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Beef Stew with Cumin Seed
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tspn salt
½ tspn freshly ground black pepper
3 lb beef stew meat, in 1" cubes
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup dry red wine
1½ cups beef stock
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp ground cumin seed
1 tspn chili powder
1 bay leaf
8 to 12 white pearl onions
6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
½ cup Italian parsley
1½ cups green olives
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Stir the flour, thyme, 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper together in a shallow bowl. Turn the cubes of stew meat in the flour to coat well, shake off excess, and transfer to a plate.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy kettle. Add the beef cubes, a few at a time, and brown them well on all sides. As they are browned, transfer them to paper towels to drain.
When all the meat is browned, discard excess oil but do not wash the kettle. Add the wine, stock and crushed tomatoes, and set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Return beef to kettle, then add cumin seed, chili powder and bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cover the kettle and set it on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally and regulating oven temperature to maintain the stew at a steady simmer.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut an X in the root of each pearl onion and drop them into the boiling water for 1 minute. Drain them and drop them into a bowl of cold water. When completely cool, drain and peel them.
After the stew has been in the oven for 1 hour, stir in the onions. Continue to cook the stew uncovered.
After another 15 minutes, stir in the garlic, ½ cup parsley and the olives. Continue to cook, uncovered, until stew is reduced and thickened to your liking and the beef is tender. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
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