I don’t know about you, but I have certain types of cuisines I gravitate towards when cooking. I’m comfortable with soups and sauces. Michael and I love anything Greek flavored. Thai food is pretty accessible. You get the picture.
I love trying different cuisines when eating out, but when I cook I tend to do what I know. With this recipe I tried to stretch myself a bit.
I had beef stew meat that I wanted to use up. My normal inclination would have been to do a variation on a classic -- Chasseur, or Hunter’s Stew. This involves tomatoes, carrots, and mushrooms, often with red wine.
I love that dish, but I decided to try something a little different.
African cooking is something out of my comfort zone. I love the flavors that are so often used as well as the traditional cooking techniques, but I have a lot I want to learn when it comes to cooking anything myself.
I decided to start small with a beef stew. I knew putting it in the Instant Pot would help to ensure the meat is fall apart tender. And I actually had all the ingredients I needed right in my cabinet and fridge! Smoked paprika and curry paste really set this dish apart from a regular stew. I had paprika already, and use curry paste quite often, but putting these ingredients together with tomatoes and beef was a new combination.
But let me tell you-- I loved it! Everything worked so beautifully together, and it had a subtle heat-- not spicy, just warming. I would generally serve stew with mashed potatoes, but I served this with rice instead and it was wonderful.
Instant Pot African Beef Stew
Ingredients
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil
- 1 ½ lbs. stew meat in bite sized cubes
- 1 medium onion diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 celery stick diced
- 1 dried chili optional
- ½ tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- 1 tbsp. curry paste
- 1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
- 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
Instructions
- Begin by adding in grapeseed oil to your Instant Pot and turning it on to saute mode.
- Once the oil is hot, add your chunks of stew meat and let brown, turning every few minutes for even cooking.
- Once the meat starts to brown, add onions, garlic, carrot, and celery.
- Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions start to become translucent. Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Add in remaining ingredients, and secure the lid. Turn on Instant Pot to High Pressure for 32 minutes.
- The Instant Pot will take a few minutes to come up to pressure, as well as come down from pressure when it is finished.
- Serve over rice.
I have never had african cuisine. I have been recently been introduced to Chicken pad thai ad love it! And quick and easy recipes you have for this?
Yes! We LOVE pad thai! Because of that, I've been working on a perfecting a recipe before I create a post. I can't wait to share it