Oven Roasted Orange Ginger Beef Stew

It’s hard to imagine getting worked up about a parsnip.  It ranks right up there with rutabaga on the sexy scale.

And yet there I was, celebrating the delightful taste of this simple, understated white root vegetable in this stew.

Earthy and more complex than its carrot cousin, it imparts a gentle honey sweetness that is unmistakable and delicious.  Its fibrous texture is equally pleasing. A good source of folate and fibre, parsnip is a nice complement to the abundant beta-carotene found in carrot and sweet potato.

You won't need a crockpot for this warming Sunday stew.  It's a one pot wonder that is oven roasted and enormously quick to pull together.

Like most stews, this one tastes even better the day after once all the delicious flavourings have had an opportunity to fully emerge.  But don't worry, you won't be disappointed eating it straight from the oven.  And the smell of it roasting... well, I'll let you experience that one for yourselves.

Oven Roasted Orange Ginger Beef Stew

• 750 gram stewing beef (1 ½ pounds), cut into cubes
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peel on cut into chunks
• 3 parsnip, cut into chunks
• 6-8 carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup dilute orange juice
• 1 ½ cups beef stock
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp grated orange zest
• 2 heaping Tbsp grated ginger
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 Bay leaf

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Serves 8

Heat oven to 325 F.

In a large ovenproof casserole dish, toss beef with flour.  Add remaining ingredients to the dish and stir to combine.

 

I found some beautiful tricoloured carrots for this recipe

Bake the stew with cover on for 3 – 3 ½ hours (stirring occasionally if possible), until beef is tender and vegetables are al dente. 

Remove bay leaves before serving.