Warm and wonderful

Today's recipe is stepping slightly away from the soups, and instead venturing into the world of hearty stews. Beef stew has always been one of my favorite dishes. Who can resist a big bowl full of piping hot vegetables and beef? This is another recipe that rarely lasts long in my fridge.

Stew is one of those great long-cooking meals, one that makes your kitchen warm. The long cooking time is also one of the dish's drawbacks. It's one that needs to be planned, rather than just started at the last minute.

Relatively speaking, this recipe cooks up quickly. In a little more than an hour, you can have a big, piping hot bowl of stew on the table. Fast, delicious and healthy -- just my style!

This recipe is from a 2004 issue of Cooking Light.

Vegetable beef stew

2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. beef stew meat
1 (14 oz.) can low-salt beef broth
1 (12 oz.) bottle beer
1 1/2 cups peeled baking potato
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled turnips (about 2 medium)
1 cup thinly sliced leek (about 1 large)
1 cup (1/2-inch-thick) sliced carrots
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Thyme sprigs (optional)

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef, and cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Add broth and next 9 ingredients (through bay leaf), stirring to combine; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs.

Combine water, flour, lemon juice and sugar, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to beef mixture, stirring constantly; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in parsley. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Serves 4

Cook's notes: Cubed lamb is a delicious alternative to beef. I also prefer chopped onion to leeks, mostly because leeks are notoriously sandy and tough to clean. If you don't like turnips or would like something even more flavorful, rutabaga is a good choice.