1/4-1/3 lb. stew beef, in small cubes (if purchased cut for stew, cut each cube in half)
about 1/2 small onion, diced
drizzle olive oil
plenty of garlic powder or 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed; or to taste
pepper to taste
dash ground ginger (optional)
about 2 cups beef broth
greens from 2-3 beets,* washed, picked over, and larger stems removed; boiled until just wilted and drained, if desired**
generous handful of spinach leaves,* washed and picked over
small handful pasta, rice, or barley, uncooked (optional)
Brown stew meat and onions in just enough oil to keep them from sticking; season with garlic, pepper, and ginger while cooking. When beef is mostly cooked through and aswim in its own drippings, add broth and adjust seasonings if needed. Bring to a boil and simmer until beef is tender, half an hour to an hour in most cases. Add beet greens, spinach, and rice or barley if using, return to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes or so, until greens are mostly cooked. Add pasta if using and continue cooking until all ingredients are done. Serves one hearty appetite as an unaccompanied main meal or two with a side salad and toast.
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*The amounts are not critical; use whatever suits your taste and feel free to include other greens such as kale in the mix. You may need to adjust cooking time for tougher greens.
**If you find beet greens to be unpleasantly bitter, try pre-cooking them like this to draw off most of the bitterness.
From: Dana Huffman.
Versión en español: this post is also available in Spanish
Esperanta traduko: this post is also available in Esperanto, because Dana is a language geek.
