Hiatus - Spiced Beef Stew with Carrot and Mint

Moving 2007 003, originally uploaded by Chloe254.

It has been a very long time since this page has been updated and to be totally honest, it might take another few weeks until I post anything else. Not only did we "accidentally" spend 2 weeks roadtripping around California, looking for sea lions and interesting wine but we are currently in the process of moving to London and although we do cook, there is not much research or creativity going on in our kitchen, if not for weird wine pairings due to the fact that we still have 46 bottle to drink before we leave, on Wednesday (Julie made me count).

We did cook one good, new recipe since our return from California: a beef stew; made with some meet found in the freezer. We paired it with a 2002 Zinfandel that we found... well, nowhere far enough to justify the dust on the bottle, really.

The recipe is from Bon Appetit Magazine; you can find it here. Serve it over couscous like they recommend, it makes a great meal. Note that if you are not using tenderloin, you should keep the meat in the skillet instead of returning it to a bowl and maybe simmer the stew for an additional 10-20 minutes at the end, in order to make sure it's tender enough.

Next post will be from our new home in London - in the meantime I'll be busy looking for it.

Ragout de boeuf aux carottes et a la menthe
Recette adaptee de Bon Appetit Magazine, Mars 2007

2 c. table d'huile d'olive, separees
3/4 lb (340 grammes) de cubes de boeuf
5-6 onions verts eminces
1/2 lb (225 grammes) de mini carottes, pelees
2 c.the de cumin moulu
1/2 c. the de muscade
1/2 c. the de cannelle
1/2 c. the de gingembre moulu
1/8 c. the de poivre de cayenne
1 c. table de farine tout usage ou de fecule de mais
2 1/2 de bouillon de boeuf
1/3 tasse (75 ml) de menthe fraiche, emincee

Faire chauffer 1 cuillere a table d'huile d'olive dans une grande poele (a hautes rebords). Saler et poivrer la viande et la faire sauter dans l'huile environ 8 minutes, jusqu'a ce qu'elle paraisse bien cuite.

Ajouter 1 cuillere a table d'huile d'olive et y faire sauter les onions verts et les carottes environ 3 minutes. Ajouter les epices et bien melanger pendant 30 secondes. Ajouter la farine ou la fecule de mais et melanger a nouveau pendant 30 secondes. Ajouter le bouillon et porter a ebullition. Baisser la temperature et laisser mijoter jusqu'a ce que les carottes et les cubes de viande aient atteint la consistance desiree, environ 15 minutes. Ajouter 1/4 de tasse de menthe (60 ml) et bien melanger.

Servir sur de la semoule et decorer du reste de menthe fraiche.

Donne 2 portions.