I must give credit. I first ran across this picture…
in a posting over here, in another blog, and asked about the recipe source. Seriously, who can turn that photo down? (Note: The BHG ‘article’ is mostly full of dessert-y type things, as one might expect, but there are a couple of other recipes that look tempting and easily-adjusted for Paleo. 🙂 )
That said, I did make some adjustments to the recipe based on Paleo (eliminating the flour!) and what I happened to have on hand the first time I made it, plus personal tastes. Here’s what I made for the Speakeasy (although I doubled the recipe, to give an idea of quantity)…
Large stew pot, dutch oven, or crock pot (differences in cooking time noted below per step)
2 lbs cubed beef for stew
1 -2 tsp. olive oil
14 oz. beef broth / stock
1 1/2 – 2 c. apple cider
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
2 medium onions
1 medium parsnip
2 carrots, or 1 c. baby carrots
1 small fennel bulb
5 – 6 T. pumpkin puree
1 tsp. fennel seed
1/2 tsp. anise seed
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
3/4tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
2 – 3 apples (Gala, Honeycrisp, Braeburn all work well)
Cut onions in half, slice thin, and break into half-rings. Divide them into two or three portions. Warm olive oil in a large saucepan and brown beef cubes with the pepper, salt, paprika and seeds, transferring them into a stew or crock pot. Add onions to the saucepan and sauté each portion in turn, adding them to the beef.
Combine liquids and add to the beef & onion mixture (although I usually also cook a bit of the beef broth in the original saucepan to ‘rinse’ the pan and add the remaining drippings to the pot). Stir in remaining spices.
- On stovetop: bring to a low boil and reduce heat; simmer for 1 1/4 hours, stirring occasionally. Add pumpkin puree to taste (extra won’t hurt a bit, if you like). Dice one small fennel bulb (or one half of a larger one), peel and slice parsnips and carrots. Baby carrots can be added whole, or diced if preferred. Return to boiling and reduce heat again, simmering covered for 20-30 minutes. Core and slice apples into wedges. Add apples to the stew and cook for another 10 minutes, or until apples begin to soften and meat and vegetables are tender.
- In crockpot: Add cut vegetables, layering them on top of the beef in the pot. Set on low, cook about 4-6 hours or until beef nears desired tenderness, stir well and layer sliced apples on top about 1/2 hour before serving.
Serve, add salt & pepper or cinnamon to taste if preferred.
Some notes:
- We like a bit of licorice flavor occasionally. If you don’t, feel free to leave out the anise.
- Apples… Gala cooked well and were mild. Honeycrisp cooked VERY well and were sweeter. Braeburn stayed firm considering cooking time, and were a more tart ‘apple-y’ flavor. Thinner slices soften sooner, larger wedges stayed more firm and crisp, but should be cut down to bite-sized pieces within reason.
- The fennel and anise seed can go in whole or slightly crushed. I liked simmering both spices in the beef broth when cooking down the drippings in the saucepan, but it’s certainly not necessary.
- I tend to go on the light side with the cider vinegar, when I use it. I’ve used less with success. The full amount can smell VERY vinegar-y early in the cooking, but it does cook down and mellow quite nicely. I know I was worried about it the first time I made it, but it went well. (Had to do a test run with it for the first try!) 🙂
- I like cinnamon and have added up to 1/2 tsp. more easily. I don’t know if I’d go beyond that, though.
- I suspect this would work well with a butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I think it would make it easier to find ingredients in other months than the ‘fall season’.
- I am considering adding a bit of cayenne pepper. A SMALL bit. I might try it sometime.
- I’m sure other vegetables would go well in this. I am not entirely sure which ones. 😀
- I will probably make this with a dash of nutmeg and some cloves at some point. I only have whole cloves, didn’t feel like grinding any down, and don’t like picking whole ones out of my food. 😀
- I have used this with both broth and stock at some point. I enjoy the depth of flavoring from stock. I’ve also done this with store-bought and homemade; that went well either way.
*If you attend the Fort and would like to try cooking this, but don’t have fennel seed or anise seed, I have a fair amount of both and can bring some in. Just let me know!
This looks great! Can I repost this in the recipes section of TheMeatGoat? (Obviously giving links back and credit to you and the other site)
Thanks! I wish you could’ve made it there, you’d have been able to try some yourself. 🙂
As for reposting- I certainly don’t see why not? Thank you! And enjoy! 😀
Might have to try this with some adjustments for my family.