AT THE TABLE WITH MILLARD FILLMORE

Slow Sunday beef stew

Name: Slow Sunday beef stew
Total time: 2 h 45 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 900 g beef chuck, cut into 3 cm cubes (2 lb); 2 tbsp flour; 2 tbsp oil; 2 onions, diced; 3 carrots, thickly sliced; 600 g potatoes, chunked; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 litre beef stock (4 cups); 1 tsp dried thyme; 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp pepper

Let tenderness decide the finish: some cuts need another 20 minutes.

Dinner2 hr 45 minServes 6

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Slow Sunday beef stew — a painted table — A painted table · Serving illustration

THE STORY ON YOUR PLATE

A farm-style soup substantial enough for dinner

More about Millard Fillmore →

The thirteenth president came from New York.

Family or White House tradition

A later culinary account describes Fillmore’s substantial farm-style soups of meat, potatoes and vegetables. This stew keeps broth and solids together, with a slow simmer to soften the beef.

The president & the table

Later presidential culinary history describes Fillmore’s tastes through his New York farm background: meat, potatoes and vegetables, with hearty soup often doing the work of a full meal. In that account, the broth could be served first and the solids afterwards.

Behind this story

The Presidents’ Cookbook (1968), Fillmore chapter, pp. 202–208.

Slow Sunday beef stew

A farm-style soup substantial enough for dinner

Make it at home.

What you’ll need

Let’s make it