Italian Beef Stew with Gnocchi

With another cold snap making spring feel further away than ever, I'm back to making my winter standbys.  For Sunday night's dinner, I was planning on slow-cooked pot roast when I saw a package of mini gnocchi peeking out from behind the row of pasta boxes in the pantry.  Since my thoughts on pot roast were already leaning Italian, the gnocchi seemed like the perfect thing to turn it into a stew, and cut down on the number of pots used.

I was so glad when the stew turned out really well.  The beef practically fell apart on its own, and the gnocchi absorbed the subtle spice of the sauce.  And even better, its quick prep time before putting everything in the slow cooker meant that this didn't cut into my weekend.

Italian Beef Stew with Gnocchi

2 Tbsp. olive oil, bacon fat or butter
1 medium onion, diced
3 large carrots, diced
Salt & pepper, to taste
2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup red or white wine
1 28-oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes
1-2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3-5 lb. chuck roast
1 16-oz. package mini or regular gnocchi, or homemade

How to make it:

Heat olive oil (or other fat) in a deep saucepan or stovetop-safe slow-cooker insert.  Add onions and carrots, stir to coat with oil, and saute until starting to brown.  Season with salt and pepper, and add garlic, oregano, cinnamon and nutmeg, and cook until fragrant.  Pour in wine, scraping pan to get the brown bits.  If using a saucepan, pour the contents into the slow cooker insert now.

Add tomatoes, 1 cup of the broth and the balsamic vinegar, and stir to combine.  Place the meat into the sauce, adding enough broth for the sauce to come halfway up the meat.  Cook in the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours.

About a half hour from the end of the cooking time, remove any large pieces of fat, gristle or connective tissue from the beef, and shred the meat into large chunks.  Add the gnocchi to the stew.  When gnocchi is done, serve in wide bowls.

Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash

I can usually be sucked in by anything even remotely Moroccan-inspired.  Growing up, one of my favorite parts of Disney World was dinner at the restaurant in Epcot's Moroccan pavilion.  I just cannot resist the spiced, slightly sweet combinations so prevalent in these dishes.  So when I saw this Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash in the January issue of Cooking Light, I immediately put it on the menu for the next week.  It even gave me a decent cover for butternut squash, which is not one of Vince's favorites, since he will eat just about anything that involves beef.

Basically an amped up beef stew, this tagine is a little spicy, a little sweet, and hearty without relying on fatty meat and heavy potatoes.  I made a double batch, and the leftovers we ate for lunch later in the week were just as good as the fresh stew, if not better.  I also simmered a little longer at lower heat, with more chicken stock, than the original recipe, with no ill effects. 

Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash

What's in it:

2  teaspoons  paprika

1  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

3/4  teaspoon  salt

1/2  teaspoon  ground ginger

1/2  teaspoon  crushed red pepper

1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

1  (1-pound) beef shoulder roast or petite tender roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes

1  tablespoon  olive oil

4  shallots, quartered

4  garlic cloves, chopped

1-1 1/2  cups  fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1  (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

3  cups  (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound)

How to make it:

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef; toss well to coat.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef and shallots; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Add butternut squash, and return stew to a simmer.  Continue to simmer for about 30 min, until squash is soft and flavors have developed.