Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

We got our first order of grass fed, hormone free, pasture raised beef and I was so excited, but a little bit nervous about getting my family used to the difference in taste. When you grow up eating one thing, sometimes the thing that’s better for you is a bit of an acquired taste.  I did find the beef to be leaner and therefore a little bit drier, but tasty – I think next time I do this, I’ll cut the pieces a bit smaller.

• 2 lbs stew meat
• 1 heart of celery chopped
• 2 medium onions chopped
• about 6 carrots, really roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce – or more if you like
• strained tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 pint mushrooms
• 1 package dried black beans
• 2 heads cauliflower, florets

The night before, soak your beans according to package directions. When you get up in the morning, drain them, refill the pot with fresh water and simmer on low for 1.5-2 hours until tender and done – I learned a trick recently to check from the four poles of the pot.  One bean each from North, East, South and West of the pot.  If they’re all tender, you’re done!

Drain again, set aside in an air tight container. Refrigerate if it makes you feel better.  I left it out – we’re still alive. =)

When you put the beans up to simmer, take a large dutch oven, or the insert of your crock if it’s stove top safe. Heat on med/high heat.

Admire your grass fed, no hormone, pasture raised beef…

Add them to the heated pot and brown – this is where I ran into my first issue.  There was a lot of liquid and the meat wasn’t browning like I wanted.  I removed all beef from the pot, drained the liquid and put the meat back in – it started to brown immediately.  You may not have this issue, but I wanted to share my experience in case you did.

While the meat is browning, chop all your veggies and put in a bowl.  I added my spices here too, because I like to toast spices like cumin and chili powder, so why not do it all together?

Transfer the meat to a plate, put the veggies and spices in the pot, or slow cooker insert, add a big pinch of salt and brown them for a little bit, tossing occasionally.

Add the meat back in and cover with the tomatoes, Worcestershire, and stock.  Transfer to the crockpot, stir, cover and set on low to cook for 8 hours.

About an hour before eating, add the black beans and mushrooms, stir and cover. Preheat the oven to 400, cut up 2 heads of cauliflower, put on a sheet pan, toss with a little olive oil and kosher salt

and roast for 40 minutes to an hour, until golden.

Put a bed of the roasted cauliflower in the bowl, and spoon some stew on top, making sure that you get a little bit of everything.

Soooo good! And you can feel so good about feeding this meal to your family!  If you’re not carb conscious like we’re being for a while, you could add potatoes, or serve this on a bed of egg noodles. Stick to your ribs, delish.

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