Beef and Sweet Potato Stew with Corn and Green Chiles (Slow Cooker)
by Melanie Gunnell
I love a good beef
stew. And this smoky, flavorful version is deeeelicious. It kind of
takes classic
Beef Stew from traditional to Tex-Mex.
If you, like me, get
confused by sweet potatoes (dude, are they orange or white or yams or
what?), never fear. I’ve made this several times with every
variety of “sweet potato” at my local grocery store and
it is fabulous every single time. Those delicious little taters give
just the right balance to the hearty, chili-like flavors. And adding
in that splash of fresh lime juice at the end makes my life complete.
As far as slow cooker
meals go, it does require a bit (a very, very small bit) of
prep before tossing everything in the ol’ crockpot. I know
lovers of crockpot meals sometimes cringe at any pre-cooking required
in a recipe but I know if you take a deep breath and do it, you’ll
be glad you did.
Ten minutes max and the
step up in flavor and yumminess will be worth it. We’ve eaten
it a handful of times over the past month and I just sigh in delight
each time. It is so good. It’s also one of the meals I
made last week and popped in the freezer for my husband to take to
his parents while visiting/helping them this week. It makes a great
and simple freezer meal.
Although the temps here
have soared into the 40’s and 50’s (sometimes I don’t
even know who I am and how I got here anymore after living the last
half-decade in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin and Minnesota where
temps are usually a balmy -18 in February), I’m hanging on to
soup and stew season as long as possible even if my kids have been
outside all week playing 4-square on the driveway in shorts and
t-shirts and bare feet.
A discerning eye will
notice in these pictures that the cilantro on top of the stew is
actually parsley (due to a certain lovable and willing
grocery-shopping husband who not for the first time accidentally came
home with the wrong leafy green garnish) and I’m happy to
report that it works just fine in a pinch (although cilantro lovers
will definitely want to chase down cilantro — it completes the
Mexican flavors perfectly).
Slow Cooker Beef and Sweet Potato Stew with Corn and Chiles Yield: Serves 6
An alternative to
cooking this on high for 4 hours is to cook the first step (the
beef/broth/seasonings) on low for 8 hours, stir in the sweet potatoes
and change the temperature to high for 1-2 hours to let them soften
before stirring in the rest of the ingredients.
Basically you want the
beef to get nice and tender before stirring in the potatoes (they'll
get mushy and overcooked if they are in the stew the full cooking
time).
If you prefer not to
use canned green chiles, an alternative is to use 1-2 poblano or
anaheim chiles: char them using a gas stove or broiler, peel and seed
them and then chop them up to use in the stew.
To freeze, make the
stew, let it cool, then portion into freezer zipper bags or
freezer-safe containers. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator
overnight, scoop into a slow cooker and heat on low for an hour or so
until heated through.
Ingredients
3 pounds stew meat (or a boneless chuck roast trimmed and cut into cubes)
2 pounds sweet potatoes (white or orange), peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)
1 can (4 ounces) green chiles (see note above)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Additional lime wedges for serving (optional)
Directions
Season the beef with salt and
pepper all over and place in a large zipper bag. Add the flour and
toss in the bag until the beef is well coated with the flour.
In a large 12-inch nonstick
skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat until hot and
rippling. Add the beef in a single layer and brown on all sides
(don't cook it all the way through, just let it get a nice golden
color on each side). Transfer the browned beef to a 6-quart slow
cooker and repeat with the remaining oil and beef. Toss whatever
flour is left in the bag over the beef in the slow cooker.
Add the tomato paste to the
skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about a
minute so the tomato paste sizzles and darkens in color. Stir in the
broth, scraping up any browned bits in the bottom of the skillet.
Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 1-2
minutes.
Pour the broth over the meat in
the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili powder,
oregano, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high
for 4 hours.
Stir in the sweet potatoes, cover
the slow cooker again and cook until they are tender, 1-2 hours on
high. Stir in the chiles, corn, cilantro, lime juice and additional
salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for just a minute or two to let
the corn heat through (if using frozen).
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.