“I don’t usually eat food like this at my house,” said our tiny dinner guest.
Ernie’s friend was as polite as could be, but our dinner as a whole did not appeal to him. Luckily, he found the spongy buckwheat flatbread irresistible and there were popsicles in the freezer for dessert, so he won’t forever associate dinner at the food writer’s house with starvation.
My dashing husband and omnivorous son were more enthusiastic about the experiment. The beef stew was fabulous, as were the lentils. My efforts with a version of the potato-carrot dish I’ve had at restaurants was a bit of a bust. Tasted fine, but a bit watery. Back to the drawing board with that and the injera–too dense and not spongy enough for a spongy flatbread.
Beef wat
2 Tbsp. butter
2 onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. hot paprika
1 Tbsp. cayenne (or less if you’re scared you big baby)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. fenugreek
1/2 tsp. ground cinnmon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup red wine
1 can tomatoes (14.5 oz)
2 1/2 lbs. beef chuck, trimmed of as much fat as possible and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until well browned. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and incorporated with onions. Stir in all spices. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add red wine and cook until pretty much evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in juice from canned tomatoes. Use kitchen shears to cut up tomatoes in can and add to stew. Stir to combine. Add beef and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until beef is unbelievably tender, about 2 hours.
Like all stew, this is even better the next day. To the point that I would recommend making it a day ahead and reheating it for the main event.
The Dinner Files :: Sunday night leftovers…. | 14-Jul-08 at 8:23 am | Permalink
[...] cooked food enough for 10 Saturday night, we ate the exact same thing last [...]