This cooking method is great for tough meat cuts like cubed chuck, and it makes a nice and easy one-dish (and usually one-pot) meal. You can also use up a ton of leftovers this way, and if you have leftovers after making it, a stew freezes and reheats well.

1. Cut everything (meat, veggies, potatoes) into similar, bite-sized pieces.

2. Heat a stockpot or saucepan over medium-high heat and add several tablespoons of oil to keep the meat from sticking.

3. Season the meat with salt and pepper, and put it in the pan or pot (you’ll know it’s hot enough when the meat sizzles). Brown the meat without cooking it totally through.

4. Remove the meat, and add your veggies (sans potatoes). Onions, carrots, and celery work well. Cook and stir for a few minutes, then sprinkle in some flour to thicken the stew -- about a tablespoon for every pint of cooking liquid you use (see Step 6). Stir and let it cook for a few minutes, and then add the meat back in.

5. Add any herbs you want, like thyme or bay leaf.

6. Pick a stewing liquid like water, stock, dry (not sweet!) wine, or some sort of combination of the above. (If you use canned stock, make sure it’s low sodium.) Add enough liquid to completely cover the food.

7. Bring the whole thing to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and keep cooking until the meat’s done. (This means it’s tender but not mushy.) Poultry generally takes about an hour, lamb and veal about an hour and a half, and beef up to three hours. If you don’t have any meat, it’ll probably only take around half an hour.

8. Add your potatoes when you have about 40 minutes left of cooking time. (Add them too early, and they’ll simply end up disintegrating.)

9. Before serving, accent with some sort of fresh chopped herb like parsley.

Learn How to Peel Ginger here.

-- Paula Kashtan

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