Another Sunday, another crockpot supper. This week I made Zesty Braised Beef with Potatoes from the Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook.
Here are the ingredients:
2 lbs (1kg)- stewing beef
2 oz (60g)- chunks pancetta (I used regular but you can use hot)
2 tbsp- olive oil
3 - shallots
4 - cloves garlic
1 tsp - dried thyme
1/2 tsp - salt or sea salt or to taste
1/2 tsp - fresh ground pepper or to taste
1/2 cup - dry white wine
2 cups - chicken stock
2 lbs - potatoes (I used Ontario red but the recipe called for new)
1/4 tsp - cayenne pepper dissolved in 1 tbsp lemon juice
Thinly slice the potatoes and store in a bowl of water (next time I would make them thicker).
Put a little oil in a large fry pan and brown pancetta for about 3 minutes. Add to crockpot.
Brown stewing beef in batches in fry pan. Add to crockpot.
Add a little more oil to the pan and add onions. Cook, stirring frequently until translucent. Add crushed minced garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and cook for a minute.
Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add stock. Drain potatoes and add. Bring to a boil.
I found the best way to add this to the pot was to spoon in the potatoes first, then pour in the liquid
Stir, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
With 10 minutes to go, mix together a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne with 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Add to pot.
Time to serve!
The book says it's hard to believe that this simple combination of ingredients can taste so luscious. Believe it!
The beef comes out so tender and there seems to be potato and pancetta on every forkful. Teena didn't find this but I felt a nice little hot snap in the back of my throat which lingered in the aftertaste. Teena enjoys spicy foods which is why she may not have noticed. I can't do a lot of heat anymore (sob!) but found this enjoyable.
Not only is this Teena-approved but she asked that I make this for her again. That tells you it's a dish worth trying!
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