I’ve had this recipe in the “To Make” pile for a number of years. I’m not sure why it never moved to the top of the list until now, but I’m so glad it finally did. Perhaps the thought of pumpkin made me toss it to the seasonal/Fall options, and then before I knew it Fall passed and another year passed. The original recipe is from Cooking Light- 2001! Yikes! I have had it for AWHILE!
Today we were going to host a “Pumpkin” themed gathering with friends so I selected this soup to make. Turns out our gathering was postponed until next week, but I still had the ingredients so made it for the family.
I doubled it like I do most recipes because we have a family of hearty eaters. This is a GREAT meal/dinner if you’re following a Paleo eating plan. You can use this stew to top mashed sweet potatoes. Yum!
I wasn’t able to find roasted, salted pumpkinseed kernels, so I used pepitas. I think they worked great.
This is such a TASTY soup and the spices are so unique. I’m having a hard time keeping my oldest from eating all the meat out of it. I think since we’re a bunch of carnivores, I’d add MORE next time I make it!
Vegetable-Beef Stew in Pumpkinseed Sauce
Ingredients
2 tablespoons roasted salted pumpkinseed kernels (I used raw pepitas and salted them while I cooked them in the pan. See step #1)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons oil, divided (I used sunflower oil)
8 ounces sirloin steak cut into one inch cubes (I used lean stew meat cut into small pieces)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped serrano chile, optional
1-1/2 cups sliced carrot
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons molasses
1- 14 ounce can beef broth
1-1/2 cups cut (fresh) green beans
2 cups thinly sliced kale
- Cook pumpkinseed/pepitas in a pan over medium high heat for 3 minutes or until kernels are toasted and begin to pop. Remove from heat, cool. Place kernels in a coffee grinder and process until finely ground.
- Combine cumin and next 6 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium high heat and brown meat. Sauté until browned. Remove beef from pan.
- In a Dutch oven or soup pot add 1 teaspoon oil. Add onion, bell pepper and chile. Sauté about 4 minutes. Add ground pepitas/pumpkinseeds and cumin mixture. Stir to combine. Cook 1 minute. Add beef, carrots, tomatoes, molasses, and broth. Bring to boil. Cover and bring to boil. Simmer 15 minutes. Add green beans. Partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until meat is tender. Stir in kale. Cook a few minutes until kale is tender.
- It’s hard to just have one bowl of this soup. It’s so good! Perfect for a cozy fall day!
