Recipe: Seco de carne (Peruvian beef & coriander stew)
Lamb is not a very popular meat in my hometown. It is in the highlands, but for some reason the urbanites prefer beef. This is a beef version of the lamb seco I published a while ago. Now, I know that this will sound insane… but I decided to use kombucha instead of chicha de jora, knowing that a) the stuff is not cheap, and b) the cooking process kills the beneficial bacteria. But taste-wise it made sense. The result? I’d say I won’t be buying chicha any time soon.
I adapted this recipe from a very well known Peruvian chef. A quick note on tradition: this stew usually contains peas and is served with rice and potatoes or rice and beans. My mum used to serve it with rice and cassava prepared the way I indicate in the recipe.
Seco de carne
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg gravy beef diced
Marinade
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/3 cup pisco or brandy
- 1 pinch black pepper and cumin
Stew
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 large red onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp ají amarillo powder or any other chilli, to taste
- 2 bunches coriander leaves and stalks, chopped
- 1 cup kombucha or apple cider/gluten-free beer/white wine
- 1/2 cup grated pumpkin
- 2 cups beef stock
- salt and pepper
- 2 oranges juiced
To serve
- cassava
- butter or ghee
Instructions
- Marinate beef with crushed garlic, pisco, pepper and cumin for at least one hour or overnight.
- Drain beef (discard marinade) and brown in a heavy-bottomed pot with one tablespoon of ghee. Reserve.
- Lower heat, and in the same pot melt another tablespoon of ghee. Cook onion, minced garlic and chilli until very soft, approximately 10 minutes.
- While the aderezo is cooking, blend coriander with kombucha.
- Add pumpkin to the pot, cook for a minute, stirring often.
- Add meat, blended coriander, and stock to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and simmer covered until soft (1.5 to 2 hours).
- While you wait, boil cassava in water until soft. Drain and reserve.
- Add orange juice. Let reduce with the lid off if there's too much liquid for your liking.
- Fry cassava in butter and sprinkle with salt. Serve.
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3 Comments
Christine @ Cooking Crusade
I absolutely love slow cooked gravy beef – such a great cut. And combined with coriander sounds even better!
Ramen Raff
I was starting to run out if ideas for healthy dishes but thanks to this post, I have been saved lol love slow cooked dishes.
lateraleating
Slow-cooked dishes rock, specially on these cold, rainy days.