Red Wine Beef Stew with Lentils and Whisky

A lot of snow today! So, what could be better than a hearty stew? Conveniently, this ties in nicely with a new blogging event, called "Waiter, There's Something In My..." and for January, the theme is "stew". Any stew. So I picked this one - a real warming concoction with loads of flavor. It was nice to try something else with lentils - I'm not a big fan of them, really, but they seem to work really well in stews. (Before, I've made a chicken stew with lentils that's also really tasty.)

Red Wine Beef Stew with Lentils and Whisky
Serves 4

100 g smoked lardons (thick cut bacon will work) in thin strips
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2-3 carrots, sliced
800 g beef, in large dice
1 tsp dried thyme
600 ml red wine
400 ml beef stock
200 ml small green lentils (lentils du Puy is what I use.)
1 tbsp concentrated beef stock (optional)
2 tbsp whisky
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt, pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch (optional)

to serve:
cherry tomatoes, halved
snow peas, sliced into strips

Fry the lardons in a large pot, with the onion. Add the meat, and let it all brown a little bit. Add the thyme, the wine and the stock. This should just about cover the meat. Cover with a lid, and let it simmer for about an hour and a half. After one hour though, add the carrots. Watch to make sure the stew doesn't run too dry - just add extra water in that case.

After the one and half hours have passed, add the lentils. Simmer for another half hour - two hours in total - and then flavor to taste with whisky, balsamic vinegar, concentrated stock, honey, salt and pepper.

If the stew feels a little runny, you can mix the cornstarch with cold water and stir it into the stew to thicken.

Serve with snow peas and cherry tomatoes, and decorate with fresh herbs if you've got them at hand. (I used chervil.)

Recipe in Swedish:
Rödvinsgryta med kött, linser och whisky