Beef Stew with Cumin for "Souper Sundays"

Once again, it's "Souper Sundays" and time for a bowl of something warm and satisfying. I have been craving beef stew for some reason this week, the ultimate hearty, comfort food. For my stew, I decided to combine two favorites, a basic beef stew like my Mom makes combined with some cumin and black pepper. Once in Japan, I stopped for lunch at a favorite restaurant and they had a beef stew with black pepper and cumin that was warming and delicious and I wanted to recreate those flavors.

Beef Stew with Cumin

-----

2 1/2 lb beef stew meat cut into 1" cubes

4 Tbsp flour

salt

pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin

5 cups beef broth

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

3/4 cup diced carrot

3/4 cup diced parsnip

2 fennel bulbs, stems, removed, cut

1/3 cup daikon

1/2 cup frozen green peas

-----

In a Ziploc bag, add the flour and 1 tsp each salt and pepper. Add meat cubes a few at a time, shaking lightly to coat. In a large heavy pot or dutch oven, heat oil and brown meat, one half at a time. Return all meat to pan, add onion, garlic, cumin, 1 Tbsp salt and 1 Tbsp black pepper. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 1 hour until meat is almost tender. Add all vegetables, except peas and cover, simmering until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add peas at end and heat through. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Notes/Results: Potato, carrots and peas are pretty standard stew veggies. I saw some parsnips and thought they would be fun to add since they are slightly stronger and sweeter than the carrots. I had some fennel in my CSA box so added that too, as well as a bit of leftover daikon radish. I wanted my stew a bit thicker, so I also added some cornstarch (about 2 Tbsp in 1/2 cup warm water). You have to love how good a pot of stew bubbling makes the kitchen smell! I liked the flavor combination of the stew and how well the earthy sweetness of the cumin compliments the beef and the black pepper. Although the veggies are a little different than the average stew, I liked the different flavors and textures that each one brought. I would make this again. I served it on its own, as it is a meal in a bowl, although some nice crusty bread would go well with it.

It is busy in the Souper Sunday Kitchen today as we have several friends stopping by with some great looking soups and such a variety of recipes too. Good soup and good friends--what could be better!


Popping by this week is my favorite Souper Sunday regular and friend, Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies with a great vegan option; Chickpea Noodle Soup or as she calls it "a little solace in a bowl". This soup looks so healthy and filling. Check out the great dish and spoon--love the blue.

A big welcome to Christine from Kits Chow who dropped by from Vancouver BC with a delicious looking bowl of Oyster and Century Egg Congee. I have had congee before, but not one with oysters or one that looked this good! I have also enjoyed looking at her blog the last few days and seeing the great food she makes. Thanks for coming Christine!

Another big Aloha to Suzie from Munch & Nibble. Even though it is on its way to being full-on summer down under, Suzie is joining us from Sydney, Australia for soup and is bringing a cold and refreshing Andalusian Gazpacho. Since it is so warm here today, a big bowl of this thick, cool, tomato-ey goodness sounds wonderful. Thanks for joining us Suzie!

Thanks to Natashya, Christine and Suzie for joining Souper Sundays this week. Take a few minutes and visit their blogs to see more about their souper creations. If you have a soup, stew, chili, or any other soup-like dish that you eat with a spoon that you want to share, drop by and join us. You don't have to make your creation on Sunday, just send me an email or shoot me a comment and I'll include you in the round-up. Happy Sunday Everyone!