Make Ahead
Chile-braised beef shank with pumpkin (pie!) and green beans
- Serves 2-4
Author Notes
This recipe takes the warm flavors of pumpkin pie--cinnamon, nutmeg--and tender, fall-apart beef, for a perfect (if not surprising) winter stew. Use leftover green beans here (steamed or roasted please--no canned or cream-of-mushroom casserole here!) or whatever leftover greens or roasted vegetables you have from your Thanksgiving table. Serve it over polenta or rice. —calliehoo
What You'll Need
Ingredients
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2
ancho chile peppers, stemmed and seeded
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1 1/2 cups
beef stock
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2 tablespoons
canola oil
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1
cross-cut beef shank (approx. 2 pounds)
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1/2 teaspoon
cumin
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1/2 teaspoon
red chile flakes
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1/2
large onion, thinly sliced
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14 ounces
canned crushed tomatoes
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1/2 cup
pumpkin pie filling, scraped out of about 1/3 of a pumpkin pie
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8
cloves garlic, peeled
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leftover green beans
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rice or polenta, for serving
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salt to taste
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Better than Bouillon roasted beef flavor (optional, to taste)
Directions
- Heat the beef broth until almost boiling. Heat a dry skillet and toast chile peppers until fragrant. Remove from heat. Place chiles in a bowl and pour beef broth over them. Set aside for 20 minutes or until very soft.
- Preheat oven to 350. When the peppers are quite soft, remove them from the stock (keep the stock) and place in a medium bowl. Add half of the tomatoes, along with the pumpkin pie. Using an immersion blender, blend until the chiles are mostly broken down and the pumpkin pie is mixed into the tomatoes. Add remaining tomatoes and set aside.
- Heat a Dutch oven over a high flame and add oil. Salt beef shank and add to pot. Sear each side until brown (approximately 5 minutes per side). Remove beef from pot and lower heat.
- Add cumin and red pepper flakes to pot and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add onion and cook, stirring, until just translucent.
- Return the beef to the pot, and pour the chile-infused stock over it, scraping the bottom. Pour the pumpkin-tomato mixture over, stirring to combine with the stock. Add salt to taste or, if you have it, Better than Bouillon roasted beef flavor will make this even richer. Add garlic.
- Cover tightly and place in preheated oven. Cook for at least three hours, or until the beef is falling off the bone. When the beef is nearly done, add the green beans or vegetables. If using fresh green beans, trim and add to pot approximately 45 minutes before beef is finished.
- Serve immediately over rice or polenta or let rest overnight and reheat. S
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