This classic stove top beef stew recipe is perfect for a nice dinner or lunch. French beef carrot stew is hearty and super easy to make.
This hearty beef carrot stew is a traditional French beef stew recipe called “Boeuf carottes”.
Although in need of cooking for a long time, this beef stew doesn’t take long to prepare. So you won’t slave for hours in the kitchen. The best part about this stew is that it's both delicious and easy to make.
About the wine
If you are following the Autoimmune Protocol, you probably know that alcohol (like drinking a glass of wine) is not compliant. But in this recipe, the wine is cooked so the alcohol is being cooked off. So according to Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, so long as the alcohol is cooked off, it is fine (for further information please read her article on alcohol and AIP). Also bear in mind that, as she oultines herself, alcohol is not the only culprit in wine. You can also be sensitive to the yeast or sulfites contained in wine.
Conclusion : the decision regarding wether or not use wine in this recipe is up to you, according to your own sensitivities. If you are afraid of using it, just omit it as explained in the recipe.
About the bouquet garni
A bouquet garni is a bunch of herbs used for flavoring stews or soups. The herbs are usually tied together but as you will see on the pictures below, we didn't tie them up together. As we figured it wouldn't be very difficult to fish them out before serving.
In France, you can buy bouquets garnis already prepared for you at the grocery store or at the market. But here we used herbs from the garden. So it was a homemade bouquet garni. As you can see on the picture on the left for this recipe, we used 6 bay leaves, about 5 small thyme branches and one rosemary branch. Do not hesitate to adjust the herbs quantities to your own taste. The making of a bouquet garni is not an exact science (at least not in Bea's kitchen 😀).
How to make this traditional French beef stew
- Pour the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Heat the olive oil on medium high heat and add the meat once the oil is hot. Sear the meat on both large sides for about 2-3 minutes each.
- In the meantime, peel and dice the onions. Peel the garlic cloves. Add the onions and (whole) garlic cloves to the dutch oven along with the bouquet garni. Turn the meat on all sides to give it a nice brown color. Once the meat is nicely browned, add the white wine, water and pinch of salt and the optional bone marrow.
- Peel and slice the carrots.
- Add them to the dutch oven. Cover the dutch oven and let the whole thing cook on medium heat for about 3 hours (until the meat is nicely tender). Et voilà! Bon appétit!
Other stew recipes you might like
- Pot au feu French beef stew (AIP, paleo, whole30)
- Veal stew (AIP, paleo, whole30)
- Turkey stew (AIP, paleo, gluten free)
French Beef Carrot Stew (gluten free, AIP, paleo)
Ingredients
- 1.8 pounds (800 g) beef chuck / stew meat
- 2.2 pounds (1 kg) carrots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 yellow onions
- 1 bouquet garni (a bunch of rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. See notes for more details)
- 100 ml water
- 100 ml white wine (or water if you want to avoid wine)
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of salt
Optional :
- 1 bone marrow
Instructions
- Pour the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Heat the olive oil on medium high heat and add the meat once the oil is hot. Sear the meat on both large sides for about 2-3 minutes each.
- In the meantime, peel and dice the onions. Peel the garlic cloves. Add the onions and (whole) garlic cloves to the dutch oven along with the bouquet garni. Turn the meat on all sides to give it a nice brown color. Once the meat is nicely browned, add the white wine, water and pinch of salt and the optional bone marrow.
- Peel and slice the carrots. Add them to the dutch oven. Cover the dutch oven and let the whole thing cook on medium heat for about 3 hours (until the meat is nicely tender). Et voilà!Bon appétit!
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