Two of my favourite, and often underused spices in our Western cuisine are Cumin and Paprika.
In many parts of the world Cumin is used in place of Pepper, yielding the distinctly Persian flavours that are a halfway point between European and Indian cooking. Cumin is also very good for you, as an anti-oxidant, with some new studies indicating long term improvement on patients with osteoporosis.
Paprika, often associated with Hungarian cooking, is used to produce smoky, mildly peppery flavours. In the Western world we usually find it sprinkled over Potato Salad simply for its deep red colour. Like Cumin, Paprika is also high in anti-oxidants.
Slow cooked, Swiss Steak can take the cheapest cut of shoe-leather brisket and turn it into a mouth-watering delight. So why not Swiss Steak with a bit of a Middle Eastern twist?
Here then is my recipe for a snappy Swiss Steak you can prepare on the stovetop or in the crock pot.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs beef round steak, cut 3/4 inch thick
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons shortening or vegetable oil
- 1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 purple or red pepper sliced in spears
- 1/2 tablespoon HP Sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon soya sauce
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Cut meat into 6 serving pieces.
- Combine flour, salt, cumin, paprika and pepper.
- Pound 2 T. of the flour mixture into the meat.
- Brown the meat in the shortening on both sides.
- Add undrained tomatoes, onion, peppers, HP Sauce, soya sauce and cooking wine.
- Cover and simmer for 1 1/4 hours or until meat is tender.
- Remove meat to a serving platter and keep warm.
- Combine 1/4 water and the remaining flour mixture.
- Stir into tomato mixture until thick and bubbly.
- Serve meat and sauce with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice.
Notes
This dish can also be prepared in the crockpot. Simply brown the steak as for stovetop then dump all the ingredients including the drippings into a crockpot and cook on Low for 8 -1 0 hours.