Beef Stewed with 30 Cloves of Garlic
This stew is loaded with garlic, but don’t let the number of cloves scare you. Garlic has a split personality. When finely chopped and cooked in oil, it is pungent and odoriferous, but left whole and simmered in liquid, its sugars emerge, and an assertive aroma never develops. From “Almost from Scratch: 600 Recipes for the New Convenience Cuisine,” serves 6.
Ingredients
2 pounds beef cubes, chuck or round
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic, jarred or fresh
30 peeled cloves garlic (about half of a 4-ounce jar or 2 heads fresh)
1 cup white wine
1 15-ounce can Italian-styled diced tomatoes, with their juice
1 15-ounce can or package beef broth
1/2 cup prepared baba ghanoush (available in specialty or health food grocery stores)
Directions
Season beef cubes with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a wide pot of Dutch oven over high heat. Brown beef on all sides in two batches.
Add chopped garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add garlic cloves and wine, and heat to boiling. Add diced tomatoes and broth, cover pan, and simmer until beef is tender, about 1 hour. Stir in baba ghanoush and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
