Beef Tomato Stew - Easy & Simple to make recipe - Mexico in My Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

How to make the perfect beef stew and the common mistakes to avoid? ›

Do you need tomato paste for beef stew? We recommend using tomato paste for this recipe. Tomato paste adds crucial flavor and body to the stew meat when cooked with herbs, garlic and wine.

sweetening : a bit of sweetener can counteract harsh flavours and enhance aromats. Something like honey or caramelised onions is generally better than refined white sugar, black treacle also works well with beef as it has a bit of bitterness to balance the sweetness.

There are flavors in tomatoes that are alcohol-soluble, so adding red wine along with tomato paste also helps to enhance beef stew." Laurence has a few other tricks I've borrowed to create the best beef stew, including adding Worcestershire, which gets a serious umami punch from anchovies.

I almost always add some beef bouillon crystals to my stew, it helps oomph (yes, a technical term) the beefiness of the stock. Sometimes also use a few shots of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce - both will also add some oomph to the flavor.

Tough stew meat will take a couple of hours to get tender, and the vinegar helps this happen as well as add special flavor. Then add the onions, carrots, celery, Brussels sprouts etc and cook until the vegetables are the way you like them.

Once the meat is tender - but not falling apart, add the potatoes, celery, carrots and butternut squash. Pour over another 2 cups of beef broth and enough water to cover the vegetables. Raise heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes - until the vegetables are tender.

While you can make a beef stew on the stovetop or also in the Instant Pot, I'm partial to using my slow cooker for beef stew, to give the ingredients that long, unattended time they need to become really tender and delicious.

Diced tomatoes can be used in place of crushed tomatoes, but you'll need to increase the cooking time substantially to try to break down the chunks of tomato. You could also run your diced tomatoes through a food processor and add a bit of tomato paste to them to achieve a result closer to crushed tomatoes.

How to Substitute Tomato Sauce or Puree for Tomato Paste. You don't have to dash out to the store if you're out of tomato paste; tomato sauce and tomato puree are both an excellent substitute. For every 1 tablespoon of tomato paste needed, use 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or sauce.

Can I use ketchup instead of tomato paste in stew? ›

Since ketchup is already quite concentrated, you can substitute from the bottle using a 1:1 ratio (if your recipe calls for one tablespoon of tomato paste, use one tablespoon of ketchup).

Mix together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water until you have a slurry, then mix it into the simmering hot stew a few minutes before serving.

Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer. In a salad or sandwich, you don't need peeled tomatoes. But, if you're making a fresh tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes, the tomatoes should be peeled, cored, and seeded.

If it tastes off-balance, add some finishing flavors to bring it to the next level. Try adding soy sauce or Worcestershire for extra savory (or umami) flavor, a touch of honey or brown sugar for sweetness, lemon zest or vinegar for brightness or chili powder or smoked paprika for spice and depth.

Many sources recommend adding a pinch of baking soda to a sauce that's overly tart, which raises the pH and makes it less acidic. We've always preferred adding a bit of sugar. It can't neutralize acidity in the same way that baking soda can, but sugar does change our perception of other tastes.

Always check seasonings and taste-test before serving. If the soup tastes bland at all, a bit more salt will do the trick, that doesn't just apply to this tomato soup recipe but just about anything you'll ever find yourself cooking.