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Homemade dinner
Pumpkin stew with meat

Pumpkin Stew with Meat

Rich, aromatic, hearty, and stunning to look at! This pumpkin stew with meat and vegetables comes out so bright and colorful you could serve it as a holiday centerpiece. On top of that, it's genuinely simple to make — you have to give it a try!

Maria

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Beef

500

Pumpkin (flesh)

400

Water

400

Potatoes

300

Carrots

Tomatoes (large)

Garlic

Vegetable oil

Tomato paste

Spices dry (for barbecue)

Ground black pepper

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 39 % 7 g

Fats 28 % 5 g

Carbohydrates 33 % 6 g

89 kcal

GI: 67 / 0 / 33

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make pumpkin stew? Gather your ingredients. Use boneless beef; veal works well too. Any variety of pumpkin is fine, as long as it isn't too soft to start with — otherwise the pieces cook down fast and instead of a stew you'll end up with pumpkin purée dotted with meat. You can add the onion whole and fish it out later, or dice it fine.
Step 2:

Rinse the beef, pat it dry, and cut it into medium chunks.
Step 3:

Rinse the tomato and cut it into half-moons. Pick tomatoes that are juicy but firm — soft ones don't hold their shape and will fall apart into a shapeless mush as you slice and cook them, spoiling the look of the dish.
Step 4:

Peel the pumpkin and cut it into small cubes.
Step 5:

Peel the carrot and cut it into half-moons. If the carrot is thick, cut it into quarter rounds instead.
Step 6:

Peel the potatoes and cut them into medium chunks. Here too, choose a variety that holds its shape and doesn't fall apart during long simmering. Waxy potatoes with yellowish flesh are best; white flesh means high starch, which cooks down fast. The yellower and denser the tuber, the less starch it holds.
Step 7:

Peel the garlic and finely chop it, or run the cloves through a press.
Step 8:

Stir the tomato paste into the water, then add the dry seasoning blend, salt, and pepper. Whisk until smooth. You can swap the water and tomato paste for ready-made tomato juice, but hold off on the salt at first — taste the juice, then season as needed. Choose your own spice mix; I used curry powder, ground paprika, dried paprika flakes, dried rosemary and thyme, salt, and pepper.
Step 9:

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. Add the beef and sear it over high heat until golden brown. If you're adding chopped onion, toss it in with the meat and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes.
Step 10:

Add the prepared vegetables to the meat and cook everything together, stirring, for about 10 minutes.
Step 11:

Add the whole onion now, if you didn't dice it in earlier. Pour in the tomato-paste-and-spice mixture and stir in the minced garlic.
Step 12:

Stir everything together well, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat at a gentle bubble for 25–30 minutes. Spoon the finished stew into bowls and sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs. Enjoy!

You can make the same stew with pork, chicken, or turkey.
The moment new-crop pumpkin shows up at the market, I turn it into this juicy, hearty meat stew. It's bright and fragrant enough to serve as a main at a holiday table without a second thought.
A note on cookware: the wrong skillet can ruin even the best recipe, so pick one that suits the dish you're making.
Every oil is good only up to a certain temperature — its smoke point, above which it starts to burn and forms harmful compounds, including carcinogens. It's worth learning the smoke points of your oils and choosing one suited to frying.
Keep in mind that how you cut the carrot affects the final result: grated carrot softens into the dish during cooking and blends in evenly, while carrot cut into strips or cubes holds its shape.