Monday, February 23, 2009

mmm mmm Good, Mexican Beef Stew

Being that I am a bit behind on posts (and have a slight backlog of recipes and photos), today there's a good chance I'll be up to two posts. The first is something I found in a Julee Rosso cookbook called Great Good Food, the last few weeks we have had sporadic cold fronts that have left us with some chilly evenings, one evening I went searching for inspiration and stumbled upon Julee Rossos' Mexican Beef Stew...I highly recommend it! It has a delicious savory flavor that reminds me of a Cuban pork stew my mom made when we lived in Florida, mom's was a little sweet as it had apples and raisins but also some heat, this one has the raisins and heat and is perfect for a chilly February evening.

Mexican Beef Stew
2 Lbs Roma Tomatoes, Chopped
2 Corn Tortillas
1-2 Canned Chipolte chilies in Adobo Sauce, seeded
1 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 12 Lbs Stewing Beef
1/4 Tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Thinly Sliced Onions
1 1/2 Cups Beef Broth
1/2 Lb Fresh Tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed well, cut into wedges
1/2 Cup Raisins
1 Cinnamon Stick
4 Whole Cloves
1/4 Tsp Sea Salt

1. Preheat the broiler. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and set the sheet under the broiler, about 4 inches from the heat. Broil until charred. Place tortillas under broiler and toast until crisp.
2. In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatoes, tortillas and chilies, blend until smooth. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the beef and pepper, saute until meat is browned on all sides. *At this point I also added some garlic powder and some of the salt so that the meat was better seasoned.* Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato mixture, broth, tomatillos, raisins, cinnamon stick, cloves and salt. Bring to a boil, cover partially and reduce the heat. Simmer for 1 hour.

The recipe calls for this to be served with brown rice or noodles, I served it over brown rice and thought it was great. One of the best parts of this recipe is that the whole cookbook is healthy food - this has 277 calories per serving, 30g of carbs, 19g of protein, 51mg of cholesterol and 11g of fat...not to bad for a hearty stew.

8 comments:

lisa is cooking said...

I love the Silver Palate books, especially The New Basics, and Great Good Food sounds like a winner too!

Anonymous said...

Love this stew with chipotle and raisins - delicious!

Gloria Chadwick said...

This sounds really delicious! I've been on a tomatillo kick lately, so I'll definitely make your Mexican Beef Stew. :)

Reeni said...

This looks wonderful!! So comforting and hearty! And very flavorful!

Karen said...

Interesting that it has both tomatoes and tomatillos. It sounds delicious!

Chef E said...

I am ready for some more Beer Battered Fried tomatoes and cannot wait for the Farmers Markets outside to open up this May...yummy stew, can I come visit you?

Dee said...

Bet that had some kick in it with that tiny & powerful can of Chipotle in it. Looks delicious! We'd better have this when I am back.

Hornsfan said...

Lisa - I love the Silver Palate books as well (I was on a kick for a while with the New Basics!), Great Good Food has a lot of tasty an healthy ideas!
5 Star - the sweet really balances the heat well - plus the tomato base can't be beat!
Gloria - This was my first time really using tomatillos but I'll be searching for more ways to use them for sure!
Reeni - it was very hearty and comforting, a great cool weather food!
Karen - thanks! Yea the tomatillos and tomatoes give it a great flavor.
Chef E - Now I want some fried green tomatoes!!
Mom - I'll gladly make this again!