Recipe: Orange and Cinnamon Scented Beef Stew: Nut-Free, Gluten-Free, Fairway [SPONSORED]

"Dontcha wish your dinner was sweet meat like me?"

I really, really wanted a beef stew with the spice of cinnamon and the sweetness of oranges and dried fruit. And I looked and looked and could not find anything in all of my cookbooks and online that was exactly what I was looking for. So I made this version up, using tried and true braising methods and all of the flavors that I wanted: tender, melt in your mouth beef from Fairway Market, made even more tender by red wine, adding a little heat from cinnamon, sweetness from the carrots and raisins all in a luscious brown sauce - this is the stuff of dreams. 

It's also top 8 allergen free!

Happy plate for beef stew for days!

After the first 10 minutes or so, it's two hours of cooking, all hands off. Easy! Everything, but the meat, which I purchased at Fairway Market, you probably have on hand in your fridge and pantry. (If not, it's a quick trip to any market for these common ingredients.) I love recipes like that, don't you? Items you already have on hand, no special ingredients - easy! And as it’s Valentine’s Day 2017, *if* you’re so inclined and have the time, you could start cooking this dish this afternoon and have dinner on the table for your honey, tonight. Easy!

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Orange and Cinnamon Scented Beef Stew with Carrots and Raisins

One Pound Wine Braised Beef Stew
Makes around 13 ounces of beef stew

One pound cubed chuck beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 T tomato paste
1 dried bay leaf
1 cup red wine
2 cups water (add more if needed to cover but not submerge meat)
.5 t ground cinnamon (or small cinnamon stick)
1 cara cara orange, zest and juice, keep separate
½ cup raisins
EVOO
Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and make room on the middle rack. Heat two tablespoons of EVOO into a large Dutch oven/ceramic pot on medium high heat. Dry the meat cubes, salt them on all sides and add the meat to the hot pan in batches as to not overcrowd, and brown thoroughly on all sides. (If the pot it needs more oil, add it and make sure the fond doesn’t burn.) 

When the meat is all browned and sitting on a platter, resting, sauté the onions until translucent and fragrant. (If you need more oil, go ahead and add a glug). Once the onions are fragrant, add garlic and sauté for one minute until fragrant (do not burn the garlic!). Add the tomato paste, cinnamon and orange zest. Stir and heat for 30 seconds. Then add wine and bay leaf and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom. Boil the wine mixture until slightly reduced. Add the meat back into the pot with any juices and about 2 cups of water, just enough to cover the meat but not submerge it. Bring the mixture a boil and then take off the heat and place into the 350 degree oven with the lid on the pot. 

While meat is cooking, add orange juice to raisins to rehydrate.  

About 1.5 hours into cooking, add chopped carrots and rehydrated raisins with any residual OJ. 

Let the mixture cook for another 30 minutes, until the meat is tender - a total of two hours.

Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed. 

Serve over the grain or pasta of your choice with a side of salad and some yummy steamed greens.

Served with a side salad and oranges for dessert (uh...and a yoga block). #healthyhabits!

Enjoy and thank you, Fairway Market*.

(NB: *My policies regarding sponsored posts.)