Beef, Quinoa, and Root Vegetable Stew.
I hope that winter has been kicked to the curb but here is one last hearty recipe as my farewell to my least favourite season. I like winter at Christmas but when that is over it wears out its welcome in a hurry.
As part of the swag for the Food Bloggers of Canada Conference, we received a 3 quart Dutch Oven, a Braiser and a Chicken Leg griller. As part of this, the attendees can review the products we received and by doing so we are entered in a draw to win a Grand Prize of lots of other Nordic Ware products.
I love my cast iron enamelled pots and I will continue to use them but these Nordic Ware pots are a nice addition to my kitchen armoury. I have only used the 3 quart Dutch Oven so far and I have mixed feelings about it. As part of my review I will give a short list of pros and cons and let you decide. Like I said though, I do like it but there are a couple things about the pot that I don’t like.
Pros:
- Very light-weight which was a nice contrast to the cast iron pots
- I love the look of these pots, very stylish but with a classic aesthetic
- Lovely, even heat
Cons:
- I wish it didn’t have a non-stick coating. If it happens to get scratched and starts to come off then I will have to throw the pot out since non-stick coatings are not healthy once they break down. I like the ceramic enamel on my cast iron pots.
- When the lid was on and the stew was cooking, the steam escaped in little spatters and made a big mess on my stovetop. This is something that does not happen with my cast iron pots. This was the biggest disappointment when using the pot.
I will continue to happily use the Nordic Ware pots but I do find the splatter quite annoying. Cooking is messy though, so I will get over it. Would I have bought the pot knowing about the cons I’ve listed? I honestly don’t know. The weight, even cooking heat and aesthetics of the pot are very attractive. I leave it to you, gentle reader, to decide.
Beef, Quinoa, and Root Vegetable Stew
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb stewing beef about 1" cubes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 1/2 cup beef stock
- 1/2 cup tomato puree
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium parsnip peeled and cubed
- 1 sweet potato peeled and cubed
- 1 small celeriac peeled and cubed
- 1/3 cup quinoa less if you want the stew looser
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp Herbe de Provence
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a 3 quart Dutch Oven.
- Sprinkle the stewing beef with some salt and pepper and brown the beef in batches in the Dutch Oven and set the browned beef aside on a plate.
- When the beef is browned, add the onion and garlic and cook until it is softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the red wine and cook it down for 1-2 minutes.
- Return the beef back to the pot, add the Herbes de Provence and some more salt and pepper.
- Add the beef stock, tomato puree, cubed parsnip, cubed sweet potato and cubed celeriac.
- Reduce the heat to low and put the lid on the pot and let it simmer for 2 hours or until beef is fork tender. Stir several times during the cooking and check the seasoning for salt and pepper. Add some if you feel it is necessary.
- When the beef is fork tender, add the quinoa and put the lid back on for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley
I made this tonight and it smells wonderful – I didn’t add the quinoa. I just wanted straight up stew! Yum.
Good to know, I haven’t used mine yet, but when I do I’ll be prepared for some splatter clean up duty!
I wonder if it will be better putting it in the oven. Still a mess in the oven though.
I would probably try covering the pot with a piece of foil before putting on the lid. Maybe that would help. But the nonstick coating makes it a no-go for me. Is there some reason they can’t put an enamel coating on the aluminum? The stew sounds lovely!
Foil is a good idea. I might try that next time. Hopefully I can put the big pots away and start grilling everything if spring ever decides to come. 🙂
oh I love the sound of this and I am currently obsessed with quinoa. I must try this.
It was great to meet you on the weekend.
It is very hearty and even my son eats this stew so I did something right. We call the quinoa ‘bubbles’:)
This looks fantastic! Has anyone tried in slow cooker?
I haven’t tried it but I’m sure it would be great in a slow cooker. Just brown the meat before adding it to the crockpot. For convenience on a work day, you could brown the meat the night before and then toss it all together in the morning. If you try it, let me know how it works out. You may want to add a bit less quinoa since it thickens it up quite a bit so I’d be concerned about it burning with less liquid for a long cook time in slow cooker.
Just the quinoa beef stew recipe I was looking for! I adapted the recipe a bit to match food I had at home, like zucchini and kale instead of parsnip & celariac. I used a malbec red wine and rolled the beef in garbonzo bean flour before browning. Feelin’ like a quinoa queen! Delicious! Thank you 🙂
Awesome! I love that you made this dish your own. The garbonzo bean flour on the beef would have added a lovely nutty flavour to the browned meat and Malbecs are my favourite red wine to drink. Sounds like you put together a delicious meal. 🙂