Carne de Panela - Portuguese Beef Tips

I love food, always have and I think I always will, and I may sound very biased, but without a doubt, for me, one of the best foods on earth, is Portuguese.

You may say that I only think that because I'm Portuguese, but that's not necessarily true, seeing that I also think Mexican, Chinese, Indian and Italian are some of the best too.

For me though, growing up in a Portuguese home, learning to cook from a very young age and being surrounded by flavor, fresh ingredients and nothing but the simplest of homemade meals, created a love for real comfort easy dinners.

I was never one for gourmet, never one for expensive or intricate recipes or exquisite weird ingredients.  Cooking needs to come from the heart, and most importantly from your home and what you have on hand.  A little of this, a pinch of that, and a finished dinner that will stick to the ribs and leave everyone asking for more.

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is one of the simplest ways to prepare a pot of beef tips that can be served with mashed potatoes, or rice, pasta, whatever your heart desires.

I paired mine with some simple buttery white rice and some homemade pressure cooked beans with bacon.  (the recipe for those will be up shortly)

Carne de Panela - Portuguese Beef Tips

1 pound of stewing beef
4 garlic cloves
Tablespoon of kosher salt
Paprika
Chili flakes to your liking
Cheiro Verde (This is a mixture of parsley and cilantro, to taste
Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
Half a green pepper, diced
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 cups of water


Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic cloves along with the salt, paprika and chili flakes.

In a pot, add a little bit of olive oil and the garlic mixture you just crushed.  Stir, then add the beef cubes.  Cook over medium heat until nicely browned.

Next, add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine, check the seasonings and add more salt if needed.  Cover and let cook over medium heat until meat is tender and the sauce has reduced to a nice thick gravy.

ROUPA VELHA!!!

The translation of the name of this dish, is one that usually makes people go "WHAT?!?!?!", because it means "Old Clothes". Yeah, Old Clothes, but really don't be afraid of the name because it has nothing to do with the wonderful taste.

It's nothing extravagant or difficult to make, it's pretty simple and the dish is usually about using leftover meats and veggies from a previous meal, though a lot of people use it for the leftover Christmas Meal, which means codfish, potatoes, cauliflower etc.

This is so simple:

ROUPA VELHA

In a large skillet pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil and tons of finely chopped garlic. Now if you don't like that much garlic, just use one clove, finely chopped....my family and I LOVE garlic so I use a lot.

Next you add one large onion, finely sliced. Toss together with the garlic and olive oil, then add the leftover meat, shredded or cut into bite size chunks..

Add potatoes or leftover veggies and stir together over medium heat until it's warmed through.
A great idea is to use some Potatoes O' Brien. I always have them on hand, and when the leftovers didn't have any veggies, I add about a half a package of the Pototoes, it's great because they already have peppers included.

That's IT!!! It's a great way to use leftovers especially if you have a big pot roast sitting in the fridge :)