Sometimes in between the making and the baking and the writing and the tweeting and the planning in the meetings a dinner squeaks by undocumented. This was one such meal; something I pulled together to satisfy a craving for beef, sweet potato and curry. I went and grabbed my camera before taking a bite when two of the four at our table (the other two being Mike and I) asked for the recipe.
This happens hardly ever.
(The little blip of green in the top left corner is that kale-Brussels sprout salad I was so enamoured with last month that I ate it every day for a week.)
So here it is.
Beef & Sweet Potato Curry with Kale
Adapted from BBC Good Food
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1/2-1 lb stewing beef or any kind of simmering steak, cubed
1 onion, sliced
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2-3 tsp. curry paste
1 14 oz. (398 mL) can coconut milk
1 cup beef or chicken stock
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cubed
a handful of chopped kale (ribs removed)
a big spoonful of peanut butter (if you want a sort of peanut saucy curry – if not leave it out)
juice of a lime (about 2 Tbsp.)
steamed rice
wedges of lime and chopped fresh cilantro
Heat a generous drizzle of oil in a large, heavy skillet set over medium-high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper and brown it in batches, setting it aside in a bowl as you go. Add the onion to the pan and cook for a few minutes, until it softens and starts turning golden; add the garlic, jalapeno and ginger and cook for another minute.
Return the beef to the pan with the curry paste, coconut milk and stock; reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, until the meat is very tender. Add the sweet potato and cook for another 20 minutes minutes, until it’s tender too.
Stir in the kale and peanut butter, if you’re using it, and cook for a few more minutes, until the kale wilts. Add a squeeze of lime and serve over rice, with lime wedges and cilantro, if you like. Serves 4-6.
April 22 2013 | beef and one dish | 4 Comments »
I feel so cliché posting a Guinness pie recipe on St. Patrick’s day – but it’s what was for dinner last night. The stew itself was left over from a TV segment I did last week – all I really did was top it with a slab quick and rough puff pastry that has lived in the fridge since about January, and popped it into the oven for the boys before heading out to a birthday party.
The filling is essentially a long-simmered beef stew – cubed beef browned and braised with a bottle of Guinness (or other stout), although it could as easily be done with red wine or beef stock. The first batch we ate as stew; the rest waited until it was time for pie. This is a sort of streamlined version of a Jamie Oliver recipe my mom has been making for years when a bunch of us get together – it’s great for a group. The kicker is a handful of grated aged cheddar scattered over the filling before covering it all with a puff pastry lid. Brushing the rim of the baking dish first with a little beaten egg acts as a glue to seal it all closed. And you’ll need that egg wash for a glossy top, too.
You could of course buy a chunk of frozen puff pastry, but this rough puff is a quick from-scratch puff version without all the labour of a more involved, proper puff. I used this Canadian Living formula and tutorial – sort of – mental note to come back to this in a later post.
If you run a sharp knife across the top, letting it slice all the way through only in a few places, you’ll get a sort of crosshatched top and allow the steam to escape. The whole thing can be kept in the fridge at this point until you’re ready to bake, at which point the filling will reheat as the pastry puffs. Look at the flakiness! It’s a great thing to dig into when there’s snow on the ground.
Beef & Guinness Pie
adapted from Jamie Oliver
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 large purple onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups quartered mushrooms
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
2 lbs. beef brisket or stewing beef, cut into 1-inchcubes
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. flour
1 can or bottle of Guinness
chicken or beef stock or water
1 cup grated old cheddar (optional)
1 pkg. frozen puff pastry, thawed (or half a batch of rough puff)
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing on top (optional)
Preheat the oven to 325F. In a large oven-proof casserole or medium pot, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onion for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms and garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add another drizzle of oil, sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper and brown it in the pan, turning to get as much colour as possible. Return the veggies to the pan, sprinkle everything with flour and stir to coat.
Pour the Guinness overtop, then add stock or water to come up to the top of the meat. Cover and place in the oven for 2 1/2-3 hours, until the meat is very tender. If you like, cool and refrigerate overnight, or up to a few days.
When you’re ready to bake the pie, preheat the oven to 375F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out into a circle, square or rectangle slightly larger than your baking dish. (If you need to, transfer the beef mixture into a casserole or other baking dish.) In a small dish, beat the egg with a spoonful of water with a fork, and brush the edge of your baking dish with it. Drape the puff pastry overtop and cut a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape. (If you like, cut a crisscross pattern with a sharp knife, without going all the way through the pastry.) Brush with the egg wash and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and deep golden, and the filling is bubbling through. Serves 6.
March 17 2013 | beef | 9 Comments »
