Where's the beef?

Right here, in all its glory :-)

 

Some people reading this blog might assume that I am a vegetarian, apart from the odd foray into the poultry aisle. This is not the case, although my family do try and eat vegetarian meals at least 2 or 3 times per week. This is partly for health reasons, and partly because I like vegetarian food (and the other four Farrars seem content to let me control the menu... most of the time. They are certainly content to let me cook it all!). We eat red meat at most once per week for dinner, and I would not want to give that up - there is nothing like a good beef stew, and again, this is where my love affair with my slow cooker and Judith Finlayson can shine!

This recipe is taken from Judith Finlayson's 'The Healthy Slow Cooker', and although it contains more fat than some of her recipes, this can be minimized by using very lean beef. According to my beloved Judith, the dish is also apparently an "excellent source" of vitamins C, B12 and K and potassium, iron and zinc. Can't argue with that! The only tweak I made was to use ground cumin, instead of cumin seeds. I'm sorry, Judith, but life is too short to be toasting cumin seeds and then grinding them up in a mortar. I served the beef on a bed of cous cous with a side of roasted cauliflower (recipe follows below). It was delicious, and the very meagre leftovers are being enjoyed by my husband today, courtesy of the microwave at work. He may be still hungry afterwards, but his taste-buds will be happy!

Mediterranean Beef Ragout
serves 5-6

1/4 cup AP flour
1 tso dried thyme leaves, crumbled
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 lbs trimmed stewing beef, cut into 1" cubes
2 TBSP olive oil, divided
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 roasted red bell peppers, thinly sliced and then cut into 1" pieces (I used one jar of Safeway's fire-roasted peppers)
1/2 cup sliced pitted green olives (I used pimento stuffed Spanish Queen olives from a jar, quartered)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. In a large ziploc bag, combine flour, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Add beef and shake until evenly coated. Set aside, shaking any excess flour from beef and reserving.
2. Heat 1 TBSP of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown beef in batches. Transfer to slow cooker.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are softened (about 3 minutes). Sprinkle in cumin and remaining flour mixture and cook, stirring, for a further minute. Add stock, wine, tomatoes (with their juice) and bay leaves, and bring to the boil. Cook stirring until slightly thickened (about 2 mins). Add to slow cooker and stir well.
4. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours until mixture is bubbly and beef is tender. Stir in roasted peppers, olives and parsley. Cover and cook on High for 15 minutes until peppers and olives are heated through.

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower
serves 5 good appetites

2 small/medium heads of cauliflower (I used one green, one white), divided into florets
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP minced garlic (about 4 large cloves)
salt and pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Toss first 4 ingredients together in a 9x13 baking pan, and bake for 25 minutes.
3. Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese and the parsley and either bake for a further 5 minutes, or broil until cheese is golden.
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