Thomas Meeks asked: About ten years ago one of the women's magazines (Redbook, McCall's, Good Housekeeping-- we don't know which one) had a recipe for Mexican Stew. Needless to say, we have lost the recipe and cannot find it anywhere. It was a thick stew, NOT spicy, which had beef, pears, and yams as its main ingredients. It is a delicious dinner and if anyone has heard of this we would love to have the recipe. ********************************************************************* This is the closest recipe I was able to find for your Mexican Stew. This one doesn't use yams but you certainly can add them if you like. You can make it mild simply by cutting down on the chiles. The Art of Mexican Cooking Diana Kennedy Vitualla (A Stew of Beef, Rice, and Fruit) Serves 6 to 8 The final frying and assembling can be done in a saute pan or shallow flame-proof dish that can be taken to the table. Vitualla is best eaten as soon as it is cooked, as the rice tends to become a little mushy. One serving would be about 1-1/2 to 2 cups of the rice/fruit mixture, pieces of meat on top, with a picante tomato sauce passed at the table. Ingredients: The Day Before: 1/3 cup (2 ounces) dry chick-peas The Meat: 1-1/2 pounds boneless beef brisket with some fat, cut into 2-inch cubes 1/2 pound boneless beef shin A large marrow bone, cut into 4 pieces 1 large piece of porous bone 1 small white onion, roughly chopped 3 garlic cloves, peeled 2 teaspoons (or to taste) sea salt 1 small cabbage, cut into wedges The Rice: 1 cup unconverted long-grain rice 2 cups warm chicken broth 1/4 medium white onion, roughly, chopped 1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped The Fruit: 1/4 cup lard or safflower oil 3 medium quinces (about 1-1/4 pounds) peeled, cored, and thickly sliced 3 underripe pears, peeled, cored, and thickly sliced 3 underripe peaches, unpeeled, pit removed, thickly sliced 3 tablespoons sugar Sea salt to taste *Salsa de jitomate, cooked version In a large pot, soak the chick-peas in water to cover overnight. The next day, put the meat, bones, onion, garlic, and salt into a deep pan. Barely cover with water and set over low heat to simmer, uncovered. Continue simmering until the meat is almost tender, about 1 hour. Place the cabbage slices on top of the meat and continue cooking until the meat and cabbage are tender .. 15 minutes longer. Remove the cabbage, but leave the meat in the broth and keep it warm. Drain the chick-peas, reserving the soaking water. Rub off and discard the papery skins and put chick-peas with the water back into the saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and continue cooking at a fast simmer until all the chick-peas are tender but not falling apart .... about 40 minutes. Cooking time will depend on how dry they were in the first place or how long they have been stored. Cover the rice with hot water and soak for about 10 minutes. Drain, rinse, and put into a pot. Blend the warm broth with the onion and garlic and pour over the rice. Bring the broth to a simmer, cover, lower the heat, and cook very slowly until the water has been absorbed. Set aside off the heat to steam, still covered. The rice should be tender but not too soft, or it will become mushy in the next step of the recipe. In a large saute pan or flameproof dish, heat the lard (or safflower oil) and gently saute the fruits and sugar, shaking the pan to prevent sticking, and turn them over once so that they just begin to brown lightly. Add the chick-peas and rice with salt to taste and fry the mixture gently, turning it over, for about 5 minutes. Place the cabbage on top, cover the pan, and continue cooking over very low heat for about 5 minutes more. *Salsa De Jitomate, Sierra De Puebla (Cooked Tomato Sauce, Sierra de Puebla) Makes about 2-1/4 cups It is essential to have good ripe tomatoes for this. Ingredients: 1-1/2 pounds (about 3 large) tomatoes 4 (or to taste) chiles serranos 2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped 3 tablespoons safflower oil Sea salt to taste Put the tomatoes into a pan with the fresh chiles, cover with water, bring to a simmer, and cook at a fast simmer until fairly soft but not falling apart ... about 5 minutes, depending on size of tomatoes. Put the garlic, chiles, and 1/3 cup of the cooking water into a blender jar and blend until well broken ..... about 5 seconds. Add the unpeeled tomatoes and blend for a few seconds; the sauce should have a roughish texture. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the sauce, and cook over high heat, stirring from time to time and scraping the bottom of the dish, until reduced and the raw taste of garlic has disappeared .... about 6 to 8 minutes. Add salt to taste. |
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Stew with Pears (Vitualla)
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