Gardener's Beef Stew (Jardineira)

Gardener's Beef Stew (Jardineira)

A hearty, healthy countryside stew from Portugal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Portuguese

Keyword Jardineira, Portuguese beef stew

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2 30

Servings

Calories 546kcal

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tbsp flour
700 g veal or beef, cut into 3cm cubes
1 sausage chouriço or linguiça, chopped into half-moons
100 g bacon sliced into thin pieces
1 onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 ripe tomatoes peeled, deseeded, halved and quartered (or 400g good quality tinned tomatoes)
150 ml white wine
750 ml meat stock or vegetable
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme leaves removed
4 medium potatoes peeled and cut into quarters
2 carrots peeled and chopped into half moons
6 pods green beans ends removed, sliced along the edges, and chopped into 3cm pieces
150 g peas either frozen or canned and drained
1 bunch coriander freshly chopped
1 bunch mint freshly chopped
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 drop Portuguese piri-piri oil (or 1tbsp chili flakes) optional

Instructions

Chop the beef into cubes, trim off any excess fat, and dust with about 1.5tbsp of flour.
Finely dice the onions and garlic, and slice the chouriço and bacon into thin pieces. Peel the tomatoes ((you can do this by submerging the tomatoes in hot water for about 30 seconds, then running them under a cold tap, after which the skin should slide off), chop them in half, deseed them, and then chop the halves into quarters, so that you have 8 slices per tomato.
Add the olive oil to a large saucepan or dutch oven that you can cover later, and set the heat to medium-high. Once the pan is hot, add the beef cubes, seasoning with salt and pepper when they hit the pan. Do this in batches, if you need to, so as to get a nice crust and not overcrowd the pan.
Sear for around 3-4 minutes, and then flip to the opposite side, and sear for another 3-4 minutes. You should have a nice browning, with some good sear marks.
Once the beef has a nice crust, remove it from the pan and set aside for later. Add the onions, chouriço, bacon and bay leaf to the same pan, and sauté for around 3 minutes, stirring gently. If there are brown marks on the bottom of the pan from the beef, don't worry.
Next add the garlic, and sauté for a further minute.
Add the tomato paste, and fry it down for about another minute, or until the colour darkens. This deepens the flavour of the dish.
Add the chopped tomatoes, or the canned tomatoes if you’re using them, with a pinch of salt. Cook down for another two to three minutes.
Next, turn the heat to high, add a glug of white wine (about 150ml) and reduce until just over half of the wine has evaporated.
Return the beef cubes to the pot, mix well to coat, and add your stock until it just covers the beef. Season with salt and pepper, add the thyme sprig, turn the heat to very low, and cover the pan with a lid (covering the pan allows enough liquid to retain for cooking the vegetables later). Leave, on a low simmer, for around 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
After 1 hour, uncover the pot so that the lid is half on, half off. This is to help start thickening the broth. Check regularly for seasoning, and if you want a bit of spice, add a drop or two of Portuguese piri-piri oil, or some chili flakes. Cook for another 30 minutes on a very low simmer, during which time you can peel and chop the carrots and potatoes, and top, tail and slice the green beans.
After 30 minutes (or when you feel the beef is very tender and a sideways fork easily cuts through it), remove the bay leaf, and add the potatoes, carrots and green beans, ensuring there is enough liquid left in the pan so that it doesn’t dry out. If so, add more stock.
After 12-15 minutes, or when the potatoes are slightly tender when prodded with a fork, add the peas.
Simmer for 5 minutes more, taste for seasoning, and sprinkle mint and coriander around the pot.
Plate your jardineira, serve with more freshly chopped mint and coriander, and enjoy.

Notes

Nutrition