From Chow Bella
Browned pearl onions and mushrooms:
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided
10 oz fresh pearl onions or small onions, such as cipollini, or 1 frozen and thawed
1 lb quartered button mushrooms
1. Heat the butter and 1 1/2 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Add onions and brown, turning often. As said in the book "don't expect them to brown evenly."
2. Add half the remaining oil. Add mushrooms and brown, stirring often. They will first soak up the oil, then as their moisture yields the oil with return to the pan, along with mushroom juices. I did the mushrooms in two batches, which is why I divided the oil. If you pan is large enough, you can do one batch, but I wanted them to brown and not steam. "Don't crowd the mushrooms!" as Julia would say. This can be done a couple days ahead of time. Cool and then refrigerate, covered.
Blanching the bacon lardons:
6 oz bacon
2 quarts boiling water
1. My tip for cutting bacon is make sure it's very cold and your knife is sharp. I don't bother separating the pieces, I just keep them in the stack they came in and cut perpendicular to the length of the bacon.
2. Add bacon to boiling water in a large saucepan and cook 10 min. Remove with slotted spoon. Pat the bacon dry. Pour the water out of the pan. I used the same pan for the next steps. The lardons can also be made ahead. Just drain, pat dry, cool and then refrigerate, covered.
Browning the meat and vegetables, assembling the stew, making the sauce:
1 tbsp oil
bacon lardons from previous step
3 lbs lean stew meat, cut into 2 inch chunks and dried well with paper towel
1 diced carrot
1 diced onion
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt (adjust accordingly to the saltiness of your broth. The orignal recipe calls for 1 tsp but my broth was somewhat salty)
2 cups full-bodied, young red wine, such as Chianti, Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, Bordeax-St. Emilion, Burgundy, or Pinot noir
1 cup beef broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, grated or mashed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Previously cooked mushrooms and pearl onions
3 tbsp red wine, beef broth, or water
2 tbsp arrowroot starch
Minced parsley, for garnish
1. Add oil to the saucepan over medium heat. Add lardons and saute until lightly brown, about 3 minutes. Remove to the slow cooker.
2. In the same fat, brown the beef, a few pieces at a time, being careful not to crowd the pan, which creates steam and prevents browning. Remove the pieces and add to the crock of your slow cooker.
3. Saute vegetables in the remaining fat. Cook until brown. Add to slow crock. Stir in wine, broth, tomato paste, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Place mushrooms and pearl onions on top. Can be refrigerated at this point. Cool, cover, and refrigerate. Before cooking, remove slow cooker crock at least 20 minutes, otherwise the cold crock may crack due to the heat of the slow cooker. Cook 8-10 hours on low or 6-8 hours on high.
4. To make the sauce, strain all liquid from the stew. Remove bay leaf. Add the stew meat and vegetables to your serving dish and cover to keep warm. Add to a saucepan, degreasing if necessary by spooning off excess oil, and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce liquid until slightly thickened, by about one-third. Blend the 3 tbsp of your preferred liquid with the arrowroot starch and add to boiling liquid. Stir well, seasoning to taste. You may need to add more salt, pepper, tomato paste, thyme, or an extra glug of red wine or broth, depending on your taste. I added a small pinch of extra thyme and extra black pepper. Pour sauce over the stew, sprinkle with parsley, and serve proudly.