Noodle and Beef Stew
The pot stew of the Argentine home kitchen: browned beef, plenty of sofrito, potato and short pasta that soaks up the thick broth. Cheap, generous and made for cold days — the dish that asks for a spoon, bread and a long sit at the table.
Two rules, and both sound banal. The meat is browned in batches — all at once drops the temperature and it boils instead of browning. And the pasta goes in last and uncovered: it cooks in the stew itself rather than in separate water, and binds it with its starch as it goes.
For the pasta, short sturdy shapes like rigatoni or penne — they stand up to the cooking time without falling apart.
Ingredients
- 500 g beef, in cubes (roasting beef, shoulder or chuck)
- 400 g short pasta (rigatoni, penne or elbows)
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 medium potatoes, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 400 g crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1.5 litres hot beef stock
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 bay leaf and oregano, to taste
- Oil, salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- 1
Brown the seasoned cubes of beef in a pot with a film of very hot oil, in batches so they sear rather than boil. Set aside.
- 2
In the same pot, soften the onion, the pepper, the carrot and the garlic until tender. Add the paprika, the chilli flakes, the tomato paste and the crushed tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes.
- 3
Return the meat to the pot with the bay leaf, cover with the hot stock and cook covered over low heat for about 25 minutes, until the meat is tender.
- 4
Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and cook uncovered, stirring now and then and adding stock if needed, until it is al dente and the stew has thickened.
- 5
Adjust the salt, add oregano, turn off the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving very hot.