Hangover Stew
Like so many, I went to bed last night watching crews rescue trapped miners in Chile. This morning when my alarm clicked on, the first sound that came over the radio was news that half of the men had been successfully extracted. I was inspired to dig up a Chilean recipe – relating in the best way I know by making a stew similar to what those men may be going home to eat with their families, and sitting down to eat it with my own.
Also – I’d like to introduce a new family member, a 4.7 L red braiser I brought home from the Le Creuset store last week. (No, they didn’t give it to me – I wish – I didn’t get a deal nor was I coerced into reporting back here. I just decided that I deserved a Le Creuset, dammit, and I went and bought myself one, right after purchasing the fanciest and most expensive coffee I could find at Phil & Sebastien. I needed a little retail therapy.) If you haven’t heard the news, we now have the only stand-alone Le Creuset store in Canada, in the new part of Chinook mall. It will allow you the experience of being a kid in a candy store all over again. A kid who doesn’t get nearly enough allowance to buy all the mojos she wants.
This stew was a great way to break it in. (I must say though, I’m surprised that the handle can only tolerate temperatures up to 375F. I really don’t want to have to go and replace the handle when I just bought the thing. Staub cookware, also made in France, has handles made of nickled steel or brass that can take temps up to 500F.)
This has slow-cooker potential, but I wanted to do it in a pot, like they would in Chile. I braised the meat in the oven rather than simmer on the stovetop for an hour, as instructed (I’m a bit of a culinary rebel) and used a small roast I had in the freezer from Buffalo Horn Ranch, which I diced and browned and which tasted surprisingly like flank steak, I think. Or perhaps I’m just having flashbacks of the flank steak stew of my childhood.
After braising the meat with the onions and carrots, you add the potatoes and green beans and peas, which you don’t want to cook to death, and finish them off. And top off the lot with a poached egg. Once the egg parts of our dinners were gone, my sister went and got the sour cream and lobbed on some of that, and was it ever a Good Idea. Chilean Hangover Stew, meet Beef Stroganoff.
This is called Hangover Stew because it’s often served on Mondays as a means of using up the leftovers from the Sunday barbecue – it’s a dish served all over Chile. This version is adapted from Saveur, issue #14 – of their adaptation of the version at Raquel Orellana’s Restaurante En Familia in San Fernando, Chile.
Hangover Stew
AuthorJulie
In a large heavy pot or skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat and brown the meat, in batches if you need to so that it doesn't crowd the pan, seasoning with salt and pepper as it cooks. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two, then add the cumin and oregano. Set it aside or transfer to a pot (if you're braising in a different pot than you're browning in).
Add the onions and carrot to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes, until starting to turn golden. Return the meat to the pot or transfer the onions and carrots to the pot the meat is in, and add the stock and 2-3 cups water. Cover and bake at 300F for 4 hours.
Add potatoes, beans, peas, parsley and cilantro; cover and return to the oven for another half hour, or until the potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, poach your eggs in simmering water as if you were going to serve them on toast; ladle the stew into wide bowls and top each with an egg.
Ingredients
Directions
In a large heavy pot or skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat and brown the meat, in batches if you need to so that it doesn't crowd the pan, seasoning with salt and pepper as it cooks. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two, then add the cumin and oregano. Set it aside or transfer to a pot (if you're braising in a different pot than you're browning in).
Add the onions and carrot to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes, until starting to turn golden. Return the meat to the pot or transfer the onions and carrots to the pot the meat is in, and add the stock and 2-3 cups water. Cover and bake at 300F for 4 hours.
Add potatoes, beans, peas, parsley and cilantro; cover and return to the oven for another half hour, or until the potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, poach your eggs in simmering water as if you were going to serve them on toast; ladle the stew into wide bowls and top each with an egg.
Le Creuset makes a stainless steel replacement handle that is available from Amazon.com for $10 US. I bought one for mine during the No-Knead Bread craze three years ago. I prefer the phenolic knob for cooking on the stove top because it’s doesn’t get too hot, but use the stainless steel on for high-temp oven cooking. It’s super easy to switch using a screwdriver.
I use my old, huge, Medalta bowl with a lid from an even older spackleware pot. I put a metal cake pan under it to lift the bowl in and out of the oven. When I use the oven. I prefer not to so that I don’t have to spend money and use carcinogenic chemicals to clean it four or so times a year. New ovens. Sigh.
This stew looks really great. The Chilean guy a few doors down tells me pork would be traditional for this dish, otherwise, yeh he knows it and cooks it. And was he celebrating!
I’ll be making empanadas today to celebrate. Yay Chile! The Empanada Queen on Memorial Drive makes delicious ones too. Actually, maybe I’lll go there instead – empanadas are a labour of love. The stew looks great.
I’m jealous of your Le Creuset. That’s a beautiful store.
I wish they had layaway, because my pot of choice and the dog training sessions I have to buy are exactly the same price.
You can replace the lid knob with a metal cabinet knob from any hardware store.
Yes – I can replace the knob. I know. I just don’t want to have to replace the knob!
I too was glued to the TV welling up each time they brought up a miner. Such an amazing story. Looks like a delicious way to celebrate too! I have a bought a few Le Creuset pots and pans, and I justify it to my husband that the food just tastes better when you make it with the good stuff. Don’t you agree 😉
Congrats on your new addition!
It’s my favorite pot in the house.
we have a Le Creuset outlet store here in NJ that has a yearly sale of 30% off (the pots are seconds, but I can’t tell!).
The hangover dish looks great, and I may need it this weekend!
My goodness! This looks amazing. And with an egg?! Yes.
What a beautiful Le Creuset! It’ll be a great addition to your kitchen. Thanks for the note about the handles, I had no idea.
When I read the title, I expected Hangover Stew to be quite a different recipe than it turned out to be. Looks great, even though it’s not what I expected. I’m sure the sour cream went really well!
I’ll make this stew with pork or with chicken legs. Love your Le Creuset! It’s a nuisance about the knob, even if they can be replaced.
I’m reading this from Paris and there’s a Staub store here that we passed a few times over the last several days. I was so tempted to get one as a souvenier to a wonderful trip, but the weight limits on our luggage limited me. I guess my Le Creuset knock-off will have to do.
I put my lid in the oven all the time, and at much hotter heats. No problem in 2 years of use.
PS Love the oven simmer. I use it for tomato sauce all the time too. And overnight braises.
Doesn’t your brand new Le Creuset look lovely – so white! After over 30 years of constant use, mine is showing its age. However, I’ve never had an issue with the handle – must be only on newer versions. Glad you took the plunge and treated yourself to this new addition.