Northwest Stew With Dried Cherries Food

BEEF STEW WITH DRIED CHERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cut beef into 1 inch cubes. Combine flour, salt, allspice, cinnamon and pepper in a plastic bag. Add beef cubes to bag and shake, coating pieces evenly. Spray a heavy nonstick skillet with nonstick vegetable spray and heat over medium high heat. Add 1/3 of the beef cubes and cook until browned on all sides, stirring frequently (about 5 minutes). Don't crowd the skillet. Transfer meat to a heavy Dutch oven. Repeat with remaining meat in two more batches, ending with all of the browned meat in the Dutch oven.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add oil to skillet. Add onions and cherries. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft and light brown, about 10 minutes (you are basically making caramelized onions). Stir frequently, scraping up all the browned bits from the meat and incorporating into the onions. Mix in the sugar, vinegar and water. Increase heat to medium high and cook until onions brown, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion mixture to the beef in the Dutch oven. Mix in wine, stock and mushrooms. Cover and bake until the beef is tender, about 2 hours. Uncover stew during last 30 minutes of baking if the liquid is still too thin. Add a small amount of beef stock or red wine is it is too dry.
• Serve with rice or noodles to sop up the great sauce.
• Can be made ahead and reheated before serving.

NORTHWEST STEW WITH DRIED CHERRIES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 2. Cut beef into 1-inch cubes. Combine flour, salt, allspice, cinnamon and pepper in a plastic bag. Add beef to bag and shake, coating pieces evenly. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the beef and cook until browned on all sides, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer meat to a heavy medium Dutch oven. Repeat with remainging meat in 2 bathches, adding 1 tablespoon oil to skillet for each batch. Transfer meat to Dutch oven as it browns. 3. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining tablespoon oil to same skillet. Add onions and cherries. Cook until onions are soft and light brown, about 10 minutes. stir frequently, scraping up all browned bits from meat and incorporating into onions. Mix in sugar, vinegar and water. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until onions brown, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. 4. Add onion mixture to beef in Dutch oven. Mix in wine, stock and mushrooms. Cover and bake until beef is tender, about 2 hours. Uncover stew during last 30 minutes of baking if liquid is too thin. Add a small amount of beef stock or red wine if stew is too dry. 5. Can be prepared 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over low heat.

BEEF STEW WITH ALMONDS AND DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Season beef with salt and pepper. In 2 batches, cook beef until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate. To pot, add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, onion, and garlic and cook over medium until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add wine and cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.
• Return beef to pot; stir in broth, bay leaf, parsley sprigs, lemon zest, and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook 45 minutes. Stir in dried fruit and cook, uncovered, until meat is fork-tender, 35 minutes. Stir in almonds; cook 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf, parsley sprigs, and lemon zest. Serve stew over brown rice and top with chopped parsley.

MOROCCAN LAMB STEW WITH DRIED CHERRIES AND LEMON

Steps:

• Rehydrate the cherries in a bowl with about a cup of warmed stock. Let soak until needed.
• In a large, heavy saute pan, heat 2 T olive oil with 2 T butter over high heat. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and saute in batches, not overcrowding the pan, so all sides are browned. Transfer to a large saucepan or casserole. Continue this process until allo the lamb is well browned.
• Reheat the saute pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and saute the onions to translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the spices and cook until the aromas start to come up, 2-3 minutes. Deglaze with some of the stock and add this to the pan with the lamb. Add the remaining stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the rehydrated cherries with their soaking liquid and the preserved lemon (or lemon zest). Continue cooking for about 15-20 minutes more, or until the lamb is very tender. Add the honey and season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
• Serve over couscous, mixed with a few chopped Kalamata olives. Top with toasted sesame seeds and enjoy with a glass of Cabernet Franc.
• Notes:
• This dish has A LOT of butter. By mistake, I only used 2 T, in stead of ½ cup Next time, I wouldn't use any at all. There is enough olive oil & liquid from the lamb to sufficiently cook the lamb without the butter. This will cut calories by A LOT, too!
• I toasted the ground coriander in a frying pan until it was smoky & fragrant.
• I used beef broth, and lemon zest.