Spanish Beef Stew in a Red Wine Sauce
This recipe was originally from an old, Spanish cookbook, but it has been changed with the addition of artichokes, green bell peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes. It’s hearty, rich and tastes even better the next day, if there are any leftovers.
Ingredients:
3 pounds beef sirloin, trimmed and cubed
1 quart beef stock
1 cup leeks, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
1 cup carrots, cut into slanted 1” chunks
1 cup artichokes, chopped
1 cup plum tomatoes, cubed
1 cup red potatoes, cubed
1 cup green bell peppers, chopped
1 cup red wine
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 tablespoons white whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup of red palm oil
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon powdered clove
½ teaspoon powdered cumin
½ teaspoon rosemary
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Trim any extra fat off the meat, cut into 1” cubes and set aside. In a medium bowl blend the red wine, red wine vinegar, garlic and salt, as a marinade and mix in the meat. Chill for 2 hours, mixing it now and then to make sure the marinade coats every part of the meat. When done, strain the liquid out, but retain some for later use.
Place a large stew pot on the counter to start adding to it. In a large frying pan over medium high heat, prepare to cook several rounds of the vegetables. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil and sauté the garlic, leeks and bell peppers for 5 minutes and place in the pot. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and sauté the carrots and potatoes for 5 minutes, and add them to the pot. Add the tomatoes and artichokes directly to the pot.
In a medium bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon, clove, cumin, rosemary, cayenne and black pepper. Add the drained meat and toss in the flour making sure the meat is well coated. Spread out the floured beef on a baking sheet ready to cook. Retain any left over seasoned flour to add to the stew later.
In a large frying pan over medium high heat, sauté the beef chunks browning on each side. Return them to the sheet pan, this time on paper towels to soak up any of the extra oil. Add the meat to the pot.
Place the stew pot on a burner on low and add the beef stock, the remainder of the red wine, vinegar, garlic and salt mixture, the cilantro and any left over flour and seasoning mix. Simmer all for 30 minutes, stirring deeply to make sure all the flavors blend and nothing burns on the bottom. Be sure to taste test for the seasonings before serving.
Correspondences:
In chapter three of The Book of the Law, Crowley writes about what to sacrifice unto Ra-Hoor-Khuit. He says, “Sacrifice cattle, little and big.” While the delicate flavor of young veal might be a wonderful tender choice, it can get rather pricey for a large crowd, it lacks fat marbling, and misses some of that hearty beef flavor. Instead, a couple of moderately priced sirloin beefsteaks will admirably fulfill the requirement. Beef has a very fiery quality, plus it contains blood, a very suitable offering for this menu. Beef is of earth, flour is air of earth, and beef stock is water of earth. Potatoes are earth of water, red wine is fire of water, and tomatoes are water of air. Artichokes, black pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, clove, cumin, garlic, cilantro, red palm oil, and rosemary are all of fire, and carrots, bell peppers, leeks, and red wine vinegar are all water of fire.
