Catalan Beef Ragout

Name: Catalan Beef Ragout
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Spain
Ingredients: 6 cups diced onions; ½ cup (or as needed) olive oil; ¼ pound pancetta, cut into ¼-inch dice; 3 pounds beef chuck or other marbled stewing beef, trimmed well and cut into 2-inch cubes; 2 cups full-bodied red wine (Lar de Barros Reserva, Zinfandel, Sangre de Toro, Côtes du Rhône); 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; ½ teaspoon ground toasted fennel seed; 24 small new potatoes, roasted at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or boiled until cooked through; 24 baby carrots or carrot chunks, peeled and blanched until cooked through; 6 tablespoons chopped parsley; Salt and freshly ground pepper; 4 Spanish sausages, cooked and sliced (optional); 24 pearl onions, peeled and blanched until cooked through; 24 green or black olives (optional); 2 cups full-bodied red wine (see above); 1 teaspoon grated bitter chocolate (optional); 4 tablespoons Quady Elysium or sweet sherry; ½ cup veal or Beef Stock; ½ teaspoon ground, toasted fennel seed; 2 tablespoons finely minced garlic; 1 tablespoon grated orange zest; 4 bay leaves, crumbled

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Complex

Appears in

Back to Square One

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 1992

About

Three Catalan recipes—one inspired by Colman Andrews, one from Paula Wolfert, and another from Penelope Casas’s Spanish cookbook—are combined here. I’ve played with the combinations and have varied the vegetable additions from time to time. I’m sure you’ll make your own version of this stew as soon as you feel comfortable with the recipe.

Ingredients

Europe
Spain
Main course
Mediterranean

Ingredients

Method