Beef and rhubarb stew
Although mostly used as a fruit, rhubarb also serves as a vegetable. And the strong, tart taste goes well with savoury dishes like this beef and rhubarb stew.
In Scandinavia, rhubarb spells summers along with strawberries and regular showers. Often children are given a stick of rhubarb dipped in sugar as a treat, and cooled sweet rhubarb stew with cream (rødgrød med fløde) has become a national dish in Denmark thanks to the fact that the name is almost impossible for non-native speakers to pronounce.
It is also virtually impossible to eat as many sweet dishes, as there are rhubarb in our garden, so I’ve started to use the red sticks with meat and salads as well. This beef and rhubarb stew is simple and good with a thick, creamy sauce. And slow cooking will make the most chewy chunks as tender as butter cooked beef crumbles.
Ingredients
1 onion
500 g lean beef
500 g rhubarb sticks
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt, pepper, olive oil
Fresh garden chervil
Preparation
Peel and chop the onion and fry it in olive oil until soft and transparent.
Add the cubed beef and sauté until brown on all sides.
Sprinkle with salt and ground cinnamon and cover with water.
Bring the beef to the boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer for about an hour, until the meat is very tender.
Wash and trim the rhubarb sticks and cut them in smaller pieces.
Add the rhubarb to the meat and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes.
Adjust the taste with lemon juice, salt, pepper, cinnamon and possibly a pinch of sugar.
Serve the beef and rhubarb stew with rice, pasta or potatoes and a shower of fresh garden chervil.
Other recipes like beef and rhubarb stew:
Mette, I love strawberry rhubarb pie and never considered using it in stew. Brilliant!
No, but I think it is originally an ancient Persian tradition.
Interesting recipe… thank you Mette :)
You’re welcome.
OMG you just brought back an incredible memory, Mette! I spent four summers in Minnesota as a kid and rhubarb was not only grown on the farm but used allllll of the time. We did have it in a stew as well. Yummy…now, I’m craving this, Mette! :)
That would make sense. Isn’t Minnesota home to a lot of people of Scandinavian descent.
I would never think of adding rhubarb to meat though rhubarb chutneys pair well with at least pork. Sounds yummy and it’s making me hungry. Really bad time to read food posts.
Never heard of rhubarb chutney. Thanks for adding that to my list of must-trys.
I never prepared Rhubarb for food, always for a dessert. I am going to try this recipe today. Thanks for sharing
It’s actually not so sweet as I expected, but it gives the sauce a nice fruity acidity, I hope you’ll like:)