Packs a Wallop Beef Stew!

Sharon123's Note:

This stew is spicy! If you need to reduce the amount of pepper in the seasoning mix, that's okay, or you can serve each portion with a dollop of sour cream, at room temperature, as a cooling topping. Delicious! The British made lots of beef stews, and then Chef Paul Prudhomme added some extra spice!

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 6 cups, a ...

Seasoning Mix

• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• ¾ teaspoon caraway seed
• ¾ teaspoon cayenne
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon white pepper

Stew

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 ½ lbs boneless beef chuck roast , cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 large potato , peeled and medium diced
• 2 large carrots , peeled and medium diced
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 cups beef stock

Directions:

1. Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy 5-quart pot over high heat.
3. When it begins to sizzle, add the meat and brown it on all sides.
4. Remove the meat from the pot and set it aside.
5. Add half of the potato, half of the carrots, and half of the bell peppers to the pot.
6. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potato is tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
7. Stir in the seasoning mix and 1 cup of the stock and scrape the pot bottom thoroughly.
8. Transfer to a blender, puree, and return to the pot.
9. Return the meat and accumulated juices to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil.
10. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture just begins to stick, then stir in the remaining vegetables and stock and scrape the bottom of the pot.
11. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low, then cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.
12. Remove from the heat and serve.

Reviews

[PanNan]

This unique recipe was a big hit with my family! It's very spicy, but we love it that way. Blending the starchy veggies and broth to make the gravy was a wonderful touch. The spices gave it that nice dark tan color without any tomato sauce in the recipe. I'm used to cooking beef stew for a long time to tenderize the chuck and blend the flavors, so I was surprised how tender the small pieces of beef were, and how flavorful the stew was in such a short time. I used my butcher's recommendation for a "chuck tender" that I had never tried before. It was very lean and delicious. Thanks so much for sharing this "keeper".

[Karen from Montana]

Great stuff for a cold night! I didn't have any cayenne, but it was great even without. I almost wonder if the cayenne wouldn't compete with the interesting combination of paprika and caraway- but in any event, it's a keeper in our house. I did add quite a few more potatoes and carrots than was called for.

[Lizzie-Babette]

This is one of the best beef stews we've ever had. We needed to use up some leftover rare steak and beef tenderloin, and decided to use this recipe because we love spicy food. I had closer to 2 1/4 pounds of beef, but I diced it, browned it, and proceeded as if it were raw. I made it exactly as directed, with one exception: I didn't have caraway seeds. I'll look forward to trying this recipe with them, but even without it was fabulous. Pureeing half the stock and sauteed veggies was a wonderful way to thicken the stew without flour. This was extremely flavorful, beefy, spicy, and just the perfect dish for an icy, cold winter day. GREAT recipe that we'll make often. The only change I might consider is adding more broth and veggies, and possibly adding whole garlic cloves. But as it is, it's a stunningly delicious dish.