Daring Cooks: Beef Braised in Rooibos Tea with Sweet Potatoes

It is that time again...the Daring Cooks reveal!! Sarah from Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique! We learned how to cook using tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry.

I have cooked with beer before, so cooking with tea didn't seem like too wacky of an idea. I chose to try the beef braised in rooibos tea (a red tea) with sweet potatoes. All of the spices combined made my apartment smell divine! I'm not usually a fan of sweet potatoes, but it is fall and I wanted to follow the recipe exactly (this time) and I was pleasantly surprised! This turned out to be an amazing stew - and I am not usually a fan of stew either! Also, this is a great cold-weather meal, the addition of cinnamon really highlights the flavor of fall. Cold weather is approaching, so add this to your menu!


Beef Braised in Rooibos Tea with Sweet Potatoes
Source: Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry


Ingredients

• 1¼ pounds stewing beef, trimmed and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons 
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon tomato concentrate
• 5 rooibos tea bags (or 2 tablespoons loose tea leaves)
• 1 quart just-boiled water
• 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 4 strips unwaxed orange peel, pith removed (the peel of about half an orange)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• ¾ cup mild honey (optional)
• cilantro (coriander) leaves, to garnish
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Season the beef and coat in the flour. Heat the oil in a large stock pot and then brown the beef on all sides. 　
2. Add the onions and celery. Put on a tight fitting lid and let soften for
3. ten minutes.
4. Add the garlic and tomato concentrate and cook for one minute.
5. Meanwhile, place the tea bags in a heatproof pitcher and pour over the water. Allow to steep for four minutes. Then remove the tea bags (or strain out the tea leaves) and pour the tea into the stock pot. Add the red wine vinegar, orange peel, cinnamon sticks, and ginger.
6. Lower the heat and cover. Let the stew simmer for 2 hours, until the beef is tender.
7. Add the sweet potatoes, honey (if using), and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a further 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft. 　
8. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro.