Portuguese beef stew

Every Portuguese family has a carne guisada — the everyday beef stew that solves Sunday lunch, feeds unexpected guests and improves overnight in the fridge. This is mine: beef marinated in wine and garlic, simmered with paprika and bay until the sauce thickens around potatoes, carrots and peas.

It is one-pot cooking with deep roots: the refogado of onion and olive oil as the foundation, wine instead of water wherever possible, and patience while the pot does the work.

Serve it with white rice or crusty bread, and do not skip the marinating step — twenty minutes of prep buys you hours of flavor.

Portuguese Beef Stew Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: about 1 hour 10 minutes · Total: about 1½ hours · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~494 per serving

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds stewing beef, cubed
• 1½ pounds small potatoes
• 7 oz peas
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1¼ cups white wine
• Scant ½ cup (7 tablespoons) tomato pulp
• 3½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig parsley
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Season the cubed beef with the chopped garlic, white wine, salt and pepper, and let it marinate while you prep.
2. Cook the chopped onion in the olive oil in a large pot until golden.
3. Add the tomato pulp, paprika, bay leaf, parsley and the drained beef. Stir and cook about 5 minutes.
4. Pour in the marinade, 4 cups of water and the bouillon cube, and cook about 25 minutes.
5. Add the sliced carrots, the potatoes and the peas.
6. Cook about 40 minutes more, until everything is tender and the sauce has thickened.

Recipe Notes

• Mushrooms, bell peppers or green beans stretch it further; greens wilted in at the end add freshness.
• Chuck roast and short ribs are excellent stewing cuts for this.
• Cumin or smoked paprika deepen the profile without breaking tradition.
• It adapts perfectly to the slow cooker — and tastes even better the next day.