Beef & Green Olive Stew

By Ginny Tauer of Indiana Beef

There are simple, homey stews just for family and fancy stews fit for company. This one's a cut above with cayenne, oregano, fennel seeds, red wine and pimento-stuffed olives for a Mediterranean sophistication.

Total recipe time: 2 hours  Makes 6 servings

 Ingredients

1.       1-1/2 pounds beef for stew, cut into 1 inch pieces

2.       1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3.       3/4 teaspoon salt

4.       1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

5.       1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

6.       2 tablespoons vegetable oil

7.       1 cup chopped onion

8.       1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

9.       1 teaspoon dried fennel seeds

10.    1 cup red wine

11.    1 can (14 to 14-1/2 ounces) ready-to-serve beef broth

12.    1 can (14-1/2 ounces) garlic-seasoned diced tomatoes, undrained

13.    1/4 cup tomato paste

14.    1 jar (7 ounces) green olives with pimentos, drained

Instructions

1.       Combine flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Reserve 1 tablespoon flour mixture. Lightly coat beef with remaining flour mixture.

2.       Heat 1 tablespoon oil in stock pot over medium heat. Brown beef in batches; adding additional 1 tablespoon oil as necessary. Set aside.

3.       Add onions, oregano and fennel seeds to stock pot; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until onions begin to soften.

4.       Add wine to pot; increase heat to medium-high. Cook and stir 1 minute or until browned bits attached to pot are dissolved. Stir in beef broth, tomatoes, tomato paste and reserved flour mixture. Return beef to pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer 1-3/4 hours or until beef is fork-tender.

5.       Stir in olives. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until olives are heated through.

6.       Serve with mashed potatoes.