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Zambian Beef Stew

A hearty stew of beef, onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, and spices simmered in broth.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Zambian Beef Stew

Time1–1.5 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat.

  2. Add the finely chopped onion and minced garlic to the pot and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent.

  3. Add the bite-sized beef pieces and brown them on all sides.

Simmer the stew

  1. Pour in the beef broth or water and bring the mixture to a simmer.

  2. Add the diced carrot, potato, tomato, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper to the pot and stir well to combine with the other ingredients.

  3. Season the stew with paprika, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander, and salt to taste, then adjust the seasoning according to your preference.

  4. Let the stew simmer for about 1–1.5 hours or until the beef is tender and fully cooked, stirring occasionally during cooking to prevent sticking and ensure even cooking of the beef and vegetables.

Rest and serve

  1. Remove the pot from the heat and let the stew rest for a few minutes before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

679Calories
35 gProtein
31 gFat
68 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 14 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Garlic + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,517 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef
Browning and long simmering make the meat tender and give the stew its savory, rich flavor.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it cooks, forming the aromatic base of the stew.
Potato
Starch thickens the broth slightly as it breaks down during simmering.
Tomato
Adds acidity and moisture that help build the stew's body and balance the spices.
Carrot
Adds natural sweetness and firm texture that holds up to long simmering.
Garlic
Contributes pungent aroma that mellows and deepens as it cooks.

The step that matters

Browning the beef. Searing the meat over medium heat before adding liquid builds deep, savory flavors through the Maillard reaction. Crowding the pot or stirring too little makes the meat steam instead, leaving it grey and less flavorful.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, beef, carrot, potato, tomato, pepper):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, beef, carrot, potato, tomato, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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