Rutabaga Challenge: Rutabaga Beef Stew Over Couscous

Monday, February 13, 2012

Since February is Rutabaga Challenge Month, I’ve been looking for a special recipe. With the weather turning cold and sorta-kinda snowy recently (if you can call a dusting of flurries snow), I’ve been wanting stew. So hey, rutabaga can be made into stew, right?

Absolutely.

I based this on a potato-beef stew, replacing the potatoes with rutabaga. The rutabaga, beef, beef stock, tomato paste, onion, and cayenne pepper can be sourced locally (or, in the case of the stock, paste, and pepper, made from locally grown ingredients). The result was a hearty, warming dish that fills you up.

1 lb. of beef cubes for stew (you can use strip steak or any cut of steak that doesn’t get too tough when cooked)
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1/2 of a large rutabaga, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. of tomato paste
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, ground coriander, turmeric, and cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp. of all purpose flour
3.5 cups beef stock
1 cup water, boiling
2/3 cup of couscous

Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet over medium heat; brown beef on all sides. Remove the beef to a plate (note: the beef should not be cooked through—just browned). Add rutabaga, onion, paste, and spices to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Give it a stir every thirty seconds or so and cook for five minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir well for another minute. Add the stock and increase the heat to medium-high; bring to a boil and cook until the rutabaga is tender and the stock has thickened. This should take about fifteen minutes.

Add boiling water to couscous and let it steam.

Return the steak to the skillet with the rutabaga and onion. Decrease the heat to medium and cook for 2-3 minutes (until the beef is cooked through). Serve stew over couscous.

Serves 4.

When you’ve got extra cayenne peppers coming out of your garden next year, consider making your own. There’s a great tutorial here.