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Beef Stew with Cumin Seed
Beef stew will never rank high on anyone's list of elegant looking dishes, but this one,
with its distinctive combination of flavors and textures, certainly passes muster for its
elegant taste. Serve it with an appropriate starch, risotto is our favorite, and you have
the beginnings of a menu worthy of the Cafe Beouf.
Our preference with this dish is to begin with the small roast which is on sale this
week--eye of the round, rump, sirloin, whatever--and proceed from there. But using the
generic "stew meat" is not an unreasonable economy measure. Whichever you choose, note
that the timing is based upon relatively small cubes, 1 inch square. Larger cubes could
be accommodated with more stewing time, but we would recommend instead that you cut the
meat smaller.
A word of warning about preparation time: the time between first pulling ingredients
from the fridge and putting the stew into the oven can easily run to an hour. A minute or
two to sharpen the knifes, three cycles of meat browning, dicing one of the cubes small
enough for a cat dish treat: all of these steps add up.
| 3 lbs. beef, cut in 1 inch cubes |
1 T. dried thyme |
| 1 t. salt |
1/2 t. black pepper |
| 1/2 - 2/3 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour |
3/4 c. olive oil |
| 1 1/2 c. beef stock |
1 c. dry red wine |
| 1 can (14-15 oz.) crushed tomatoes |
3 T. cumin seed (or 2 T. ground cumin) |
| 1 t. chili powder |
1 bay leaf |
| 8-12 white pearl onions |
6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped |
| 1/2 c. chopped parsley, plus sprigs for garnish |
1 1/2 c. green, pitted olives (no pimento stuffing) |
- Put the meat in a large mixing bowl. Season with the thyme, salt, and pepper. Using
one hand to reach under and toss the meat and the other to turn the bowl slowly, making sure
the individual cubes are well covered with the seasonings. Continue the toss-and-turn
process while sprinkling the meat with the flour until all cubes are lightly coated.
- Heat 1/4 c. of the oil in a large stew pot. Add about a pound of the beef cubes, and
brown them well on all sides. Remove them to paper towels to drain. Add more oil and
repeat the process until all of the meat is browned.
- Preheat the oven to 350o. No oil should be left in the stew pot, but if any is,
discard it. Without cleaning the pot, add the beef stock and return it to the heat. As
the stock warms, gently scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to incorporate into the
sauce the browned flour and pieces of beef. Add in the wine, tomatoes, cumin seed, chili
powder, bay leaf, and drained beef. When the stew reaches a boil, cover the pot and move
it to the oven.
- The total cooking time in the oven will be 1 1/2 hours. Plan on giving the stew a
brief stir every twenty minutes.
- While the stew simmers, bring a sauce pan of water to a boil on the range. Take the
onions, cut a quarter-inch deep X in the base of each, and drop them into the water for a
minute. Transfer the onions quickly to cold water (to stop the cooking). When they have
cooled, trim and peel the onions. After the stew has cooked for 1 hour, stir in the
onions. For the remainder of the cooking time, leave the cover off the pot.
- With 15 minutes to go before serving time, stir in the garlic, parsley, and olives.
Continue to simmer, uncovered. Just before serving, check the seasoning and, probably,
add salt and black pepper. (If the stew is being prepared well ahead of time, finish
cooking the meat but hold off on the garlic, parsley, and olives. They should be added in
as you are bringing the stew back up to temperature.)
- Serve the stew lightly garnished with additional sprigs of parsley.
6-8 servings
Source: The Silver Palate Cookbook
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