Estofado a la Patatas (Beef and Potato Hotpot)

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

G'day,
Here is the recipe that I mentioned before. I've left in Keith Floyd's
orginal little story. It is from his book Floyd on Spain. OK. On y va!
And I quote. BTW I've added a couple of notes at the bottom.
OK! Let's let the dogs get a look at the bunny. (-:
Quoted from "Floyd on Spain" by Keith Floyd.
"I left Granada for the flat plains of La Mancha with great relief. We had
stayed in the most appalling hotel close to the Alhambra Palace, complete
with iron bedsteads, faulty lighting, cockroaches, surly staff and lousy
food. Don't hesitate to write to me if you want to know the name of the
place.
On the open rolling road, through miles and miles of olive groves, my
spirits lifted. And as windmills began to appear on distant skylines,
thoughts of Don Quixote and Sanchez started to occupy my imagination. This
whole trip was a tilt at gastronomic windmills; sometimes we succeeded,
sometimes we failed. One striking success was an arbitrary stop at a
roadside filling station and restaurant-cum-cafe where I had a huge pot of
potatoes stewed with saffron and little pieces of meat. For about stlg1 it
was a friendly meal. We washed it down with a pleasant bottle of
Valdepenas, the local wine. By the way, Valdepenas wines are extremely
drinkable and we don't see enough of them in Britain where Rioja seems to
be more available. They are light-tasting, though strong, and made from a
mix of red and white grapes and drunk with litle ageing; I recommend them
to you wholeheartedly.
Anyway, full of terrific cheer we set off for the charming town of Almagro.
This has an architectural gem in the shape of covered walkways - rather
like the Buttermilk in Dartmouth - round the central square, which that day
was a hive of activity as the worthies of the town council were taking
delivery of a brand new red fire engine and everyone was having rides up
and down in the hydraulic lift it had attached to it.
After a splendid night in a modern but terribly good hotel just on the
outskirts of Almagro, I set up my trusty camping stove right in the middle
of a vast vineyard and tried to recreate the Estofado a la Patatas that I
had eaten at the transport cafe the day before.
Serves at least 8 hungry people.
Heat half the oil in a large, flameproof cooking pot. Chuck in the meat and
keep the heat on high while you brown it well. Pour in the beef stock and
bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and cook until the meat is tender
~ about an hour and a half.
Meanwhile, start to cook the other ingredients. Heat the rest of the oil in
a large saucepan and add the onions with the peppers, tomatoes, garlic and
paprika. Saute them together for a few moments, then leave them to sweat it
out for at least 30 minutes or so. Then add this sauce to the meat, pop in
the potatoes, wine and saffron and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until
all are tender. I necessary, add a drop more beef stock if the dish looks
too dry. Wash down with a glass or two of your favourite Spanish wine."
My notes: I use a sweet paprika for this recipe and I usually use the cut
of beef they use here for Boeuf Bougignonne(sp?). In fact the last time I
made this was when the butcher offered the Os a Moalle (marrow bone) and I
had no idea what to do with it and had to ask you guys about it. I then do
as the recipe says except that I cook it for much longer (say 3 hours) and
don't add the potatoes until getting close to the end so that they don't
break up.
Posted to FOODWINE Digest  by Rob Wells <robertwells1@CSI.COM> on Feb 1,
1998

A Message from our Provider:

“You’re on this planet for a purpose. Find it.”