Beef stew. Trying it with mushrooms instead of the usual taters/carrots. Wud sweet taters be good addition?

Question

I'm looking to experiment, so please tell me how you think this would go together (the beef stew with button mushrooms and sweet potatoes). And any other suggestions for creativity much appreciated! Thanks!

Answer 1

The sweet potatoes would probably not stand up to the long cooking time beef stew entails. It's a softer potato and would probably disintigrate, although it would definitely make your stew thicker which might be desirable.

Mushrooms are always a good addition to any stew, just make sure you choose one that's hardy enough to stand up to all that cooking time, button mushrooms, portobellos, any of the thicker, larger mushrooms would work.

Another idea is to add celery or some leafy green vegetables to it. Kale and Collard greens are sturdy enough to hold up and will add some extra nutrients. You can use the frozen ones if you can find them if you don't want to take on washing fresh greens which is time consuming to get all the sand out.

Whole garlic cloves are wonderful in stew. By the time the stew is finished cooking the cloves are soft and sweet and fantastic with the meat.

Whole pearl onions are an "old school" ingredient that was very common when I was a kid, but it wasn't much fun peeling all those little onions. Use frozen or if you want fresh, blanch them in boiling water for about a minute and they'll be much easier to peel.

Any root vegetable would be good and there are plenty of not so common ones you can use like turnips, rutabagas, celery root (also called celeriac).

Another healthy addition is beans...garbanzos or white beans are always good. Use dried ones you've soaked overnight...canned are already cooked and will be mushy in stew.

Answer 2

I haven't really cooked with sweet potatoes before...but every time someone else has cooked them and I eat them, it seems like they get a lot mushier than regular potatoes, so I am not sure how they would hold up in a stew. You might be better off with a more hardy potato. If you want to mix it up you could try small new potatoes or something instead of baking potatoes.

Mushrooms, definitely. Also remember to throw in some sliced onions, a boullion cube or two... maybe some baby carrots too. Snowpeas might be good too, because they will add a little crunch factor. I would also throw in a bay leaf or two for spice....

You need something in the pot other than just meat and mushrooms...so I don't know if i would forgo the potatoes and carrots entirely...

Good luck, and have fun! And, who knows, maybe the sweet potato would work- experiment! :)

Answer 3

Beef stew with mushrooms is a great idea, you could even add a little red wine to the stew to really bring out the flavor. I would save the sweet potatoes for a side dish - they would change the flavor of the stew, it might go in a direction you weren't hoping for.

Answer 4

Mushrooms sound like a good addition to beef stew! Be careful of how many layers of flavor you add though. Beef stew is a comfort food, and should be simple and tasty. Carrots are sweet, and so are sweet potatoes, so they would naturally make a good stand-in. They may be a little sweeter though, so be careful not to add too much - they aren't the primary flavor you want the dish to express.

Baron

Answer 5

Definitely the mushrooms would be a good idea. As far as the sweet potatoes go, I prefer to save them for maybe a chicken stew.
Some ideas for the beef stew might be: onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, peas, corn. Maybe some herbs like rosemary and thyme would add to the flavour.

Answer 6

Mushrooms yes but I don't think the sweet potatoes would hold up in a stew.

Answer 7

The sweet potatoes will tend to mush up too much. Stay with regular potatoes and add onions, celery, carrots, string beans and other favorite stew seasonings.

Answer 8

The sweet potatoes would not work well, they would get mushy.
Mushrooms are a good idea, and here's a hint to make your stew even yummier. use a packet of Lipton's Beefy Onion Soup. Very Good.

Answer 9

Sounds yummy!