A bowl of hearty red pepper beef stew makes perfect comfort food on a cold evening. This easy to make dish is filled with fall-apart tender beef and bell peppers and pepped up with spices, fresh parsley and pomegranate jewels.
I love hot, steamy and rich stews during the cold season. Is there a stew season? You know, there is pumpkin season, cherry season, strawberry season and so on. Hmmm, it must be. Someone had to invent it. And if not, someone should do that. Wink.
Stews are hearty, simple to make, delicious, most of the time budget-friendly and most importantly, they make you feel full and satisfied. Especially in winter, when the weather is crisp, we just want to eat something that warms our souls. And nothing says comfort and warmth like this red pepper beef stew.
If you love one-pot dishes, you might like one of these as well: beef black-eyed peas stew, a healthy bean pastrami protein soup, a hearty sour turnip soup or this chicken black-eyed peas soup.
This stew has all the important components. For instance, amazing tender meat and a wonderful sweet taste thanks to the bell peppers. Cayenne pepper, sweet paprika and coriander seeds add a spicy twist to this classic beef stew, too. Soy sauce gives some extra saltiness and the toppings make it extremely gorgeous and yummy.
Pomegranate jewels
Furthermore, probably you’ve noticed an unusual ingredient in the photo above. Yes, it is pomegranate. Pomegranate is very popular in Persian cuisine, where they add it to almost every dish. I, personally, find it very exciting. It’s juicy, fruity, sweet but also sour and popping. And, it might sound a bit strange as a stew ingredient. But, let me tell you, these pomegranate jewels bring this savoury dish to life. Wink.
For more savoury recipes with pomegranate, you might check these: spinach-quinoa stuffed butternut squash and harissa roasted cauliflower. They make both a great festive dish as well.
The combination of all these delicious ingredients makes this dish look and taste good and festive. Simply perfect for the upcoming holidays. In addition, you can easily prepare it a day or two in advance and then store it in the fridge. And, it freezes wonderfully, too.
Ingredients for four portions of red pepper beef stew:
- 10 g butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 500 g beef (2-3 cm chunks)
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 red onions (sliced)
- 3 garlic cloves (sliced)
- 5 dried tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 750-1000 ml beef broth
- 50 ml tomato sauce
- 2 large red bell peppers
- 3 parsley sprigs (chopped)
- 1/2 pomegranate
To begin, heat a drizzle of olive oil and butter in a larger pot. Add the beef chunks and cook on high heat until browned on all sides.
In order to get all of the lovely roasted flavours from the bottom of the pot, add a splash of water and the soy sauce to the meat and scrape the pot. Then, add the sliced onions, garlic and chopped dried tomatoes and cook until softened.
Furthermore, sprinkle with some flour and stir well for a minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the cayenne pepper, sweet paprika, coriander seeds and coriander powder. Put back on the heat, add a splash of water and stir for a minute.
At this point, pour in the beef broth (two fingers above the meat) and the tomato sauce. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with the lid and let it simmer for 2 hours or until the meat gets “fall apart” tender.
In the meantime, wash, deseed and slice the bell peppers into bite-sized pieces, wash and chop the parsley and “deseed” the pomegranate. After the meat gets tender, add the peppers to the pot and cook for 20 more minutes.
Finally, divide the red pepper beef stew between the bowls, sprinkle with fresh parsley and top with the pomegranate seeds. You might like to add a spoon of sour cream, but it’s not necessary at all.
Enjoy.
