It is time for another Pinedo recipe! If you are new to this blog, I'm cooking from Encarnación Pinedo's El cocinero español cookbook, published in 1898. Her recipes show up on this blog and one dedicated just to her recipes, found here: The Spanish Cook Without Equal.
Today I am making a stew for dinner, and I chose the one on pages 103 - 104.
My Redaction
2 1/2 pounds boneless beef bottom round roast
olive oil for browning the meat
1 pound ham, cubed
1 pound pearl onions, stemmed and peeled
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped after the stems are removed
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 cup red wine (I used cabernet sauvingnon)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
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| I only used one piece of the beef. That is what fit in the slow cooker. |
Cut beef into eating-sized cubes, about 1 inch by 1 inch or a little smaller.
Heat oil in a skillet. Add beef in batches, stirring often to get the pieces browned.
Put each batch into a slow cooker.
Add all the other ingredients in the slow cooker.
Mix well.
Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.
Cool, refrigerate, and remove the solid fat.
Reheat to serve.
My Notes
I cut off a lot of the excess fat on the beef. There wasn't much and I didn't try to get it all off, just the majority. Then I cut the meat into cubes of a sort.
Pinedo didn't state to brown the meat, but I suspected that was the purpose. Otherwise I didn't see a need for adding fat to the pan. Browning does make for a better flavor and presentation. Since I had so much meat to brown and you don't want to crowd the pieces in the skillet, I used two skillets at one time. I didn't measure the oil used -- I just put in enough with each batch so that the meat wasn't sticking to the pan.
Honestly, the most tedious part of making this dish was trimming and peeling all the tiny onions. I chose pearl onions because Pinedo had specified whole onions. That was the only way I could imagine having individual servings without someone getting stuck with a massive onion in their bowl or removing the onions before serving. It helps to have a bowl to hold the peeled onions and another bowl to hold the trimmed ends and peels, while you work over a cutting board. Although now that I think of it, I've seen old recipes with one whole onion (regular size) that had cloves stuck in it. If that was her intent, I didn't pick up on it.
Perhaps she did not intend for one entire pound of ham in this stew, but that is what I had so I used it all. The cubes were smaller than those of the beef. Notice there is no salt called for; I think adding ham is her way of getting salt into the stew. (Or she just assumes we will add salt at the end, "to taste.")
She specified wine or vinegar. I chose to use both because I like the flavor a red wine brings and the brightness an acid adds to a sauce.
A slow cooker is the closest thing we have to cooking slowly over hot coals. It can really do a good job getting the flavors blended and having the meat turn out tender (without having to tend a fire). My frustration is usually that I overcook the meat, which is never appealing to me. So despite the slow cooker books advising to cook beef stews for 8 to 12 hours on low, I chose to go for 5 hours. At this time, the beef was perfectly tender and not overcooked. I could probably have stopped it at 4 hours, which is why I listed a range in the redaction. Maybe my slow cooker cooks hotter than the average one?
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| The onions because I peeled each and every one! |
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| Everything but the liquids. Stir to combine. |
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| Cooked. The orange is the ham, though it looks like carrots. |
The Verdict
I served the stew with cooked shell macaroni on the side, so people could put the pasta in their bowl and stew on top of or next to it. Pinedo has several recommendations in her book to serve stews with macaroni.
Other dishes in the meal were a sweet potato-apple souffle (see the recipe by clicking here) and a side salad with spring mix, chopped apples and persimmons, pecans, pomegranate arils, and goat cheese. It was dressed with a pomegranate molasses-based vinaigrette.
The primary comment was "the beef is so tender!" and it was. For a simple stew that was basically beef, ham, and onions, it was tasty! One guest taster who does not like cinnamon could taste it - it was not off-putting but not her favorite. Those of us who like cinnamon loved the sauce flavors. No one spice or herb dominated -- it was a good blend.
My guest taster who loves beef thought was it very good and had seconds.
Everyone wished the sauce was thick so it was more like a gravy that would stick to the pasta and meat instead of running to the bottom of the bowl.
I liked the whole stew and the sauce flavor blend. The texture was fine. I think I would rather serve it over mashed potatoes if the sauce wasn't thickened. When I had the leftovers, I thought I really liked having a lot of broth with the ingredients and no pasta, so it was more of a soupy-stew. Then I got to taste more of the broth, which was a good thing.
Success!
Worthwhile doing it again as it is so easy to prepare and cook. Making it in advance is a good idea because reheated stews are always better.
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