Week two of my ground beef Odyssey….

Here, again, I used ground beef in a braising recipe that would ordinarily take several hours with stew beef.  By substituting the ground beef, I had a one-dish meal on the table in under 45 minutes. And the leftovers have been fabulous.

 

Serves 6-8

3 tablespoons lard or butter

4 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 medium potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

5 carrots, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 pounds ground beef

4 cups canned tomatoes, diced, undrained

2 cups meat broth

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp cloves

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp black pepper ground

2 bay leaves

Two tbs butter

Two tbs curry powder

Two tsp salt

1/4 c potato flour

One cup sauce

6 cups cooked rice

Heat the lard or butter in a large, acid-resistant dutch oven.  Add the onions, garlic, potatoes and carrots.  Sauté until the onions are nearly clear and the carrots are crisp-tender.  Add the ground beef, using a large spoon to break it into crumbles.  Pour in the tomatoes and broth.  Add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin, black pepper and bay leaves and simmer on low, until the potatoes are tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the curry powder, salt and potato flour in a small bowl.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over a medium flame.  Once the butter is bubbling, add the curry-flour blend and use a gravy whisk to blend into a paste.  Pull one cup of liquid off the simmering ground beef mixture and slowly whisk it into the curry paste, making a roux.  Pour the roux in with the ground beef and stir until the sauce has thickened.  Serve over rice.