Whether it's for health or environmental reasons, more people are trying to cut down on their meat intake — but it can be hard to give it up entirely. The new cookbook Mostly Meatless: Green Up Your Plate Without Totally Ditching the Meat includes recipes that make vegetables and grains the star of the show — while giving meat an occasional cameo. Dan Souza of America’s Test Kitchen shares recipes and techniques.

This episode is guest-hosted by Kousha Navidar.

Almost Beefless Beef Stew
Serves 4 to 6 
Total Time: 2 hours  

Why This Recipe Works 
The hallmark of an excellent beef stew is exceedingly tender meat swimming in a deeply savory broth. This is usually achieved by using a large cut of meat, so we wondered if there could, or should, be space for such a dish in a book that aims to reduce meat consumption. Early tests seemed to confirm our skepticism—until we tried blade steaks, which consistently turned tender and were convenient to buy in small amounts. The chunks distributed plenty of richness to our medley of vegetables: potatoes, carrots, peas, and pearl onions. However, our glossy sauce seriously lacked beefiness. To rectify this, we turned to ingredients adept at building up tasty browning. Garlic, anchovies, and tomato paste created a flavor-rich base for our stew. We also added a pound of mushrooms, taking care to drive away moisture to concentrate their flavor. Our final recipe had over 4 pounds of veggies and under a pound of meat, yet every bite brimmed with beefy flavor. Use extra small Yukon Gold or red potatoes measuring less than 1 inch in diameter. You can substitute Yukon Gold or red potatoes that are 1 to 2 inches in diameter; just be sure to halve them before adding to the stew in step 4.

Ingredients

• 2 (6- to 8‑ounce) blade steaks, ¾ to 1 inch thick, trimmed and cut into 1½‑inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved if small or quartered if large or medium
• ¾ teaspoon table salt, divided
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced thin
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 6 anchovy fillets, minced
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine, divided
• 2½ cups chicken or beef broth
• 1 pound extra-small potatoes
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick on bias
• 1½ cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add beef and cook until well browned on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes; transfer to bowl. 
    
2. Add mushrooms, 1 tablespoon oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt to fat left in pot and cook, covered, over medium-high heat until mushrooms have released their liquid, 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until mushrooms are well browned, 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with beef.
    
3. Add onion, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt to now-empty pot and cook until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, and anchovies and cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste is slightly darkened, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook until no dry flour remains, about 30 seconds. 
    
4. Slowly add 1 cup wine, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in broth, potatoes, and beef-mushroom mixture and any accumulated juices. Bring to simmer, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook for 1 hour. 
    
5. Remove pot from oven. Stir in carrots and pearl onions and bring to simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pot, until carrots are tender, 8 to 12 minutes. 
    
6. Stir in peas and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in pepper and remaining 2 tablespoons wine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. (Stew can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)