Beef, Leek and Turnip Stew with Cornbread Muffins

RICHMOND, Va. – Personal Chef Kate Stephenson, owner of Kate Uncorked shares her beef, leek, and turnip stew with cornbread muffins.

Beef Stew

Gluten Free and Dairy Free 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 lb Grass-Fed Stew Beef, cut into 1in chunks
• 2 TBS Olive Oil or Avocado Oil
• 4 Stalks Celery, cleaned and roughly diced
• 1 Leek, tops removed, cleaned and sliced
• 1 Red Onion, diced
• 4 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 Medium Turnips, peeled and diced into ó in chunks
• 4 Cups Organic Beef Stock
• 4 Cups Organic Vegetable Stock
• 1-2 Cups Greens (cabbage/spinach/kale/chard would all work great!)

Instructions:

1. Heat a large Dutch oven to medium-high heat
2. While the pot is heating up, generously season your stew beef with salt and pepper
3. Add a TBS of olive oil to your pot and start to sear your meat on all sides. Don’t rush this step! It’s the most important part of the stew and will give it so much flavor. This should be done in batches. You want to make sure not to crowd the pot here so you get a really nice brown sear on the meat. You also want to all of the meat drippings to stick to the pot so that they will flavor the stew. You should end up with a delicious sticky brown layer on the bottom of your pan when the process is finished!
4. While the meat is searing, prepare your veggies. Make sure to wash your celery and leeks very well as they often contain lots of dirt.
5. Once the meat is seared, set it aside in a bowl. Don’t touch the pot!
6. Add another TBS of oil to your pot and transfer the celery, leeks and red onion. Using a wooden spoon, sauté your veggies for 8 minutes. They will start to release some of their moisture and pick up some of the drippings from the bottom of the pot. Use your spoon to help scrape up all of the drippings.
7. Add your garlic and sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
8. Transfer the beef and any juice it might have released back into the pot.
9. Pour in your vegetable and beef stock and bring the mixture to a boil.
10. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. The stew should simmer for a total of 3 hours.
11. After 2 hours have passed, add in your peeled and diced turnips.
12. After 3 hours, your soup should have reduced and your meet should be super tender. Taste the soup to adjust any seasoning it might need.
13. Lastly, add your greens to the soup and stir for a few minutes until the greens have wilted.
14. Serve with cornbread muffins (below)!

Corn Bread Muffins

Gluten Free and Dairy Free 

Makes 12 Muffins- adapted from Bakerita’s original recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 TBS White Vinegar
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1 1/2 Cups Blanched Almond Flour
• 1/2 Cup Tapioca Flour
• 1 Cup Yellow Medium Grind Cornmeal
• 2 tsp GF Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Coconut Sugar
• 1 TBS Honey
• 1/3 Cup Coconut Oil, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 Free Range Eggs
• 1 Cup Corn Kernels (if frozen, drain under room temp water and transfer to a paper towel to remove any excess water)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and line a muffin tin with 12 liners
2. Combine the non-dairy milk and white vinegar in a bowl to let the milk curdle a bit into buttermilk.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the almond flour, tapioca flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl, making sure to get all the clumps out.
4. Add the coconut sugar, melted coconut oil, eggs and honey to the milk and vinegar mixture and whisk together until smooth. Whisk the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until smooth and combined. Fold in the corn kernels.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake for 15-17 minutes until a toothpick comes out smooth.
6. Let cool for 15 minutes. Serve with beef stew!