This is a recipe I tried and adapted from the Reader’s Digest Cook Now Serve Later cookbook from the late 80’s. Yes, I know I posted a recipe just last week and all, but hey, ya hafta eat something besides dessert, right?
(…..right?? Right??)
Ha!
Anyway, among the items collected from sales here and there and now inhabiting the innards of my Deep Freeze, we had some beef roasts begging to be used, only in large quantities. And for variety, I was aiming for something other than mass repeats of my basic (but good, mind you) Sunday-Go-Ta-Meetin’ sort of pot roast with garlic, carrots, and potatoes. I’m trying to dabble in some new cooking experiments, the end results hopefully being quantity cooking that will freeze well in smaller portions.
This one passed muster. We ate a portion the same day it was made, and later portions from the freezer held up quite well in comparison…and so we have a keeper. What I liked about this one is that it’s a departure from some of my regular standbys, but not so exotic that it has a narrow appeal to those at my table.
I’m not partial to many meals featuring sweetness paired with meat, or at least extremes in that department. This one has some sweetness from the flavor of the orange, but paired with the cumin and other spices, it’s robust and fragrant rather than cloying…at least to me. And it sure makes the house smell delicious!
I adapted it by finishing the recipe off halfway in the crockpot, and of course found I couldn’t leave the spices well enough alone…adjust them from the basic recipe to your liking once it’s finished to personalize it.
I hope you like it as much as we do! Don’t be put off by what seems like a long laundry list of ingredients…I had most of them at hand…just had to hunt down the mushrooms. But if you have someone who is thrown off by mushrooms, they can be omitted without altering the flavor too much.
Orange-Cumin Beef Stew
(adapted from Cook Now Serve Later, by Reader’s Digest)
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
3 lbs. lean boneless chuck cut into 1 inch cubes (I just cut up a roast I had and trimmed off the fat)
Grated rind of 1 orange
1 cup orange juice
1 cup beef broth (canned, or use your own homemade)
1 six-ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar ( I used light, but doesn’t matter)
3 cloves garlic (I substituted garlic powder, guesstimating amount)
4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces small white onions (I just chopped a regular-sized white onion)
1 lb. mushrooms (halve them if large)
I heat the oil over medium-high heat till hot, then put in the cubed meat and brown it in small batches in just a little oil, and set the pan off the burner till the next step. I ditch some of the recommendations of the original recipe and in a separate bowl stirred together the orange rind, orange juice, broth, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, garlic, cumin, oregano, allspice, bay leaf, salt and pepper. (Everything but the onions and mushrooms.)
Then I put the pan with browned meat back on the burner, and pour the above mixture over the meat, and bring it all to a boil. While waiting for it to boil, you can always sing happy songs as you get a sort of nag champa high from the spices lingering in the air and sneak a peek out the window to see if you spy a mongoose, or passersby wearing saris. No? Well, I’m barefoot anyway…(but not pregnant, that I know of. Where did THAT come from…I have no idea how my mind makes it down these donkey trails. Earth to Robbyn)
At this point, you can reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover the saucepan tightly and keep it simmering on the stovetop for two or so hours, or you can do like I did and transfer it all to your handy crockpot and let it slowcook it for the afternoon…your preference. Whichever way you choose, add the onion the last 30 minutes of cooking, and the mushrooms go in during the last 15 minutes.
I serve this with hot Basmati rice and a crisp salad with lemon and orange squeezed lightly over some simple greens.
The aroma of this dish is out of this world! It’s a simple twist on the ol’ pot roast, but with a completely different flavor palette. And with enough portions to freeze and reheat, it’s a great “Re-run” for packed lunches or dinner on a night you don’t want to cook much.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Bon appetit 🙂
Yum!
And I love the way your mind works. Kind of like mine…perhaps I shouldn’t admit that in public.
Yummy!! I shall try this very soon. Thanks Robbyn. =)
Sounds delicious! Keep those recipes coming, please!
safira, annette, christy…if you try it, I’d love to know how you like it 🙂
Robbyn 🙂
There you go with that citrus again 🙂 I love cumin, so this sounds very good!
Nita, lol…yep, the citrus is Yum…and do you EVEN know how hungry I get when I see pictures of all your gorgeous cold weather root veggies on the wood stove?? major yum!!!