Sunday night Morrocan inspired beef stew

Not sure about you, but growing up Sunday night in winter was when we had the most hearty, easiest meals. Chicken soup, corn fritters, roast chicken, corned beef - nourishing meals to finish the week off well.

In my 20s, Sunday night dinner was always a way to use as many of the fresh vegetables I'd bought from the Dunedin/Lyttelton/Wellington markets, so generally soup or Mega Salad (blanched broccoli  greens, finely chopped red cabbage, grated/sliced carrot, red onion, sweet corn, boiled egg, whatever really). As much as I like spending all Sunday afternoon in the kitchen, I don't currently have a space that is perfect for doing just that, so this stew is just perfect.

Chuck steak is cheap. Slow cooking brings out the flavour of the meat. From a health point of view, slow cooking keeps all of the glorious saturated fats so crucial to helping absorb calcium and providing fat soluble vitamins. Not to mention all the protein and iron in beef. I eat red meat around twice a week.

Ingredients

500g grass fed beef, chopped

2 Tablespoons butter

1 red onion, sliced (or chopped if preferred)

3 carrots

1 kumara/2 potatoes (if wanted)

1 green capsicum, sliced (optional)

1 Tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon tumeric

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 can tomatoes

The can from the tomatoes filled with water

Preparation

Small packet frozen baby peas/frozen or fresh spinach or kale

In a large pot (or frying pan), caramelise the onion in the butter until light brown. In a large pot (either the same one or a clean one if you used a frying pan) place tomatoes, spices, carrots, potatoes, beef, capsicum, and water. Simmer, covered, for two hours or so, checking every half hour that you've still got plenty of water in the pot.

Ten minutes before serving add whatever greens you want to include.

Enjoy with a spoon and maybe a wee glass of red wine.

Photo LauraFries.com