A beef stew is a great thing and this one is no exception. The secret here is simple – star anise, orange zest and pumpkin – but wait ’til you taste it! Just slurp the liquids down as a first course – there’s no need for thickeners: this is an Instant Pot two-in-one, quick-as-a-flash wonder. Then serve the beef as your main.
Beef Stew with Orange and Star Anice – Low FODMAP
Looking for the recipe? Scroll all the way down.
We eat a lot of beef stew. It’s too easy, especially with the Instant Pot, that glorious gadget of which we’re raving fans. We buy our beef from a local organic farm – it’s hard to find pasture-raised here in the Veneto. Every two months, I receive an sms from Davide: “Your beef’ll be ready next Thursday. Drop ’round between 3 and 7.” The pack weighs around 10 kilos, and all the various cuts are vacuum sealed: Osso Buco, Fiorentina, Tagliata, Arrosto, Macinato. There’s always Spezzatino – stewing steak, and other largish pieces that are labelled as ‘good for boiling’. We’ve actually found that even those less precious pieces are fine for a roast – but in the colder months, what’s better than a stew?
As you’ll know if you’ve been following for a while, our house is allium free. No onion, no garlic, no leeks – they tip my gut bacteria over the edge and I’m better off without them. Chives seem to be okay, but they’re a summer thing. Interestingly enough, I don’t miss the flavour of the alliums, and would go so far as to say that as a staple ingredient of broths, stocks, soups and stews, they’re largely overrated.
All you need is one or two other ingredients that pack a punch. So, in my Bone Broth recipe, for example, there are dried porcini mushrooms. My favourite way with pork medallions is to cook it with loads of lemon and sage. In this beef stew, star anice and orange zest are the secret ingredients that turn a simple beef stew into something festive and a little exotic. The pumpkin is also a surprise. It thickens the liquids slightly, and the resulting soup is lovely.
For the photo’s here, I’ve obviously just ladeled it all – soup and stew – into the bowl. Too hard to do two lots of photos – or to fit two bowls into the one shot, for that matter. And I’m all about simplicity. But you get the idea: soup as first course. Then fall-apart beef chunks, served, I’d suggest, alongside a mixed mash of cauliflower, carrot and fennel. Or, a crisp green salad could be just the thing, especially after the soup has warmed you through to the bone.
Instant Pot Wonders
How to Make a Great Bone Broth – I make this once a week during autumn and winter. I use it as a stock for soups and stews, and for steam-sauteéing vegetables.
Double Dish Pork with Lemon and Sage – Another 2-in-1 dish, soup and main. It’s fresh and fragrant – let your sage bush grow wild!
Sticky Pork Ribs with Dissolved Apple and Prunes – An all-time, finger-licking good favourite. Worth staying in for!
Instant Pot Inspiration
11 Irresistible Reasons Why You’ll Fall in Love with the Instant Pot – Read my review if you don’t already have an Instant Pot. I kid you not, we use ours up to 4 times a day.
The Paleo AIP Instant Pot Cookbook – a brilliant compilation of recipes from the AIP community. Check out the range of recipes to see how versatile the IP is for a healing, healthy diet. A great resource.
What are your secret ingredients for a hearty stew? Let us know in the comments, and before you go, do sign up for the News and download your Free Printables at the same time.
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- 1 large carrot, peeled, halved lenghwise and sliced into half moons
- 1 stick celery, sliced
- 1 cup pumpkin, diced into 1 cm cubes
- 1 stick of rosemary
- 1 small bunch parsley, minced, about 2 tablespoons
- 3 thick strips orange rind, removed using a fine vegetable peeler
- 1 star anise
- 1 tablespoon dried porcini mushroon
- 1½ teaspoons gross, iodised marine sea salt
- 1 kilo / 2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 5cm / 2inch chunks
- 1-2 cups water or bone broth (enough to barely cover the ingredients)
- Place all ingredients into the Instant Pot.
- Put the lid on and turn the valve to ‘Sealing’.
- Set the ‘Manual’ function to 25 minutes.
- Go and enjoy your life.
- When the timer sounds, allow the pressure to release naturally.
- Take off the lid and stir to well so that the pumpkin dissolves.
- Serve the fluids as a soup, followed by the beef chunks as a main course. Great served with a mixed mash of cauliflower, carrot and fennel.
- Enjoy!
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