Beef stew is great comfort food that you can make in as little as 75 minutes in an Instant Pot. It works well in a slow cooker as well if you want to let it simmer all day and have it ready when you walk in the door.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of cubed stewing beef
1-1.25 L of beef stock
1 lb of carrots
1 lb of potatoes
1 medium onion
4 cloves of garlic
300 grams of peas (or shelled edamame)
3 tablespoons of flour (or rice flour if gluten-free)
3 tablespoons of cornstarch

Start by lightly dusting the cubed beef with flour in a large Ziploc.

Sear the beef over medium-high heat in a nonstick pan with oil, season with salt and pepper. Work in small batches.

When the meat has browned, deglaze the pan with the beef stock and pour into an Instant pot or slow cooker. Repeat these steps until all the beef has been seared.

While the beef is searing, you can roughly chop the large onion, 4 cloves of garlic, and cut the potatoes and carrots into the same 1.5-inch pieces. Then, toss it all into the pot. Maybe you have a “Rock Pot” like the one below?!?

Fill the pot with stock to cover all the ingredients. You can toss in 3-4 bay leaves and a sprinkle of thyme if you’d like. Once all the ingredients are in, set the pot to high pressure, on the ‘meat/stew’ setting for 40 minutes.

When the timer goes off, unplug the Instant Pot and let it depressurize on its own (the pressure seal will eventually fall down 20-30 minutes after you unplug the pot). The meat seems to be more tender and flavourful this way than when you quick release the pressure.

Open the lid and toss in the edamame or peas. Finally, create a cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch with a little cold water to dissolve.  Add this slurry to the pot while the mixture is hot, stir to help it thicken, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice, quinoa, couscous, bread, on its own or with whatever makes you happy and enjoy!! ?

This super recipe has been contributed by a LYNX Triathlon club member.