Beef Barley Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 pound boneless beef top round steak, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cans (about 14 ounces each) reduced-sodium beef broth
2 cups unpeeled cubed potatoes
1 can (about 14 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 cups sliced green beans (1/2-inch slices)

Method

1. Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add beef. Cook and stir until browned on all sides.
2. Stir in broth, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, carrots, barley, vinegar, caraway seeds, marjoram, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 1-1/2 hours.
3. Add green beans. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes or until beef is fork-tender.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Irish Cooking Bible

Orecchiette Bolognese with Chestnuts

Ingredients

1-1/4 pounds thickly sliced smoked ham, torn into small pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/4 pounds ground beef chuck
Pinch of ground cloves
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1-1/2 cups dry red wine
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
pinch of sugar
freshly ground black pepper
1 pound orecchiette
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup vacuum-packed chestnuts, coarsely chopped (4 ounces)
2 tablespoons very finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Method

1. Pulse the ham pieces in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
2. In a large, deep casserole or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the chopped ham, beef chuck and cloves. Cook over high heat, stirring once or twice, until the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic to the casserole and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are barely softened, about 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the sage, rosemary and crushed red pepper and cook until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the red wine and cook until it is nearly evaporated, about 10 minutes.
6. Add the tomato puree, chicken stock and sugar, season with black pepper and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the Bolognese sauce is thick and reduced by half, about 45 minutes.
7. in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the orecchiette until al dente.
8. Stir the heavy cream into the Bolognese sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
9. Stir in the chopped chestnuts and parsley and season lightly with salt. Drain the pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Spoon the Bolognese sauce over the pasta and serve, passing the Parmesan at the table.

Makes 6 servings.

Source:Chef Daniel Boulud

Braised Beef Shank with Ginger and Green Onion

Ingredients

400 g boneless beef shank
3 tbsp oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
4 Chinese black mushroom
15 g cloud ear fungus
1 stalk green onion
1 piece ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

Seasoning

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp Shao Xing wine
1/2 tsp sugar
dash ground white pepper
1 tsp sesame oil

Method

1. Soak mushroom in water until softened. Drain and squeeze out water. Cut into slices.
2. Soak fungus in water until softened. Remove grits. Tear into pieces. Drain.
3. Mix seasoning ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Remove silvery skin of beef shank. Cut across the grin into slices.
5. Add seasoning to beef. Mix well and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
6. Cut green onion into sections and ginger into slices.
7. Heat wok on high heat and add oil. Saute ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add beef and stir-fry briefly. Remove beef and set aside.
8. Add mushroom and fungus to wok. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add green onion and toss to mix.
9. Add salt and beef. Mix in chicken broth. Cover wok with a lid and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes.
10. Turn off heat and let stand for 2 more minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Remove to a warm casserole and serve hot.

Source: Pearl’s Home Cooking

Hanger Steak with Charmoula

Ingredients

2 cups shelled fresh or frozen cranberry beans (12 ounces)
4 thyme sprigs
3 garlic cloves, smashed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 packed cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 packed cup cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound oyster mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 cup beef broth
2 pounds trimmed hanger steak
2 Italian frying peppers, thickly sliced

Method

1. In a large saucepan, combine the beans with the thyme and 2 of the garlic cloves. Cover with water and simmer over moderate heat until the beans are just tender, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper and let cool slightly in the liquid.
2. in a food processor, combine the parsley, cilantro and the remaining garlic clove and pulse until chopped.
3. Add the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the olive oil and puree until smooth. Scrape the charmoula into a bowl. Stir in the ground coriander and cumin and season with salt and pepper.
4. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil until shimmering. Add the oyster mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes.
5. Drain the beans. Discard the thyme and garlic. Add the beans and beef broth to the mushrooms and cook over moderate heat until the liquid has nearly evaporated, about 15 minutes. Keep warm.
6. light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Generously season the steak with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Brush the peppers with oil. Grill the steak, turning occasionally, until lightly charred all over and medium-rare within, 10 to 12 minutes.
7. Transfer the steak to a work surface and let rest.
8. Grill the peppers until softened and lightly charred, about 5 minutes.
9. Slice the steak across the grain and serve with the cranberry beans, mushrooms, grilled peppers and charmoula.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Chef Mourad Lahlou

Orange Ginger Garlic Beef

Ingredients

1-1/2 lbs lean beef, cut into thin strips
5 pieces dried orange peel or 2 tsp orange zest and 2 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
7 or 8 broccoli florets
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar or Chinese black vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups vegetable oil for deep frying
3 tbsp grated ginger root
1 tbsp minced garlic

Method

1. Spread beef on a baking sheet lined with paper towels and allow to dry thoroughly in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, soak orange peel (if using) in 2 tbsp warm water for 5 minutes or until just soft. Drain, reserving liquid. Set aside.
3. Blanch broccoli in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Set aside.
4. In small bowl, combine sugar, vinegar, orange peel liquid or orange juice concentrate, salt and soy sauce. Mix well and set aside.
5. In a plastic bag, toss beef with cornstarch until thoroughly coated.
6. In a wok over medium-high heat, heat oil until just smoking. Fry beef in batches until crispy golden brown, about 3 minutes.
7. With a slotted spoon, transfer beef onto a paper towel and keep warm.
8. Drain all but 1 tbsp oil from wok. Add orange peel or zest, ginger root and garlic. Cook, briefly to extract flavors. Add vinegar-soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil and cook until the sauce becomes caramelized and syrupy in appearance.
9. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
10. Add beef, stir-fry to coat with the sauce.
11. Serve immediately, garnished with broccoli florets.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: New World Chinese Cooking