Dutch Hachee (Beef and Onion Stew)

About This Recipe

Hachee is Dutch comfort food at its most elemental — chunks of beef braised very slowly with an enormous quantity of onions, red wine vinegar, and aromatic spices until the onions dissolve into a thick, mahogany sauce and the beef becomes fall-apart tender. The signature tangy-sweet depth comes from the vinegar, which balances the richness of the long-braised beef. Served over Dutch stamppot or with thick-cut fries.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 800 gbeef chuck or stewing beef, cubed
• 1 kgonions, thinly sliced
• 3 tbspbutter
• 3 tbspred wine vinegar
• 1 cupbeef stock
• 2 piecesbay leaves
• 4 cloveswhole cloves
• 6 peppercornswhole
• 1 tbspflour
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the beef

   Season beef and brown in batches in butter over high heat. Remove and set aside.

2. 2

   Cook the onions

   In the same pot, cook the onions over medium-low heat for 25–30 minutes until very soft and lightly golden, stirring occasionally.

3. 3

   Add flour and acids

   Sprinkle flour over onions and stir. Add vinegar, stock, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, sugar, and salt.

4. 4

   Braise slowly

   Return beef to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook over very low heat for 2–2.5 hours until beef is very tender and the sauce is thick and dark.

5. 5

   Serve

   Remove bay leaves and cloves. Serve over mashed potatoes or with thick fries.

Variations

• •

  Add juniper berries for a forest note

• •

  Use dark beer instead of some of the stock

• •

  Add mushrooms for extra earthiness

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 5 days. Flavor improves significantly overnight. Freezes well.

Frequently Asked Questions