Dish of Beef Stew with Vegetables
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Beef Stew with Vegetables


R. Georgia   -   Sousi
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3-1/4 #
***
2-3/4 hrs
Yes		 A very flavorful, healthy, and economical beef stew. It takes quite a bit of cutting in the prep stage, but not a lot of attention while cooking. It reheats very well.

1
1
10
1
7
1
1/3
1/3
4
1
1
1
1/3
#
#
oz
#
oz

c
c
T

c
t
t
Beef, lean (1)
Tomatoes
Onions
Potatoes
Bell Pepper, grn  
Chili, hot (2)
Cilantro (3)
Basil (3)
Butter
Bay Leaf
Stock, Beef (4)  
Salt
Pepper, black
PREP   -   (57 min)
  1. Cut BEEF into cubes, about 1 inch on a side, removing all excess fat.
  2. Scald TOMATOES 1 minute in boiling water, quench in cold water and peel. Dice small.
  3. Quarter ONIONS lengthwise and slice fairly thin crosswise.
  4. Peel POTATOES and dice about 1/2 inch on a side. Hold in cold water until needed.
  5. Blast BELL PEPPER black with your Kitchen Torch and brush the skins off under running water. Core and dice about 3/8 inch. Chop CHILI fine. Mix both with Tomatoes.
  6. Remove stems and damaged leaves from CILANTRO and BASIL. Chop fairly fine. You can include smaller stems from the Cilantro. Mix.
RUN   -   (1-3/4 hr)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan (3-1/2 qt) or similar, place Beef and cook covered over low heat, stirring now and then, until it starts to sweat. Continue to braise in its own juices, tightly covered for about 10 minutes, stirring just once. Uncover and turn the heat up to medium high, stirring now and then until all the liquid evaporates.
  2. Stir in Butter and Fry Beef over medium high, stirring now and then until it is lightly browned all over, about 10 minutes.
  3. Stir in Onions and drained Potatoes. Continue to fry over medium high heat, stirring now and then, for another 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in Tomato mix, Herb mix, Bay Leaf, Stock, Salt and Pepper. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and simmer over low heat for about 1 hour.
  5. Adjust Salt and Liquid as needed. Serve hot, accompanied with steamed rice.
NOTES:

  1. Beef:

      Weight is boneless and with all excess fat removed. One of the tougher stewing cuts or roasts will be fine, though I prefer shoulder cuts.

  2. Chili:

      One green Serrano or similar will do fine for most people. I do not know what kind of Chili is used in Georgia, but Serranos have now invaded most of the world. For details see our Chilis page.

  3. Herbs:

      Measure is after removing stems and chopping, moderately packed. That'll be at least 2 ounces each on the stems. Opal Basil (purple) is preferred in Georgia, but Thai Purple Basil and Italian Basil will work well enough. Yes that's a whole lot of herbs - but not unusual for Anatolia and Caucasus, where herbs are treated practically like greens.

  4. Stock:

      The pattern recipe calls for water, but I use stock because I have plenty on hand and it makes a richer stew. Traditional recipes rarely call for stock, because people had no way to hold it for more than a few hours, though bouillon cubes and powders have become popular. For details on how to keep stock on hand without over-filling your freezer compartment, see our recipe Soup Stock / Broth.

  5. Comments:

      In Georgia, Armenian / Turkish peppers would likely be used. Even here in the Western Capital of Armenia, these are not reliably available. Mild Hungarian peppers are about the same (the Hungarians got chili peppers from the Turks), as are Cubanelles, but also not reliably available. In my opinion the Green Bell pepper is superior for this dish anyway, but if you don't blast the skin off, dice it no larger than 1/4 inch. Green Anaheim chilis could also be used, sort of half way between the Armenian and Bell Pepper.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch tt=to taste ar=as required
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