This rich and fruity grape beef stew is flavoured with fresh herbs, red wine, grape juice, cranberries and juicy grapes. It makes the perfect winter warming and a fulfilling dish on crispy evenings. Mopping up the sauce with a slice of bread is simply a must.
Yes, it takes time to make a good stew. But, it is absolutely simple to prepare. It’s a one-pot dish, where all the ingredients come together in a gorgeous and delicious dish. I like to prepare it the night before and leave all the flavours to come together overnight. Consequently, the next day it tastes even better.
What do you think of this combination of tender beef, cranberries and grapes? Maybe it sounds a bit unusual, but, believe me, they create a lovely harmony. Wink. The meat simply falls apart and the grapes burst in your mouth when you bite into them.
More, either red or white grapes are made out of the water (81%) and carbs (18%) and they consist of a moderate amount of vitamin K and B, which make them a low-calorie food. And, before you say anything about the annoying seeds, nowadays, you can find seedless grapes as well.
Grapes are a great addition to your dishes, either sweet or savoury. You might like these recipes as well: chilled almond-garlic soup, healthy leek quinoa bowl or turmeric beetroot pancakes.
Red wine and grape juice
Also, another curious thing about this particular stew is that I substituted some beef stock with grape juice. Not only the grape berries but also the grape juice gives a special fruity note to the dish. Lovely and delicious.
Additionally, adding red wine is very important, too. When deglazing the meat with wine, you are capturing all the good proteins stuck to the bottom of the pan and enhancing the flavour. My grandmother always used to say “a glass of red wine a day keeps you healthy and strong”. Red cheeks, healthy cheeks. So why not use it directly in your food. Wink.
If you like this stew recipe, then you might like these, too: red pepper beef stew, beef black-eyed peas stew, a lovely beef peas goulash or slow-cooked date-beef tajine.
Ingredients for 4-5 portions of fruity grape beef stew:
- 500 g beef chunks
- olive oil
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 3 carrots (diced)
- 200 ml red wine
- 300 ml red grape juice
- 1500 ml warm beef stock
- salt and pepper
- 100 g dried cranberries
- half a bunt of coriander (chopped)
- 250 g grapes
To begin, peel and finely dice the onion. Peel, wash and slice the carrot into rounds. Then, drizzle some olive oil in a deep pot. Once hot, add the beef cubes and brown them on all sides. Add the onions, rosemary and carrots to the meat and cook for a couple of minutes.
Deglaze with a splash of red wine, by scraping the bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the cranberries and season with salt and pepper. At this point, pour in the rest of the red wine, grape juice and the warm beef stock and bring to a boil.
Afterwards, reduce to medium-low, cover with a lid and simmer for 2,5-3 hours or until the meat gets “fall-apart” tender. Here and there, give it a stir to prevent sticking at the bottom.
Wash the grapes and pluck them from the stems and chop the coriander. About 15 minutes before the end of cooking time, add both to the pot.
Finally, divide the fruity grape beef stew between the plates. Serve with a slice of bread, noodles, potatoes or anything you like.
Enjoy.
