Estofado a la patatas (beef and potato hotpot)

1 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
6 tablespoons Olive oil.
2 pounds Stewing beef; (or pork, or veal), cut into large chunks.
½ pint Beef stock.
2 mediums Onions; sliced.
1 Red pepper; cored, seeded, and chopped.
1 Green pepper; cored, seeded, and chopped.
4 Tomatoes; skinned and chopped.
3 Cloves of garlic; finely chopped., (up to 4)
2 tablespoons Paprika.
2 pounds Potatoes; cut into large chunks., (up to 3)
2 Wineglasses dry white wine.
1 large Pinch of saffron threads.
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper.

Directions

G'day,

Here is the recipe that I mentioned before. I've left in Keith Floyd's orginal little story. It is from his book Floyd on Spain. OK. On y va! And I quote. BTW I've added a couple of notes at the bottom.

OK! Let's let the dogs get a look at the bunny. (-: Quoted from "Floyd on Spain" by Keith Floyd.

"I left Granada for the flat plains of La Mancha with great relief. We had stayed in the most appalling hotel close to the Alhambra Palace, complete with iron bedsteads, faulty lighting, cockroaches, surly staff and lousy food. Don't hesitate to write to me if you want to know the name of the place.

On the open rolling road, through miles and miles of olive groves, my spirits lifted. And as windmills began to appear on distant skylines, thoughts of Don Quixote and Sanchez started to occupy my imagination. This whole trip was a tilt at gastronomic windmills; sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we failed. One striking success was an arbitrary stop at a roadside filling station and restaurant-cum-cafe where I had a huge pot of potatoes stewed with saffron and little pieces of meat. For about stlg1 it was a friendly meal. We washed it down with a pleasant bottle of Valdepenas, the local wine. By the way, Valdepenas wines are extremely drinkable and we don't see enough of them in Britain where Rioja seems to be more available. They are light-tasting, though strong, and made from a mix of red and white grapes and drunk with litle ageing; I recommend them to you wholeheartedly.

Anyway, full of terrific cheer we set off for the charming town of Almagro.

This has an architectural gem in the shape of covered walkways - rather like the Buttermilk in Dartmouth - round the central square, which that day was a hive of activity as the worthies of the town council were taking delivery of a brand new red fire engine and everyone was having rides up and down in the hydraulic lift it had attached to it.

After a splendid night in a modern but terribly good hotel just on the outskirts of Almagro, I set up my trusty camping stove right in the middle of a vast vineyard and tried to recreate the Estofado a la Patatas that I had eaten at the transport cafe the day before.

Serves at least 8 hungry people.

Heat half the oil in a large, flameproof cooking pot. Chuck in the meat and keep the heat on high while you brown it well. Pour in the beef stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and cook until the meat is tender ~ about an hour and a half.

Meanwhile, start to cook the other ingredients. Heat the rest of the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions with the peppers, tomatoes, garlic and paprika. Saute them together for a few moments, then leave them to sweat it out for at least 30 minutes or so. Then add this sauce to the meat, pop in the potatoes, wine and saffron and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until all are tender. I necessary, add a drop more beef stock if the dish looks too dry. Wash down with a glass or two of your favourite Spanish wine." My notes: I use a sweet paprika for this recipe and I usually use the cut of beef they use here for Boeuf Bougignonne(sp?). In fact the last time I made this was when the butcher offered the Os a Moalle (marrow bone) and I had no idea what to do with it and had to ask you guys about it. I then do as the recipe says except that I cook it for much longer (say 3 hours) and don't add the potatoes until getting close to the end so that they don't break up.

Posted to FOODWINE Digest by Rob Wells <robertwells1@...> on Feb 1, 1998

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