Beef & Butternut Squash Stew

I was passing by the farmer’s market the other day when I saw that the winter squash are starting to come out! yay!  I always liked the different winter squash but never got around to cook with any of them.  So I took my courage (…ok it didn’t take that much courage lol I was actually pretty excited) and I bought a butternut squash to experiment…  My head was going all over the place on what I could do with it.  Roast it, grill it or make a stew!

This beef and butternut stew is super simple and so delicious that I had to make a second batch before being able to take those photos for you because we ate it all the first night 😛  It was a success in my house, and I hope it will be a success in yours too 😉

– INGREDIENTS –

17 Beef cubes

4-5 fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small red onion, finely diced

3 big carrots, slices

1/2 butternut squash, flesh cut in cubes

6 mini yellow potatoes, cut in quarters

2 tablespoon of beef Bovril, dissolve in 1 cup of water OR 1 cup of beef stock

1/4 cup of strained tomatoes

2 teaspoons of olive oil

1/3 cup of water

For the rub:

2 teaspoons of Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon of grounded nutmeg

1 teaspoon of whole white pepper corn, coarsely crushed

1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley flakes

1- In a mixing bowl, mix together the beef cubes and all the ingredients of the RUB.  Reserve in the fridge while you cut all your veggies and prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2- In a medium/big sauce pan, on the stove, blanch the onions with the garlic till the onions start changing color a little bit without getting brown.

3-  Sear the meat for 1-2 minutes.  Make sure to mix everything so all the sides of the cubes touch the hottest part of the pan.  Then all all the veggies and the juices.  Reduce heat to MEDIUM/LOW and cover.  Bring it to a mini boil and reduce the heat to LOW and let it simmer and cook for a minimum of 3 hours.

Enjoy!