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Instant Pot Beef Stew with Spanish Smoked Paprika. Pressure cooker beef stew, Spanish style, seasoned with pimenton de la Vera.
Spanish smoked paprika is of my favorite spices, and I use it all the time. (And I do mean all the time). That’s why I loved Albert Stumm’s The Delicate Art of Pimenton, about a visit to Spain’s La Vera valley. He talks about process of wood-smoking Spanish peppers to create pimenton de la Vera. By the time I was done with the article, I knew I had to hit up my pantry and use some pimenton.
It also reminded me of the Spanish beef stew in Pam Anderson’s Perfect One Dish Dinners, a mix of beef, bell peppers, chickpeas, and of course, smoked paprika.
One trick I learned from Mr. Stumm’s article is that, in Spain, the paprika is added in late in the cooking process. This preserves the sweet and smoky Spanish paprika flavor. I’m using that paprika in one of my pressure cooker stew tricks, a corn starch slurry. Pressure cooking doesn’t allow evaporation, and the cornstarch slurry thickens up the stew - and lets me add in that extra burst of paprika at the end.
And, as always with my beef recipes, I want to shout out to my friends at Certified Angus Beef® Brand. This post is #notsponsored, but I do enjoy the quality of the beef from just down the road in Wooster, OH.
Recipe: Instant Pot Beef Stew with Spanish Smoked Paprika
Adapted from: Perfect One Dish Dinners by Pam Anderson
Inspired by: The Delicate Art of Pimenton Milk Street Magazine, March-April 2020
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Instant Pot Beef Stew with Spanish Smoked Paprika
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Beef Stew with Spanish Smoked Paprika. Pressure cooker beef stew, Spanish style, seasoned with pimenton de la Vera.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton de la Vera)
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 cup beef broth (or chicken broth, or water)
- ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt (if using homemade broth or water)
- 1 pound baby carrots (or 3 large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths)
- 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained (or 2 cups homemade chickpeas)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Paprika-cornstarch slurry (optional)
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton de la Vera)
Instructions
- Sear the beef in three batches: Heat the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode adjusted to high until the oil shimmers. (Use medium-high heat with a stovetop PC). While the pot heats, sprinkle the beef cubes with 1 teaspoon salt. Add ⅓ of the beef in a loose single layer and sear until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. (Don’t crowd the pot or the beef will steam, not brown). Transfer the browned beef to a bowl, add half of the remaining beef to the pot, and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the bowl. Add the rest of the beef to the pot and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the bowl.
- Sauté the aromatics, toast the spices, deglaze the pan with wine: Add the onion, bell peppers, and garlic to the pot. Sprinkle with the paprika, dried thyme and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir the tomato paste into the onions. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally to loosen any browned bits of beef. Pour the red wine into the pot, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 1 minute to boil off some of the alcohol. Scrape the bottom of the pot again to release any browned onions or tomato paste.
- Everything into the pot: Stir in the beef and any juices left in the bowl. Stir in the beef broth (and ½ teaspoon salt if using homemade broth), carrots, diced tomatoes, and chickpeas.
- Pressure cook the stew for 15 minutes with a natural release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes in an electric pressure cooker (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 12 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 more minutes. (If you’re in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
- Season, thicken, and serve: Stir in the 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Whisk the water and cornstarch together to make a cornstarch slurry, and then stir the slurry into the stew. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- The downside to pressure cooking is a thin sauce. The sealed pressure cooker lets us build pressure, but we don’t get any evaporation to thicken up the sauce. The cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce and gives it the mouthfeel of a long-simmered stew. And, as I said above, it lets me
- You can substitute bottom round roast for the chuck roast if that’s what’s available; everything else cooks the same.
Tools
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot 6-Quart Pressure Cooker)
- Flat edged wooden spoon
- Tongs
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Spanish
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What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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Cami says
Thanks for the great recipe! The paprika thickener really makes a difference. I do double the chickpeas to 2 cans, since I love them so much and instead of using tomato paste (which I never have on hand) I just replace with 28oz can of tomato puree.
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
John says
Made this yesterday and loved it. You are right - as with any recipe that calls for paprika you need to use top quality - it makes a difference in the end product.
The only addition I made was that I have some turnips to I added those to the mix since I didn't have any chickpeas handy.
Jim Studer says
Mike, I made this recipe in spite of my wife's reservations (she says she hates beef stew) and she and I loved it.
Maria P says
Thanks for putting together this IP version of the recipe. I love that Pam Anderson cookbook and tend to go to it for most dinner parties. Last weekend, time got away and I didn't have time to prep this the day prior. I used your recipe to speed up the tenderizing, and then moved it to a pot stove top to thicken and keep it warm. Fantastic!
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Razzy 7 says
Mike, I appreciate that you often provide links to actual ingredients you use. The “right” ingredient can often make such a difference - the difference between good and spectacular. I’ve ordered the Pimenton de la Vera.
Mike Vrobel says
Great! I’m glad it helps. This is exactly why I do it - for unusual or rare ingredients.