Puerto Rican
Gluten freeCarne guisada puertorriqueña
Beef stew with sofrito
Carne guisada: Puerto Rican beef stew with sofrito, potatoes, olives and sazón
Carne guisada is the Puerto Rican stew that simmers on Sunday stoves from Bayamón to the Bronx, served over white rice with habichuelas and a few tostones. Chunks of beef are browned, then braised in sofrito, tomato sauce and a little achiote with potatoes, carrots and briny alcaparrado until the meat falls apart and the sauce turns thick and glossy. The usual mistake is crowding the pan when browning, which steams the beef grey and loses the deep flavour; brown it in batches. It is done when a piece of beef breaks apart easily with a spoon. Chef's tip: make your own sofrito by blending onion, green pepper, garlic, culantro and coriander; a big batch freezes in ice-cube trays for months.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 6
- Per serving
- 430 kcal
Ingredients
For the sofrito
- 1 onionchopped
- 1 green pepperchopped
- 6 cloves garlic
For the stew
- 2 ¼ lb beef chuckin 4 cm chunks
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground annatto (achiote)
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cup passata
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 ⅛ lb potatoespeeled, in 3 cm chunks
- 2 carrotsthickly sliced
- 2 ⅛ oz pimento-stuffed olives
- 1 tbsp capers
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Blend 1 onion, 1 green pepper, 6 cloves garlic and ⅞ oz fresh coriander or culantro to a rough paste. This is your sofrito.
Step 2: Season 2 ¼ lb beef chuck with 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a heavy casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the beef in 2–3 batches, 5 minutes a batch, until well coloured. Lift out.
15 minStep 3: Lower the heat to medium, add the sofrito, 1 tsp ground annatto (achiote), ½ tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp dried oregano and cook for 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits, until fragrant and most of the liquid has gone.
5 minStep 4: Return the beef with 2 bay leaves, 1 cup passata and 2 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour 15 minutes.
75 minStep 5: Add 1 ⅛ lb potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 ⅛ oz pimento-stuffed olives and 1 tbsp capers. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes more, until the potatoes are tender and the beef breaks apart easily with a spoon. Uncover for the last 10 minutes if the sauce is thin.
30 minStep 6: Take out the bay leaves, taste for salt and serve over white rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 22 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does carne guisada puertorriqueña take?
- About 145 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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