OK I know – it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything new – but I have good excuses! Last week was the longest week of my life at work (yes I realize how very dramatic that statement is) and then N and I went to Chicago over the weekend – which was so much fun! I love Chicago…..it was just so nice to get away for a few days and be in a different place.
So onto my food…last week I made a dish that I’m referring to as Adobo Beef Stew. I’m calling it that b/c it has chipotles in adobo sauce as one of the main ingredients. And I couldn’t think of anything else that seemed to fit! This dish is great….it’s one of those chop, pour, stir, bake, eat dishes that I love. There are a few steps in the beginning, but you throw it in the oven for 3 hours and…voila…you have a delicious dinner!
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
Only item that you may not have seen before is the can of chipotles in adobo. These little babies are amazing. They are smoked jalapeno peppers in a vinegary, spicy sauce. Amazing. But hot. That’s my warning to you. I have gotten the sauce on my fingers then licked it….and whoa – that made my tongue flame up! Ha….so don’t eat them raw – but do use them in this stew. You can find these in any regular grocery store – they will be in the aisle with tortillas/salsas and other Mexican ingredients – and they’re only $2-$3 per can.
Note: you will have leftover chipotles in adobo – simply pour 2 or 3 in a plastic baggie, seal, and place in your freezer. So next time you find a recipe that calls for chipotles in adobo you can pull them from your freezer and chop up and throw into your chili, soup, or stew. Super convenient.
Ok, not it’s time to start cooking! Cut the beef into large chunks. I did 2-3 inch pieces and season the meat with salt and pepper. I used probably about 2 t. of salt and 1 t. pepper. Take half of the meat and brown it in a large dutch oven. I don’t add any oil….the meat has enough fat in it already and browns nicely without. After the first batch has browned, remove it from the pan and add the remaining meat to the pan. Once that has browned to your liking….add in the other half of the meat and all of the juices….b/c that’s flavor baby!
While the meat is browning you can start on the sauce part of the dish. Roughly chop up 1 onion and 5-6 garlic cloves and add these into a food processor.
Blend the onion and garlic together until it looks like this:
Then add in the chipotles and adobo (remove the seeds from the jalapenos if you don’t want any heat….just flavor), cumin, paprika, oregano, lime juice and salt and pepper and process again until everything is blended.
Pour the onion/adobo mixture into the dutch oven with the meat and add in 2 cups of water and 2 bay leaves. Stir to combine. Then cover the dutch oven with the lid and place in a 350 degree oven for 3.5 hours, or until tender.
About an hour before the dish was finished I took the lid partially off the dutch oven to allow some of the liquid to evaporate off.
Remove it from the oven….and it should look like this: doesn’t that look like a fun pan to clean – ha! Just soak it….it’ll be fine!
Now at this time you can serve it over cilantro rice like I did for N – or eat it with green beans/cauliflower if you’re going low carb. N loved it – he said this dish “was a manly meal” when I asked him how he liked it. Ha. The sauce is rich and flavorful and has a great hint of spice to it. You can definitely taste the smokiness from the chipotles in adobo…such a great, easy dish.
The funny thing is….man dish or not – this is good! I ate it for a few days after and each time it was just as good. I want to play with this sauce and do the same thing with chicken….stay tuned for that!
Adobo Beef Stew
Serves 4-6 (depending on how hungry you are!)
Ingredients:
4 pound chuck roast
1 onion
5-6 garlic cloves
1 T. salt – divided
2 t. pepper – divided
1 t. cumin
1 t. paprika
½ t. oregano
3 chipotles in adobo (remove seeds if you want less heat)
1 – 2 t. of the sauce from the can
2 T. lime juice
2 cups water
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the beef into 2-3 inch chunks – season meat with salt and pepper.
- Brown the meat, in batches, in the dutch oven.
- While meat is browning, chop up the onion and garlic cloves.
- Add onion and garlic to food processor and mix until finely chopped.
- Add in the chipotles in adobo sauce (with about a teaspoon or so of the sauce too), oregano, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper and lime juice.
- Blend that until evenly mixed and then add that mixture to the meat.
- Add in 2 cups water, 2 bay leaves and mix.
- Place lid on dutch oven and put into the oven for 3 – 3.5 hours.
- If you notice that the sauce isn’t as thick as you’d like it – remove the lid an hour before it’s finished cooking in the oven to allow water to evaporate, or after the dish is removed from the oven place over high heat for 2-4 minutes to thicken sauce until consistency that you like.
- Serve over rice, cauliflower, or eat with tortillas.
Enjoy!
