Reviewed: Dec. 10, 2011

Great flavor! I did change some things to simplify the recipe. I browned all the meat together with the garlic and onions in a wok, covered. Then I added the red wine, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Instead of orange zest I added ~1 tsp dried orange flakes. I added the complete can, undrained of diced tomatoes and instead of the water, I added beef stock to add flavor. When I make this again, I think I will omit the pearl onions. They were tasty but they were a lot of work to peel and not essential to the meal. I might replace them with some other vegetable like green beans. I served it over egg noodles and with crescent rolls. Delicious!

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Reviewer:

ValleyLily

Reviewed: Nov. 30, 2010

Except for halving the recipe I followed it exactly and wished I'd made more as it is excellent. Husband wanted seconds and it would have been better the next day to allow all the flavors to really mingle. I'll definitely make this again.

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Reviewer:

westcoastcook

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Living In: Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada

Reviewed: Nov. 11, 2010

YUM! This is soooooo good. My husband didn't like it but he has boring tastebuds. If you like alot of flavour this is the answer! I served it over rice with a side dish of steamed asparagus, grape tomatos and fresh paramsan cheese. The recipe is on this site somewhere. Drink the leftover wine with your meal - Recommend Fat Red! :O) *hic*

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Reviewer:

RACEYGIRL

Reviewed: Nov. 11, 2010

very good. I wasn't crazy about it the night I made it (hubby and kids were), but I loved it the second night after it had a chance to mellow in the fridge for awhile.

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Reviewer:

peachybean

Reviewed: Oct. 1, 2010

This was good, in that it was not bad. But, it doesn't stand out to us. Possibly this was because I was too cheap to buy the pearl onions (which were $3/pound) and substituted a pound of regular Spanish onions, diced up. Having no memory of having eaten that type of onion other than canned (and not impressed with canned), I can't swear to it. The recipe didn't say whether to drain the tomatoes or not, so I didn't. I wound up using a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce -- after 20 minutes of simmering uncovered it was showing no signs of thickening, & we were hungry! :=) (Use 2 TSP cornstarch in 1/4 cup cold water; mix; add; bring to a boil & let bubble gently til thickened.) The cinnamon, nutmeg, & sugar do add a flavor here, but it isn't a dessert-like flavor. If you enjoy the things in this stew, you will probably like this recipe. I served this over white rice with a Greek salad on the side. Thanks for the recipe!

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Reviewer:

JARRIE

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Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Richmond, Virginia, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 7, 2010

very tasty mild flavor; the onions sure do the trick. I replaced wine with chicken stock though. It still turned out pretty awesome!

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Reviewer:

annkunwar

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Reviewed: Sep. 5, 2010

This was good, but not our favorite meal. We made it exactly as stated and served it with noodles. It is just a bit sweeter than we like, though everyone happily ate it they didn't feel it was worth the work to make it again. However, IF we do make it again we are going to try adding potato and carrot, which my family feels will better compliment the sweetness than the noodles.

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Reviewer:

nakushita

Reviewed: Jul. 3, 2010

Dee-licious! The orange zest really added something, so don't leave it out. I had 1/2 lb less beef than needed for the recipe, so I used only 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 lb of pearl onions. Too lazy to peel fresh so I used the frozen pearl onions and still tasted great. I ended up cooking most of this yesterday and refrigerating overnight, then cooking the pearl onions tonight and simmering them with the reheated stew. Came out fine. My only suggestion is that though the gravy is wonderful with those spices and the wine etc., there would barely have been enough if I'd used the full 2 lbs of beef, so you might like to increase your liquid. Thank you for a tasty recipe. Nice change from my usual beef stews. Served it with broccoli and mashed potatoes, but it would be good with noodles or those tiny European dumplings.

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Reviewer:

cloudfall1

Home Town: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Living In: Portland, Oregon, USA

Reviewed: May 8, 2010

Great recipe! I didn't have pearl onions, so I used what I had, red onion. I browned the beef, cooked the onions, and put everything into my crock pot and let it cook on low all day. Served over rice, awesome.

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Reviewer:

SADY187

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Monterey, California, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 17, 2010

Found this recipe while looking for something different to do with beef stew meat. I was attracted to it because of the spices and how different it sounded. I had to modify it somewhat based on what I had on hand. I didnt have an orange, so added a tiny bit of lemon zest. The only diced tomatoes I had on hand had green chiles in them so I used it. It actually made it quite nice with just a tiny spicy bite to it. I made this in the crockpot and let it cook all day. I didnt have any boiling onions so used regular yellow onions, roughly chopped. I removed some of the liquid after it was cooked and thickened it with flour and added it back in and let it thicken. We ate it over buttered egg noodles and we all loved it. I will be making this again.

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