Have you ever carefully prepared a stew for dinner, put all your love into it and then, despite that, realized after the first bite that you felt like you were chewing on gum???
Well, it happened to me — I wanted to cry. With the Slow Cooker you will never have that kind of surprise; finally a tender, flavorful stew that practically makes itself!!!!
One fundamental recommendation is choosing the right cut of meat.
I prefer beef over veal because it’s more flavorful, and for this preparation the best cuts are the chuck (which has a lot of connective tissue and is therefore ideal for slow cooking) or the shoulder, which is suitable and offers a great quality-price ratio.
In any case, to avoid mistakes I always ask my trusted butcher for advice.
Once you’ve chosen the cut, it should be cut into small pieces about 5/8 in. If you can, make them roughly the same size so they cook evenly.
SLOW COOKER BEEF STEW WITH POTATOES
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 5 Hours
- Portions: 4-6 servings
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 lb 5 oz Beef
- 11 oz Potatoes
- 1 cup Frozen peas (or canned)
- 1 1/2 Onion
- 1 Carrot
- 2 cups Tomato passata
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- to taste Salt (or 1 vegetable bouillon cube)
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
Slow Cooker beef stew with potatoes recipe
Start by chopping the onion, carrot, garlic and rosemary in a food processor.
Then put all the aromatics together in a bowl, add the meat and toss until everything is well coated.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes, preferably all the same size.
At this point place the potatoes into the slow cooker insert and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.
Pour the tomato passata over the potatoes and finally add the meat for the stew.
I also added a bouillon cube dissolved in a little water, but this depends on your taste; otherwise season with a little salt.
Turn on your slow cooker to the High setting and set the time to 5 hours.
When there is about 1 hour left, quickly open the lid and add the drained canned peas.
At the end of cooking you will have potatoes that are well cooked but still slightly firm, creamy peas, and meat so tender it melts in your mouth.
If you find the stew sauce too thin and prefer it thicker, transfer it to a saucepan on the stove without a lid and cook over high heat for 5–10 minutes, depending on the thickness you want to achieve.
Your stew is ready — I’m sure your family and guests will clean their plates and even wipe up the sauce with bread!!!!
STORAGE
Once ready, it keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
TIPS AND VARIATIONS
If you prefer white meats (chicken or turkey) instead of red meats, use boneless thighs and drumsticks because they have firmer meat that doesn’t shred as easily in the slow cooker. In this case halve the cooking time (2 hours on High).
SLOW COOKER
Want more information about the slow cooker? Then also read these articles
https://blog.giallozafferano.it/atavolacontea/tabella-conversione-tempi-per-slow-cooker/
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