff texture.
transfer the potatoes to the top of the stew by lifting some of the potatoes onto a spatula and flattening to ½ - to ¾-inch thick. Slide the potatoes onto the stew without pushing down on them. Continue until you have covered the stew. The potatoes can be made ahead of time and kept warm over boiling