Beef, chorizo and beans stew

It’s not easy to cook and take photos at the same time but I’m getting the hang of it. My 12-year-old daughter who’s supposed to help with the photos was busy on the computer with Kim Possible. I didn’t want to impose. It’s Friday and the kids are taking a respite from a hectic school week and they deserve the time to play. She did take the photo of the cooked dish above. But I took the during the cooking photos. It was a stir-shoot-add-stir-shoot kind of thing. I’m glad the photos didn’t turn out so badly.

This Spanish style stew is a modification of the classic cocido. I should call it cocido made easy. It was cooked with slices of pre-boiled beef brisket, slices of chorizo de bilbao, strips of bell pepper, chunks of tomatoes, diced onions, plenty of garlic and tomato paste. Just before the end of the cooking time, I added a can of pork and beans to sweeten the sauce.

Chorizo de bilbao, also known as blood sausage of Spanish sausage, is a highly seasoned and often spicy sausage packed in lard. They are available canned or in vacuum packed pouches. When cooking with chorizo de bilbao, it is a good idea not to use too much salt or spices; the flavors from the chorizo will permeate the meat and flavor the sauce as well. The photos below should give you a good idea about the entire cooking process.

To save time and precious fuel (our cooking range is powered by liquefied petroleum gas and the price of gas just keeps going up), I prefer to pressure-cook meat in bulk, cool them, then place them in freezer containers. While stew, strictly speaking, should be slow-cooked in sauce, my short cut does not hurt the cooked dish. Chilled cooked meat is easier to slice. More importantly, you can brown the slices in butter without crumbling.

Ingredients :

400 g. of beef brisket, boiled and cut into 1/4″ thick slices
1 chorizo de bilbao, cut diagonally into 1/4″ thick slices
2 tbsps. of minced garlic
2 onions, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and slivered
4 tbsps. of tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 can of pork and beans
1 c. of beef broth
1/4 c. of butter
salt and pepper

Cooking procedure :

In a heavy skillet, melt the butter. Add the beef slices and cook until the edges start to brown. With a slotted spoon, remove the beef slices and transfer to a plate. Keep warm.

Reheat the remaining butter and saute the garlic, onion, tomatoes, bay leaf and bell pepper for about 30 seconds. Add the chorizo slices. Cook over high heat for a minute and a half.

Return the beef slices to the skillet and add the tomato paste. Stir to blend. Pour in the beef broth. Season with salt and pepper. Boil gently for about a minute. Pour in the pork and beans and cook just until heated through. Turn off the heat, cover and leave for five to ten minutes to allow the flavors to develop before serving.