Categories: beef, soup, stew, stir-fry

Ingredients

• 12-ounces beef top round steak or lean boneless lamb
• 3 medium potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (3 cups)
• 2 medium carrots, roll-cut (1 cup)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1.2 of a 6-ounce can tomato paste (1/3 cup)
• 1/2 cup pitted ripe olives
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
• 1 medium green, red, or yellow sweet pepper, cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions

1. Trim fat from beef or lamb. Partially freeze meat. Thinly slice across grain into bite-size strips. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan precook potatoes and carrots, covered, in enough boiling water to cover about 10 minutes or until just tender. Drain. Set aside.

3. For sauce, in a small bowl stir together water, cornstarch, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, pepper, and ground cloves. Stir in tomato paste. Add olives. Set aside.

4. Pour cooking oil into a wok or large skillet. (Add more oil as necessary during cooking.) Preheat over medium-high heat. Stir-fry garlic in hot oil for 15 seconds. Add onions; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add sweet pepper; stir-fry about 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove pepper mixture from the wok.

5. Add meat to the hot wok. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or to desired doneness. Push meat from the center of the wok.

6. Stir sauce. Add sauce to the center of the wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in vinegar. Return pepper mixture to the wok. Add precooked potatoes and carrots. Stir all ingredients together to coat with sauce. Cover and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more or until heated through. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

7. Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare vegetables. Cover potatoes with water. Cover all vegetables. Chill up to 4 hours. Drain potatoes before cooking in fresh water.

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