Hearty Beef Stew

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Serves 2

Cooking Time 6 to 7 hours on Low or 4 to 5 hours on High  

Slow Cooker Size 3½ to 7 Quarts

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: For such a humble dish, beef stew requires a lot of effort—you have to prep and brown the meat, then chop loads of veggies. And when you’re making just two servings, this can be especially annoying. We wanted a small-batch stew with maximum flavor but minimum effort. To start, we swapped the traditional chuck roast for convenient steak tips, which we simply cut into small pieces and added to the slow cooker; once cooked, they were incredibly tender and flavorful. For the vegetables, we stuck with the traditional lineup of potatoes, carrots, and peas. We selected small red potatoes, which needed no prep and could be added to the slow cooker whole; frozen peas needed just a few minutes in the slow cooker to heat through before serving. Since we were bypassing the step of browning the meat, we bolstered the beefy, savory notes of our broth with tomato paste and soy sauce, which ensured that our easy stew offered deep flavor. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.

1	tablespoon vegetable oil
1	tablespoon tomato paste
2	teaspoons minced garlic
¼	teaspoon dried thyme
2	cups beef broth
8	ounces small red potatoes
2	carrots, peeled and sliced
	½ inch thick
1	tablespoon instant tapioca
1	tablespoon soy sauce
	Salt and pepper
1	pound sirloin steak tips, trimmed
⅔	cup frozen peas

1. Lightly spray inside of slow cooker with vegetable oil spray. Microwave oil, tomato paste, garlic, and thyme in bowl, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute; transfer to prepared slow cooker. Stir in broth, potatoes, carrots, tapioca, soy sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cut beef into 1½-inch pieces, season with pepper, and stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 6 to 7 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high.

2. Using large spoon, skim excess fat from surface of stew. Stir in peas and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. (Adjust stew consistency with extra hot broth as needed.) Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.