Pressure Cooker Turkish Beef Stew

admin March 30, 2009 Adventures in the Kitchen, Main dishes

Turkish Beef Stew
Every Day with Rachael Ray October 2007, adapted by me, from here.

FOUR SERVINGS
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 10 min originally but pressure cooked it takes a lot less time

3 Â½ tablespoons butter
1 Â½ lbs. beef chuck cubes (we used a package of stew meat cut into smaller pieces — two pounds, I think)
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes with their juice (we used a can of them)
1 cup beef broth (we used a spoonful of chicken bullion, plus 1/2 cup broth)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (we just used white vinegar, no wine involved. that’s what we had.)
â…› teaspoon ground cinnamon (we used 1 tsp; next time we’ll use more because we couldn’t taste it at all)
â…› teaspoon ground cloves (THIS we could taste)
Pepper (didn’t use because the kids are amazing pepper-seeking machines and even the slightest bit renders the entire meal inedible somehow. it’s highly unfair.)
Â½ lb. wide egg noodles
Salt
Â¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
next time we’re adding a handful of raisins; the meal needs some sweetness

1. In a large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat, add half of the beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate. Repeat with another tablespoon butter and the remaining beef. Set aside.
2. Stir the tomatoes and beef broth into the saucepan, reduce the heat to low and stir, scraping up any browned bits. Add the reserved beef, the vinegar, cinnamon, cloves and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; bring to a simmer over low heat. Cover and cook until the meat is fork-tender, about 1 hour. (We pressure cooked it, at the first ring, for ~25 minutes and let it come to a natural release; next time I think we’ll cook for 30 minutes so the meat is just a little tenderer.)
3. About 10 minutes before the stew is ready, cook the egg noodles according to the package directions. Toss with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir the parsley into the stew and serve with the noodles.