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

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