Crock-pot Beef Stew with Butternut Squash, turns delightful with the addition of Marsala and Fettuccini. A beautiful Winter stew that’s hearty and healthy.
Winter and Stew – A Marriage
We’ve only been dabbling with Winter temperatures this season. Our lingering sunshiny Fall has barely given us a gray sky, snow flurries or overnight temperatures in the teens. This weekend Jack Frost has finally arrived, we have a couple of inches of snow on the ground and numbing cold temps. It’s officially stew weather. And this calls for a bowl of steeping beefy brothy goodness.
Why Is This Stew So Good?
This is a nice version of a hearty beef stew recipe. And if you’re looking for butternut squash stew recipes, this one is worth a try. Beef, and Marsala wine seem to blend wonderfully and produce a sultry combination of flavors. A grand version of an old favorite.
But What Exactly is Marsala Wine
Won’t any old wine do? Probably, but make sure you try this with Marsala to achieve the depth of flavor Marsala wine is a fortified wine from Sicily. It’s commonly used for cooking to create rich caramelized sauces. There are two styles of Marsala to know for cooking and they are dry vs. sweet, but Marsala is so much more than a cooking wine! It can be made dry and fine enough for sipping, like Sherry or Madeira.
So next time you’re making beef stew, add a little butternut squash to had a hint of sweetness.
Crock-pot Beef Stew with Butternut Squash and Marsala
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½ cup flour
- ½ tsp fine sea or Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Olive or Canola oil for sautéing
- 2 pounds Butternut Squash cut into ¾ – 1 inch cubes
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 2-3 cloves garlic bruised
- 1 cup Sweet Marsala of drinking quality
- 2 cups Beef or Chicken Stock
- Bouquet garni 2 sprigs rosemary, 1 bay leaf, several sprigs of thyme and several large sprigs of parsley tied together with cotton butcher’s string – or bay leaf and pinches of dry rosemary and thyme
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Dredge the beef cubes in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat, add a drizzle of oil, and brown beef in batches, refreshing oil as needed – take care not to burn the pan. Remove browned meat and place in crockpot.
- Refresh pan with oil if needed, add onions and sauté until tender, scraping pan regularly with a wooden spoon to break down crust. Add Marsala and stir to finish, reduce by 25%.
- Add this mixture to the crockpot. Add beef stock and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Peel and cube butternut squash and add during the last two hours of cooking time..
- Serve over fettuccini, mashed potatoes or wild and brown rice.
Nutrition
Crock-pot Beef Stew with Butternut Squash and Marsala …It’s What’s for Dinner.
From The Kitchen of Lea Ann Brown
