Slow Cooker Beef, Lentil, & Farro Stew

• portions: 8 servings
• temps total: 8~ish Hours

Ingrédients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2-3 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 inch pieces (about 2 1/2 pounds when done if starting at 3 pounds)

Freshly ground salt and pepper

1 32 oz. Box Beef Bone Broth

1 32 oz Box Water (fill broth box and use that)

1 cup dry red wine (pinot noir S class)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons Penzey's Balti seasoning

Lots of freshly ground black pepper

6 garlic cloves, minced

4 large carrots (or 5 medium), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch diagonal slices

1 pound yukon gold potatoes, diced into ½ inch cubes

1 c. Red Lentils, rinsed and sorted for rocks

1 c. Farro, rinsed ** (add halfway through)

Instructions

STEP 1

Cut stew beef into smaller chunks than arrives from store. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large skillet and place over medium high heat. Add beef, season with salt and pepper and brown in batches, so that you give the meat room for a nice sear. This should take about 5 minute per batch of meat. Transfer to large 6 or 8-quart slow cooker. **wait and deglaze pan next step **

STEP 2

Mix up a bit of the beef broth, dry red wine, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, & balsamic vinegar to deglaze pan from searing beef. Dump that in the crockpot along with the rest of the beef broth, fill the box up and add that much water, along with the Balti seasoning and salt and pepper. Stir together with the beef until combined, then add in lentils, garlic, carrots and diced potatoes. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. I prefer to cook this slow and low so that the beef become really tender and the flavors have time to meld together.

******* STEP 2.5 *******

Rinse and add farro to slow cooker at halfway point (at least 4 hours remaining)

STEP 3

((OMIT: Next, remove 1 cup of beef broth from the slow cooker and transfer to a medium bowl. Whisk in ¼ cup flour until there aren’t any lumps remaining. Add back to the slow cooker and stir to combine.))

Notes

** Use link for original recipe; recipe as written is as I've adjusted **

**09.17.2021 Used Bandit Cabernet Sauvignon. A little strong, could cut back on wine next time. Use 4c. broth 1c. wine?

**02.10.2025 Used some 4 pk mini-bottles of Pinot Noir. PERFECT. Swapped thyme for a heaping teaspoon of Penzey's Balti seasoning. Noticeable, but weak. Can double down on this next time and use two teaspoons (at least). Also, did 1c/1c red lentils (added at start) and farro (added halfway through cook time. Great texture. Lentils help thicken and make flour thickening unnecessary

Nutrition

• Taille de Portion: 1 serving (based on 6)
• Calories: 410 kcal
• Lipides Totaux: 14.5 g
• Lipides Saturés: 4.8 g
• Glucides Totaux: 22 g
• Fibres Diététiques: 3.8 g
• Sucres Totaux: 5.1 g
• Protéines: 39.6 g