Recipe - Beef And Apricot Stew

1 cup Dried apricots
3 pound Flank steak; trimmed, cubed
3 tablespoon Oil or shortening
1 One half cups hot water (up to 1)
1 cup Diced celery
1 teaspoon Each: salt; ground pepper
1 tablespoon Minced onion
Zest from 1 lemon
One fourth cup Each: flour; water
Hot cooked rice

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 2 One half hours Yield: 8 servings
This subtly sweet stew comes from "Modern Meat Lore," one of the pamphlets
the Tribune published under the pen name of Mary Meade, the "cooking
editor" at the newspaper. Flank steak isn't the economical cut it was in
1939; feel free to substitute other cuts suitable for stewing, such as
chuck.

1. Place apricots in a small bowl and cover with hot water; let soak until
plump, about 20 minutes. Drain and reserve.

2. Heat oil or shortening in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown
meat, in batches if necessary to prevent crowding. Reduce heat to low.
Return all meat and any accumulated juices to pan. Add hot water; simmer,
covered, about 2 hours.

3. Stir in apricots, celery, salt, pepper, onion and lemon zest; simmer,
covered, until meat is tender, about 30 minutes. Mix flour with water until
smooth; add to stew mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until stew
thickens, about 5 minutes. Serve over rice. Note: We added 2 teaspoons
fresh thyme along with the other seasonings.

Nutrition information per serving (without rice): Calories ....... 495 Fat
............ 27 g Cholesterol .. 120 mg Sodium ...... 310 mg Carbohydrates
.. 22 g Protein ........ 49 g

Posted to TNT Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter by Roserairie@aol.com
on Nov 10, 1997