Paleo Dinner Recipes:
Beef Stew with Pomegranate and Herbs
PREP/COOK TIME: 3 hours
This recipe is really good and makes enough for 4 people, so you might like to consider it for a dinner party. Served with broccoli rabe, asparagus or another green vegetable on the side, this is a meal boasting a lot of flavor.
The pomegranate seeds and parsley add a colorful touch to the presentation, and the slow cooking ensures your beef is going to be melt-in-the-mouth tender.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 lbs boneless grass-fed chuck steak
1 tablespoon lard
2 finely sliced red onions
2 minced garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 pint beef broth
3/4 pint unsweetened pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon raw honey or maple syrup
Sea salt, to taste
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
Method:
Cut the meat into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Heat a big, heavy casserole dish and brown the beef in batches, using a slotted spoon to transfer each browned batch on to a plate. Add the lard when you add the meat if it’s not very marbled (and seems to stick) else add it after you’ve browned it all.
Add the onions to the pot and cook over the lowest heat for 8 minutes or until translucent. You can add a tablespoon of water if the onion is browning too quickly.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute without letting it burn, then stir in the herbs and cinnamon and cook for a further minute. Add the broth, pomegranate juice and beef and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any of those tasty stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pan. Add more liquid if the beef is not totally submerged.
Cover and simmer for a few minutes while you preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Now bake, covered, for 2 1/2 hours or until the beef is very tender. Have a look at it after the first hour to check it’s not drying out. If it is, add some liquid (water or pomegranate juice).
Now you can strain the beef in a colander and reserve the juices. Stir the honey or maple syrup into the juices. Bring the juice mixture to a boil on the stove, and cook until reduced by about half. Add salt to taste, then add the beef back in. Stir well and then serve, garnished with pomegranate seeds and parsley.
- 2¼ lbs boneless grass-fed chuck steak
- 1 tablespoon lard
- 2 finely sliced red onions
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ pint beef broth
- ¾ pint unsweetened pomegranate juice
- 1 tablespoon raw honey or maple syrup
- Sea salt, to taste
- Seeds of 1 pomegranate
- Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
- Cut the meat into 1½-inch cubes. Heat a big, heavy casserole dish and brown the beef in batches, using a slotted spoon to transfer each browned batch on to a plate. Add the lard when you add the meat if it's not very marbled (and seems to stick) else add it after you've browned it all.
- Add the onions to the pot and cook over the lowest heat for 8 minutes or until translucent. You can add a tablespoon of water if the onion is browning too quickly.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute without letting it burn, then stir in the herbs and cinnamon and cook for a further minute. Add the broth, pomegranate juice and beef and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any of those tasty stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pan. Add more liquid if the beef is not totally submerged.
- Cover and simmer for a few minutes while you preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Now bake, covered, for 2½ hours or until the beef is very tender. Have a look at it after the first hour to check it's not drying out. If it is, add some liquid (water or pomegranate juice).
- Now you can strain the beef in a colander and reserve the juices. Stir the honey or maple syrup into the juices. Bring the juice mixture to a boil on the stove, and cook until reduced by about half. Add salt to taste, then add the beef back in. Stir well and then serve, garnished with pomegranate seeds and parsley.
