Add a Touch of Autumn to your Beef Stew with Chilean Carbonada

Perfect for cold, autumn suppers, carbonada is a classic Chilean dish. It is a hearty, flavorful stew made with beef and a variety of seasonal vegetables. Chilean cooks make their stews with potatoes, onions, and carrots just like we do, but they also add corn and peas. In the fall, they add winter squash or pumpkin. The consistency of Chilean carbonada can be thick and stew-like or more brothy like a soup.

Traditional Chilean recipes I’ve looked at often add chopped red bell pepper, but I don’t. Instead, I like adding a bit of pumpkin purée to the broth. It makes the stew more colorful and enhances the flavor. My husband prefers butternut squash over pumpkin, so that’s what I use. Russ loves butternut squash in stew! Although I doubt if the Chileans ever heard of the Italian “shoemaker style of cooking”, they use whatever they have on hand when they make carbonada. Waste not. Want not.

Chilean Carbonada

Serves 6 to 8

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes

32-ounces beef broth

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon large grind black pepper

8 red new potatoes, cut into quarters

1 white onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 to 3 cups pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups water or beef broth

¾ cup pumpkin purée

2 cups frozen corn kernels

2 cups frozen peas

Fresh cilantro for garnish

Place olive oil a large kettle over a medium-high heat. When the oil sizzles, add beef cubes and sauté until meat is browned, turning frequently so that all sides are cooked. Add beef broth, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

To the same kettle, add new potatoes, onion, carrots, pumpkin or butternut squash cubes, oregano, and paprika and stir. Add enough water or beef broth to cover the vegetables. Simmer for another 20 minutes. Add pumpkin purée and stir to combine. Add corn and peas and stir. Simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until veggies are cooked through.

Tips on selecting winter squash: Buy rock-hard squash. When you press hard on squash, it should not give to pressure. Its skin should be matte, not shiny. Select squash with firm, full, cork-like stems. Avoid specimens that have skinny or green stems. When buying butternut squash, look for small bottoms and a long neck. Do not buy squash with soft spots or bruises. When buying delicata squash, avoid specimens with bruises, soft spots, or cuts.

Tips on storing winter squash: Store squash in a cool, dry place. Thick-skinned squash like hubbard can last for months. Squash with soft, moist flesh surrounding the seedpod deteriorate more quickly.

Carol Ann

Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market, and international Amazon best-selling and award-winning author of Grocery Shopping Secrets. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at CarolAnn@CarolAnnKates.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.

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