Beef Ragout With Sweet Potatoes

This stew requires little attention while it simmers to perfection in the oven. The Moroccan-inspired spices give a robust flavour without being too harsh. Serve over rice, couscous or wide noodles. This is another recipe that I found in our local newspaper, and we really enjoyed it.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2  lbs stewing beef, boneless, sliced into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 3  tablespoons butter, divided
• 4  garlic cloves, chopped
• 2  onions, chopped
• 2  celery ribs, chopped
• 2  bay leaves
• 2  teaspoons ground cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1⁄2 cups  beef stock or 1 1⁄2 cups beef broth
• 1 1⁄2 cups  35% cream
• 2  large sweet potatoes
• 2  tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
•  fresh coriander or  parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a bowl, combine beef, half of the flour and 1/2 teaspoons salt. In a large ovenproof pot, melt one-third of butter over medium-high heat; brown beef in three batches, adding more of the butter as necessary; transfer to a bowl.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low; add remaining butter to pot. Cook garlic, onions, celery, bay leaves, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne, stirring for about 3 minutes or until starting to soften. Stir in remaining flour.
4. Stir in beef stock and cream; increase heat to high and bring to a boil scraping up bits stuck to pot. Stir in beef and accumulated juices.
5. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Meanwhile, peel sweet potatoes; cut into 3/4 inch cubes. Stir into pot; cover and bake 30 minutes longer or until potatoes are almost tender. uncover and bake for 15 minutes or until beef is fork-tender and sauce is slightly thickened. Discard bay leaves. Stir in lemon juice and season to taste with salt. Serve sprinkled with coriander.
6. NOTE: Stew can be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat over medium-low heat until piping hot. Stir in lemon juice and salt after reheating.