Argentine Beef Stew -with apricots? Oh yeah!

When you dine at a fine restaurant, you come away with more than a warm memory.  The spark of creativity suddenly flames up inside you and you long to get back into your kitchen.

Creativity is like that.  Go to a wonderful garden, you come home and plant flowers.  After leisurely strolling through an art museum, you fixate on color and design.  You rush home to throw paint on a canvas, or touch up all those fading spots on your house, or rearrange the furniture.

Art in all its forms plants the seeds of creativity that will readily bloom in your garden…if you let them…if you accept that we are all creative, whether it’s painting, or music, or drawing, or flower arranging.  The ‘what’ isn’t important, the ‘embracing’ of your own human need to create is what matters.

What does this have to do with beef stew?  See, you interrupted me and made me explain all that other stuff, all of which should have been self-evident.

Argentine Beef Stew (My version).  A stew with apricots and sweet potato and all that other junk?  Again, there you go, suppressing your urge to create, to start something new, to step smartly into new adventures.  Stop leaning so heavily on your adulthood and be a kid again!

Besides the philosophical and psychological aspects of this dish, it’s delicious, or for you heathens, damn good!

Getting Down to It!

Argentine Beef Stew

 The first thing you need to know is, you can’t do it wrong.  There are as many versions of this dish as there are cooks in Argentina.

1 to 1.5 lbs beef, cut in cubes (I use a whole chuck roast, slice off most of the fat and cut the rest into cubes)

1 One large brown-skinned onion, peeled and diced

4 Cloves of garlic, peeled and diced

5 Cups of beef broth (I used 6 heaping tablespoons of Bovril in 5 cups of water - just to make the broth richer)

1 Can (14 oz) of whole tomatoes, drained

1 Lg sweet potato, peeled and cut in a medium dice

1 Green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 Sm to med Acorn Squash, peeled, seeded, and chunked (don’t worry if you don’t get off every bit of skin)

1 Cup dried apricots, chopped

1 Teaspoon dried or fresh oregano (You should have planted some oregano last spring!)

Salt and black pepper to taste.  Careful with the salt because the broth is already salty.

  

Getting it Done!

Heat the oven to 250ºF

On the stovetop, put some olive oil (about 2 Tablespoons) in a stew pot and heat to a medium temperature.  Add the onions, garlic, and green pepper.  Slow is the secret.  Do not let the onions burn.

When the onions are translucent, add the beef and stir to lightly brown.  Add the whole tomatoes by squashing one at a time into the pot.  You’re not really a cook unless your hands get messy and smell like onions and garlic and tomatoes!  Add the oregano and give everything a stir.

Add the beef broth and bring to a boil.

Cover the pot, put it in the oven, and cook for two hours.

Add the cubed sweet potatoes, chunked squash, and apricots.  Cook another hour.

Bring the stew pot back to the stovetop, take off the lid, and boil the stew until the broth is thickened and reduced by about half.  Judgment call at this point.  Give the broth a taste.  Rich and wonderful?  It’s done.  Still too watery?  Leave it on a while longer.

Ready to eat!  I serve it with thick slices of heavy bread.  If you really want the flavors to meld, let the stew cool and reheat it the next day!

Before reduction.  Boil it a while longer!

A vegetarian?  Sorry.  Tell me again why you’re reading about BEEF STEW.  Don’t like green pepper?  Not a fan of sweet potato?  Don’t like the idea of apricots in your stew?  Ok, you whimpy whiner, grab another beer, sit back and let the rest of us eat this succulent Argentine Beef Stew in peace.

Don't forget to also try my Steak and Ale Pie!  http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2014/06/steak-and-ale-pie-another-english-gift.html  It's going to be a long, cold winter!

Lemony Beer and Rosemary Beef Stew

Wintertime is stew time.  A good stew warms you in places a roaring fire, or even a snifter of Armagnac can’t reach. Although, Armagnac is a step in the right direction.

I am an unapologetic carnivore and while I do love seafood, chicken and pork, when it comes to stew, my taste buds beg for beef.

Beef stew is boring you say?  Ok, let’s clear away the childhood visions of bland brown gravy and meat and throw in some flavors your stunted imagination may not think of when you think of stew.  Beer.  Rosemary. Lemon. Roaring fire. Red wine. Flaming libido.

Been married a while?  Sorry, guess I shouldn’t have mentioned flaming libido.  Didn’t mean to make you cry.  Have another brandy. There are better things in life than ….no, hell no, there are no better things in life!  But this stew comes close. You’re stuck, I can tell. Better leave the bottle.  Aside from this delightful recipe, brandy is the only consolation I can offer.

But back to stew.  By the way, why do we call it beef when the meat comes from cattle?  Why do we call it pork when the meat comes from pigs?  Blame it on the Normans who conquered Britain in 1066 and brought the French language to the English court.  French words like boeuf and porc took over.  French was the language of English royalty and the upper classes and English was the language of the peasantry until about 1450.  Even today the motto of the English Monarch is in French, “Dieu et Mon Droit.” God and My Right.

Did I say, ‘back to stew?”  Well, this time I really mean it!

Lemony Beer and Rosemary Beef Stew

3 lbs Natural Chuck roast, cut into 11/2 inch cubes

2 Cups beef stock (I use Bovril and water to make the stock)

4 Carrots, peeled and cut on the bias

12 Button mushrooms quartered (I use the brown ones)

1 Can tomato paste

1 16oz bottle of beer (I use English ale, and have also used Irish stout, but any beer will do)

1 Large onion, diced

9 Cloves garlic, smashed, hard ends removed

2 Large sprigs rosemary

Juice of one fresh lemon (I also added the lemon rind.  Use a regular cheese grater...saves time)

Salt and pepper as desired.

Olive oil for braising beef and vegetables

Heat oven to 275ºF

Let’s do it!

Add a few squirts of olive oil to a large frying pan and braise the beef in three batches, adding salt and pepper to each batch, as desired. As each batch is braised, toss it into a large bowl.

Use a cup of beef broth to deglaze the pan and pour it over the beef. Let the beef rest while you braise the vegetables, except for the mushrooms.  Use a stew pot to braise the vegetables. About a 3 minute braise.

Put the stew pot on the stove, add the beef, the second cup of beef broth, the mushrooms, the beer, tomato paste, and lemon juice. Stir and bring to a boil.  Toss in the sprigs of rosemary. Don’t bother to pull off the leaves, they’ll come off in the cooking.

Cover the stew pot and slide it into the preheated oven.

I let my stew cook for about 4 hours, but you may not have to wait that long.  When the meat is ‘fall apart tender,’ the dish is ready to please your friends, confound your enemies and rebrand the cold winter as a time of pleasure.

It’s at this point I made mashed potatoes and opened a bottle of dark red Rioja wine.  I let it breathe for 30 seconds before I was overcome by an unrelenting thirst.

Not still thinking about the libido?  Well, I’ve done my job.

White Chicken Chili

Ok, before I begin with the recipe, I must mention one of my two faithful readers who informed me real chili is not cooked with beans or onion.  This reader also confessed to not eating food beginning with the letter B, such as beans, bread, boa constrictors, or black-footed ferrets.

In the effort to be all things to all people, I declare and proclaim that in the heart of the matter, my faithful reader is correct.  According to my copy of Texas the Beautiful Cookbook, real chili, which can only mean Texas Chili, is not cooked with beans or onions. Those are added later by fearless iconoclasts who don’t care what people think and are willing to accept spiteful scorn.

HUGE HINT: You can make this chili using just the chicken and seasonings and chicken broth.  I promise it will taste good.  In the event it does not taste good, I will send you the name and address of the person on whom your righteous wrath should descend.  

If you’re giving up the beans and onion, but still need a little more sustenance in your chili, add some hominy. Not grits.  If you can’t stand the milk or cream the recipe calls for, don’t add it.

For normal people, and by that I mean people like yours truly, who are either trustworthy, brave, honest, or decent – pick any one -, I offer this White Chicken Chili recipe.

White Chicken Chili

1 Tablespoon olive oil, either virgin, extra virgin, or well used, but still cute, cuddly and warm olive oil.

½ Onion, diced

½ Jalapeño, diced, or to taste

1½ Pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 Clove of garlic, minced

3 Teaspoons (or more) chili powder

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

1 Teaspoon smoked paprika

4 Tablespoons Masa

1¼ Teaspoons salt

¼ Teaspoon or more, Cayenne pepper

1½ Cups frozen corn kernels (no need to thaw)

2 15oz cans white beans, drained and rinsed

4 Cups chicken broth

¼ Cup heavy cream or half and half or whole milk

For garnish:  chopped cilantro, grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, diced avocado

To accompany:  freshly fried corn tortilla chips:  Cut up packaged corn tortillas, fry them in oil at 350ºF, drain them on a paper towel and add salt.

In a medium soup pot, heat the olive oil, then add the onion and jalapeños and cook until the onion is wilted. 

Add the chicken and cook until it is cooked through.

Add the garlic and spices and mix until the chicken is coated.

Add the corn, beans, and chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.

Use a dough cutter or the back of a wide spoon to smash some of the beans to make a thicker chili.  Mix in the cream or milk.

Before you serve the chili, don’t forget the garnish!