Tavern breakfast stew
Here's Sam's recipe for her go-to stew that makes the perfect breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's easily adaptable for personal taste, but this is the base recipe and sometimes she'll make variations depending on what's available/in the pantry. It makes A LOT, but portions can be easily frozen to enjoy later.
{Tavern Breakfast Stew}
8+ Qt Stockpot, cooking pot etc.
Salt (Kosher preferable)
Black Pepper
Canola oil.
2 Lbs Mushrooms – baby bellas, criminni etc
1-2 Yellow onions, Diced
3-4 Celery Stalks, Diced
3-4 Carrots, Diced
6+ cloves garlic , smashed then diced
Fresh Rosemary – 1+ TBSP chopped
Fresh Thyme – however much you can tolerate pulling off the stems
500ml Pinot Noir – One single serve box.
1+ Cup dried Barley – Pre-soak in boiling water from kettle or hot from sink for at least an hour. I’m bad at measuring the exact amount, just kind of what I have laying around
2 Qts Beef Broth – Can be substituted for Veggie broth
1-2 Qts water – If using canned or boxed broth, use the newly emptied containers to add the water
2-4 tbsp soy sauce
2 cans cannelini or great northern beans or any other kind of white bean
Step 1 – Heat some oil over med-high heat in a stockpot, just enough oil to coat the bottom. In batches saute mushrooms for 5-10 minutes and then remove, making sure to add a pinch or two of salt to each batch. Stir occasionally but let them brown. Add more oil as necessary to keep from smoking between batches. Remove and set aside.
Step 2 – Reduce heat to low and add another small amount of oil. Add in onions, celery, carrots and several pinches of salt. Stir the mirepoix to get everything coated and then leave it for at least 30 minutes if not 45-60. It should sweat out a lot of juices and be very fragrant. If losing too much moisture then reduce heat further and/or cover pot.
Step 3 – Add Garlic and herbs, some more salt, and a healthy amount of black pepper. You can also add red pepper flakes for added heat and flavor. I’ve started using Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru) but any work. Stir and let sweat for another 5-10 minutes.
Step 4 – Increase heat to medium and add wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot with wooden or rubber spatula to de-glaze any stuck bits from mushrooms or mirepoix, then reduce until alcohol smell is largely gone. Instead of wine you can also de-glaze with a small amount of water or stock, if wine it's an option.
Step 5 – Add beef stock and water. You want to make sure there’s room to add the barley and the mushrooms and beans later, but you also want a healthy amount of stock to boil. Hence the 1-2 qts of water. I usually go for about three inches of room from the bottom of my stockpot but obviously that depends on the size of the pot you use.
Step 6 – Increase to high and bring soup to a rolling boil. While waiting for boil add soy sauce.
Step 7 – Reduce to a simmer and add barley and mushrooms. If you skipped the wine you can add some red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar to get some of that acidity in there. Don’t add very much or you’ll taste the vinegar instead of just the acid. Depending on how much you want to reduce the broth you can cover it all the way or leave it partially uncovered. I usually let it simmer, mostly covered, for about 45 mins to an hour. Just make sure the barley is cooked all the way through. It should be a little toothsome but soft.
Step 8 – Add the beans and continue to simmer for around 10 mins. At this point you can start tasting for flavor. Add salt if it’s too bland or more soy sauce. Add a little vinegar if it needs a bit of a tang. Add pepper for a bit of heat. It’s going to get better and better as it sits, either as it cools on the stove or in the fridge, so if you accidentally add too much salt here you can always add more broth to it later. Serve with crusty bread, and shredded parmesan on top of each bowl.
