Recipe for Slow Cooked Beef with Vanilla and Capsicum

Recipe for Slow Cooked Beef with Vanilla and Capsicum

Slow Cook Beef with Vanilla and Capsicum... this recipe is a Keeper!

Keeper: /ˈkiːpə/
[Noun and adjective, informal] a sublime food or brilliant recipe that finds it way into your heart and onto your repertoire for life.

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Sometimes when you read a new recipe, you just know it's going to be a 'Keeper'. This week's snippet on Slow Cooked Beef with Vanilla and Capsicum is one such recipe and I am dellghted to share my adaptation with you.

Vanilla and capsicums are among my favourite ingredients, so when I read this recipe for Slow Cooked Beef with Vanilla and Capsicum in a booklet sent to me by Jennifer from Heilala Vanilla, I could tell it was bound to become a favourite. Having now cooked it a few times, I have to tell you that the aromas of this dish are mouthwatering and the flavours are sublime. 

We are in the depths of winter in Australia and Canberra is experiencing one of those really chilly, no-sunshine-at-all kind of days. Perfect weather for hibernating and cooking a feast of nourishing good things. Vanilla is definitely on the menu this weekend, in both sweet and savoury cooking. Grab your apron, turn on the oven and let's cook!

SLOW COOKED BEEF WITH VANILLA AND CAPSICUM
750g beef stewing steak
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Spanish onion or three eschalots, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 celery stalks (the tender part) sliced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 (Heilala) vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 red capsicum (bell pepper) and 1 yellow capsicum, sliced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt and freshly ground pepper
rice, polenta or mash, to serve

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C. Slice the beef into chunks. Place the flour, salt and pepper into a freezer bag and toss the beef in, coating thoroughly in the seasoned flour. On the stove top, heat the olive oil in a cast iron pan and brown the beef all over. Do this in batches. Add the onion or eschalots and garlic and cook until they are soft. Then add the celery, red wine, beef stock, vanilla seeds and pod, and sliced capsicum. Stir and bring to simmering point.

Then press a piece of baking paper (cut to size) over the top of the meat and liquid (this will keep the flavours and moisture beautifully locked in). Pop on a lid and place the pot into the preheated oven. Cook for two hours, until the meat is really tender. Serve with polenta, rice or mashed potatoes. This quantity will serve four.

Vanilla and Capsicums are among my favourite ingredients.

The process in pictures...

The aromas of this dish are mouthwatering, the flavours are sublime...

Piping hot and ready to serve with rice, polenta or potatoes.

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Do you adore vanilla, as I do? I have just ordered 250g of plump vanilla beans (about 60 beans) and cannot wait until the delivery arrives!


What ingredients are your absolute favourites? And which foods do you always keep in your larder or refrigerator?