Recipe - Beef Stew With Cuminseed

2 cup Unbleached, allpurpose
flour
1 tablespoon Dried thyme
1 teaspoon Salt; plus extra to taste
One half teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
plus extra to taste
3 pound Beef stew meat; in 1" cubes
One fourth cup Olive oil
1 cup Dry red wine
1 One half cup Homemade beef stock
1 cup Canned crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoon Ground cuminseed
1 teaspoon Chili powder
1 Bay leaf
8 To 12 white pearl onions
6 Garlic cloves
peeled and chopped
One half cup Chopped Italian parsley
plus extra for garnish
1 One half cup Green Sicilian olives

Stir the flour, thyme, 1 tsp. salt and One half tsp. pepper together in a
shallow bowl. Turn the cubes of stew meat in the flour to coat well, shake
off excess and transfer to a plate.

Heat olive oil in a heavy kettle. Add the beef cubes, a few at a time, and
brown them well on all sides. As they are browned, transfer them to paper
towels to drain.

When all the meat is browned, discard excess oil but do not wash the
kettle. Add the wine, beef stock and crushed tomatoes; set kettle over
medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up the browned bits
from the bottom of the pan. Return beef to the kettle, then add cuminseed,
chili powder and bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cover kettle and set it on the middle rack of the oven. Bake at 350 F. for
1 One half hours, stirring occasionally and regulating the oven temperature to
maintain the stew at a steady simmer.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut an "x" in the root
end of each pearl onion and drop them into the boiling water for 1 minute.
Drain them and drop them into a bowl of cold water. When completely cool,
drain and peel them.

After the stew has been in the oven about 1 hour, stir in the onions.
Continue to cook the stew, uncovered.

After another 15 minutes, stir in the garlic, One half cup parsley and the
olives. Continue to cook, uncovered, until stew is reduced and thickened
to your liking and beef is tender. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle
with parsley, and serve immediately.

The authors note that "depending on the rest of the menu, this stew seems
Mexican or Mediterranean because it is hearty and intriguingly seasoned
with cuminseed..."

From _The Silver Palate Cookbook_ by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins with
Michael McLaughlin. New York: Workman Publishing Company, Inc., 1982. Pg.
125. ISBN 0894802046.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini