"Beef" Stew with "Butternut" Squash

-

I made this great stew yesterday for supper. Of course, I made changes to the original recipe. I used bison which I purchased from Cherokee Bison Farm instead of beef. They are at the Dane County farmers market every Saturday including the winter market. Bison is extremely lean and at least in the stew you can't tell the difference between beef and bison. The original recipe called for butternut squash. We bought a wonderful squash at the winter farmers market from one of the newer vendors. Its over 6#! I have no idea what the variety is. I used about 1/4 of the squash in the stew.

Aromatic Bison Stew with Winter Squash

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound bison stew meat, cut into cubes (you could use beef instead)
2 tablespoons flour
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 pound butternut squash or whatever winter squash you have available, peeled and cut into
1 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 1/2 cups--more is OK)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (I used a can with roasted garlic)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups beef broth (from box of organic broth)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
Salt to taste
1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1-2 tablespoons mined fresh parsley
whole wheat or regular couscous

Heat oil in a 4-qt saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle meat with flour. Add meat to hot oil and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate, leaving juices in saucepan. Add onion; cook, stirring, until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Return beef to pot; stir in tomatoes, sauce, broth, cumin, cinnamon and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer for about 1/2 hour. Next add the squash and cook until beef and squash are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Check to see if any salt is needed. Divide couscous and stew among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with almonds and parsley.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fresh Amaranth (Red Spinach)

-
Image
Amaranth Leaves are very similar to spinach in flavor and use. They're beautiful to look at. Its tempting to just keep the bunch as a decorative bouquet. This time I decided to use mine in Chinese Spinach Curry. This is not a perfected recipe, but I would make it again so I thought it was worth posting. Thotakura Palakura Tomato Kura 1 tablespoon peanut oil or other mild oil ¼ teaspoon each--cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves (I think the quantity of these spices should be doubled) 1 big onion - finely sliced, about one cup 2 tomatoes - finely chopped, about one cup 5 green chillies--finely chopped (I used 1 Serrano, which I seeded--5 seemed excessive for our tastes but it needed either more than 1 pepper or to leave in some of the seeds. In other words it lacked heat) 1 teaspoon - ginger garlic paste ½ tsp each- turmeric and salt 1 bunch fresh amaranth (leaves and tender stems) - finely chopped, about 5 cups 1 bunch fresh spinach - finely chopped, about 5 cups 1 can of chick...
Read more

Roasted Beets & Carrots with Couscous and Citrus Dressing

-
This dish can be served warm or cold, leftover the next day.  Delicious both ways.  It is a bit labor-intensive but very tasty and a good way to use some of those winter vegetables. 1# beets, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks 1/2# carrots, cut into thick coins 1/2# onions red or yellow onions or shallot, cut into chunks (a little less is fine) 1/2 cup Citrus Vinaigrette 1 cup Israeli couscous 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped 1 large sprig of thyme, if fresh is not available sprinkle in some dry 1/4-1/2 tsp. dried chile flakes 1/2 cup salted roasted sunflower seeds (raw seeds are also OK) 1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese Heat oven to 450℉. Toss the beets with a small amount of olive or sunflower oil, season with salt and pepper and spread on a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast for 10 minutes.  Toss the carrots and onions with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Add to the baking sheet.  Roast all the vegetable...
Read more

Celery Root, Cracked Wheat, and Every-Fall-Vegetable-You-Can-Find-Chowder

-
This soup turned out to be tastier than I expected which is why I'm including it in my blog so that I don't forget about making it again. I think it is due to the celery root puree. This makes it necessary to add another step to preparing the soup but it is definitely worthwhile.  You could substitute another grain for the cracked wheat, such as farro.  However, I happened to have cracked wheat available and it cooks quickly. 1 celeriac (celery root 3/4 - 1#) 1/2# onions, sliced (yellow or red) 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced or chopped 3 tablespoons unsalted butter Kosher (or sea salt) and cracked black pepper 2 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil 1 cup cracked wheat Several sprigs fresh thyme if available, otherwise use dried thyme 1 stalk celery, diced -- note, I used my vegetable chopper to chop all the root vegetables so they were about a 1/2 inch dice 1 carrot, diced 1 turnip, diced (I didn't have a turnip so I used a daikon radish) 1 medium potato, unp...
Read more