2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt, plus extra to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper - plus, extra to taste
3 lb beef stew meat, in 1 cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cup homemade beef stock
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp ground cuminseed
1 tsp chili powder
1 bay leaf
8 to 12 white pearl onions
6 garlic cloves - peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped italian parsley - plus extr, a for garnish
1 1/2 cup green sicilian olives
Directions
Stir the flour, thyme, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper together in a
shallow bowl. Turn the cubes of stew meat in the flour to coat well,
shake off excess and transfer to a plate.
Heat olive oil in a heavy kettle. Add the beef cubes, a few at a
time, and brown them well on all sides. As they are browned,
transfer them to paper towels to drain.
When all the meat is browned, discard excess oil but do not wash the
kettle. Add the wine, beef stock and crushed tomatoes; set kettle
over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up the
browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Return beef to the kettle,
then add cuminseed, chili powder and bay leaf and season to taste
with salt and pepper.
Cover kettle and set it on the middle rack of the oven. Bake at 350
F. for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally and regulating the oven
temperature to maintain the stew at a steady simmer.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut an "x" in the
root end of each pearl onion and drop them into the boiling water for
1 minute. Drain them and drop them into a bowl of cold water. When
completely cool, drain and peel them.
After the stew has been in the oven about 1 hour, stir in the onions.
Continue to cook the stew, uncovered.
After another 15 minutes, stir in the garlic, 1/2 cup parsley and the
olives. Continue to cook, uncovered, until stew is reduced and
thickened to your liking and beef is tender. Transfer to a serving
bowl, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.
The authors note that "depending on the rest of the menu, this stew
seems Mexican or Mediterranean because it is hearty and intriguingly
seasoned with cuminseed..."
From _The Silver Palate Cookbook_ by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins
with Michael McLaughlin. New York: Workman Publishing Company, Inc.,
1982. Pg. 125. ISBN 0-89480-204-6.
Servings: 6 servings
Beef Stew With Cuminseed Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Beef; Beef Stew; Meat; Soup; Stew
The History of Recipes
It is quite possible to follow the history of recipes back into distant history, in truth as far as early Egypt, and possibly even further than that. Interesting though that is, in the main part, these ancient records were just simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing meals.
Progressing into The time of the roman empire 25BC a Roman scholar, called Apicius, assembled some scrolls which described recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his scrolls, he recounts how the meals were divided into hors d`oeuvres, main meal and afters, a very modern way of dining. This early Roman chef describes how the ancient cooks used many aromatic flavors, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs for example thyme, fennel and parsley. Later on in the 1400s, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from the Middle-East, such as parsley, basil and rosemary. These new foods and tastes created an explosion in manuscripts on cookery, the majority of which are now in academic collections. The introduction of the TV brought us celebrity chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. Which brings us neatly up to date and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing us all to access thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Beef Stew With Cuminseed recipe.
