A hearty winter meal, somewhere in between a classic pot roast and a full-on stew. Plan about 25 minutes of prep and 60 minutes of cooking.
Ingredients:
One pound of beef sirloin tips (cut into large cubes and trimmed of fat)
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup diced red onion
Olive oil
1/3 cup flour (I used all-purpose gluten-free)
1/2 cup red wine (I used a bold cab)
1 1/2 cups of beef broth
Cornstarch
Preparation:
- Peel and dice your onion. Add a 1/2 cup to the beef, along with a few dashes of salt and pepper. Mix and set aside.
- Heat a few Tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat in a skillet.
- Mix 1/3 cup flour into the bowl of beef cubes until well-coated.
Cook & Serve:
- Saute the beef in the oil until about medium rare and seared on the outside.
- Remove the beef from the pan (spoon it out with a slotted spoon, reserving any oil and beef bits in the pan).
- Pour the wine in the pan and scrape the bits off the pan's bottom, letting the wine cook and reduce for about two minutes.
- Add the beef broth to the pan and bring to a boil.
- Put the beef cubes back in the pan and cover it. Reduce heat to simmer for one hour. Stir occasionally, scraping off the bottom of the pan as you stir.
- Before serving, if you'd like the accompanying liquid to be more, well, liquidy ... add more beef broth. If you'd like it thicker, take a spoonful of the cooking liquid out of the pan and put in a bowl. Whisk with a Tablespoon of cornstarch. Stir well into the beef pan, until liquid becomes more of a thick gravy.
Serve on mashed potatoes with chives and roasted vegetables. The gravy is spectacular with potatoes. The beef tips would also be great over a bed of rice or a plate of egg noodles. Or skip the carbs and just serve with vegetables. You be you, fellow home chefs.
A Little Backstory:
I would eat a seared ribeye for dinner every night, if I could. But (*sigh*) that's not good for anyone's health ... or budget. When you shop for groceries, think about cuts of beef that are cheaper than a top-quality steak and can also be used for multiple recipes during the week (especially if you're cooking for one person). Sirloin tips, like a chuck roast, will make plenty for leftovers. Flank steak and top sirloin are also two of my favorites. Both can be cooked multiple ways and -- when cooked ahead and thinly sliced -- get you through multiple meals, like fajitas and steak salad, or throw on top of a pile of potatoes and steamed veggies as a quick lunch of leftovers.
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