Beef Stew with Tomatoes, Potatoes, Zucchini, and Curry
Everyone loves a fragrant summer stew of fresh vegetables. Summer is the season for fresh produce, bright aromas, and vivid colors! And of course, this is the time of year when your body craves plenty of vitamins, protein, and fiber—all of which this dish delivers in spades. This is a two-in-one recipe: the side dish and the meat cook together in one pot, which makes life easy!
Cooking method
-
Step 1:
How do you make beef stew? Start by gathering all your ingredients. If needed, thaw the meat ahead of time by moving it from the freezer to the bottom shelf of the fridge.
-
Step 2:
Peel the onion. Cut half of it into thin half-moons.
-
Step 3:
Sauté the onion in vegetable oil until golden. It's easiest to do this right in a Dutch oven, but you can also use a skillet and then transfer the browned onion to the pot.
-
Step 4:
Rinse the beef, pat it dry with paper towels, and cut it into small, roughly even pieces.
-
Step 5:
Add the meat to the onion in the pot.
-
Step 6:
Sauté the meat over medium heat, stirring, until lightly browned.
-
Step 7:
Pour in half a cup of hot water. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about an hour, until the beef is tender. How do you know it's done? A knife should slide in easily and the juices should run clear. Use neutral-tasting filtered or bottled water—tap water can give the dish an off, unpleasant flavor.
-
Step 8:
When the beef is nearly done, prep the vegetables. Finely chop the other half of the onion. To keep the onion from stinging your eyes, rinse both the onion and your knife in cold water before cutting. Rubbing your cutting board with a slice of lemon helps keep it from absorbing the onion smell.
-
Step 9:
Scrub the carrot well, peel it, and cut it into quarter-rounds.
-
Step 10:
Halve the bell pepper and remove the core and seeds. Cut the pepper into thin strips.
-
Step 11:
Wash the zucchini, pat it dry, and cut it into small cubes. If it's young and the skin is undamaged, there's no need to peel it; for more mature zucchini, peel off the tough skin and scoop out the seedy center.
-
Step 12:
Choose meaty, juicy tomatoes. Wash, dry, and either dice them or grate them—whatever you prefer.
-
Step 13:
Add the peeled, diced potatoes to the pot with the beef. Pour in enough water to come about halfway up the potatoes. Once it boils, cook for about 10–15 minutes.
-
Step 14:
Heat an oil with a high smoke point in a skillet and sauté the finely chopped onion and carrot until lightly golden.
-
Step 15:
Transfer the sautéed vegetables to the pot.
-
Step 16:
Now sauté the bell pepper until soft.
-
Step 17:
Add the zucchini to the pepper and sauté everything together for 2–3 minutes, stirring.
-
Step 18:
Transfer the sautéed pepper and zucchini to the pot.
-
Step 19:
In the same skillet, lightly sauté the tomatoes, then cover and simmer them for about 5 minutes; transfer them to the pot as well.
-
Step 20:
Season with salt to taste.
-
Step 21:
Add black pepper and curry, and simmer everything for another 10–15 minutes.
-
Step 22:
Once the potatoes are soft, stir in chopped fresh herbs (parsley, dill, and green onion).
-
Step 23:
Add the garlic, pressed through a garlic press, to the stew.
-
Step 24:
Stir everything together well with a spoon or spatula. Let it sit, covered, for 2–3 minutes, then turn off the heat. Let the dish rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
-
Step 25:
Spoon the fragrant stew onto plates. Sprinkle with chopped herbs before serving.
-
Step 26:
Serve with fresh vegetables and herbs. Enjoy!
- You can swap the beef for any other meat you prefer, but keep in mind that the cooking time, flavor, and calorie count will change. Pork and lamb tend to be fattier than beef, while chicken breast or turkey are leaner. Cooking time depends not only on the type of meat but also on the cut and how young or old it is.
- Use an oil with a high smoke point for frying! Every oil is healthy only up to a certain temperature—its smoke point—beyond which it starts to burn and forms toxic compounds, including carcinogens. Most unrefined oils have a low smoke point; they contain lots of unfiltered organic particles that burn quickly. Refined oils hold up better to heat and have a higher smoke point. If you're cooking in the oven, in a skillet, or on the grill, make sure to use an oil with a high smoke point. Common high-smoke-point choices include refined sunflower, olive, and grapeseed oils.
- Here's an easy way to check whether the oil is hot enough: dip a wooden spatula into it. If bubbles gather around it, you're ready to start frying.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Ripe potatoes - 80 kcal/100g
- Baked potatoes - 70 kcal/100g
- Mashed potatoes - 380 kcal/100g
- Boiled potatoes - 82 kcal/100g
- Potatoes in their skins - 74 kcal/100g
- Fried potatoes - 192 kcal/100g
- Tomatoes - 23 kcal/100g
- Melted beef fat - 871 kcal/100g
- Fatty beef - 171 kcal/100g
- Lean beef - 158 kcal/100g
- Beef brisket - 217 kcal/100g
- Beef sirloin - 380 kcal/100g
- Beef - lean roast - 200 kcal/100g
- Beef shoulder - 137 kcal/100g
- Beef ribs - 233 kcal/100g
- Beef - ham - 104 kcal/100g
- Beef - tail - 184 kcal/100g
- Boiled ham - 269 kcal/100g
- Corned beef - 216 kcal/100g
- Zucchini - 23 kcal/100g
- Sweet pepper - 27 kcal/100g
- Carrots - 33 kcal/100g
- Dried carrots - 275 kcal/100g
- Boiled carrots - 25 kcal/100g
- Ground black pepper - 255 kcal/100g
- Curry - 352 kcal/100g
- Vegetable oil - 873 kcal/100g
- Water - 0 kcal/100g
- Onion - 41 kcal/100g
- Fresh frozen soup greens - 41 kcal/100g
- Fresh herbs - 41 kcal/100g
- Table salt - 0 kcal/100g
Similar recipes
- Second course
- Meat and meat products
- Vegetables
- Spices seasonings spices
- Fats and oils
- Other
- Зелень
- Карри
- Pepper
- Salt
- Vegetable oil
- Water
- Frying
- Stewing
- In a frying pan
- Meat second course
- Zucchini second course
- Beef
- From zucchini
- From carrots
- From potatoes
- From tomato
- From sweet pepper
- From onion
- No eggs
- Recipes for lean dishes without butter