Kale and Beef in Chestnut Sauce

Wanna hear something funny? When I first started my blog, I intended it to be an even mix of meals, breads, soups, desserts, etc. that mirrored how we eat. When I re-did my recipe index, I realized that notion bit the dust a few years back, and surprise, surprise, it seems like my blog is brought to you by the letter C and the word chocolate. Not that I don’t love chocolate, but I’d kinda like to balance things a little more.  Just cause.

Then again, as I look at my very un-photogenic, super-yumtastic stew, maybe part of my decision is because dessert photographs better?

So here’s a simple/easy meal that I absolutely adore. There’s something lovely about chestnuts. Whether that’s celery in chestnut sauce or Bittersweet Chestnut fudge, it’s just comfort food to me. I use the flour from Nuts.com, I’ll be entering it for Iris’ 5 ingredient Mondays—she tweaked the rules, and now it fits.

1 cup of chestnut flour, divided

1 lb free range beef stew meat

2 TBSP olive oil

1-1.5 lbs kale, depending on the size of your pot

4 cups organic broth (I love Pacific)

A handful fresh thyme—5-6 sprigs

Salt and pepper to taste

Pat down the beef with paper towels. Heat the olive oil. Dip the beef in ½ cup of chestnut flour and brown the beef chunks. (you can skip this step, but do it if you have time) Add in the broth and thyme and dump the chestnut flour that you used for dipping into the pot. When it’s boiling, stuff in as much kale as you can…when it cooks down, add more. I often have to add in more water at this point. Simmer for 1.5 hours or until the beef is tender, stirring very occasionally. Add in the remaining ½ cup of chestnut flour and stir well. Once you’ve done this step, you must keep stirring or it will burn on the bottom. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Enjoy!