Chef Isabel
Cachopo Asturiano
Cachopo is Asturian comfort food with no mystery: two thin veal fillets, jamon, melting cheese, a firm seal, and enough oil to fry it golden without leaking.
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Carne Compuesta Palmera (Canarian Spiced Beef Stew)
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Carne Compuesta Palmera is La Palma's beef guiso: añojo browned hard, then stewed thick with onion, tomato, cumin, thyme, clove, wine, and pimentón until the sauce clings to the spoon.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Comfort Food
One Pot
Budget Friendly
25 min
Active Time
2 hr 15 min cook•2 hr 40 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
Carne Compuesta is Canarian, and this one belongs especially to La Palma: beef cut in honest pieces, browned hard, then cooked in a thick sauce of onion, pepper, tomato, island wine, cumin, thyme, clove, and pimentón. It is not a quick meat sauce and it is not a pale stew. The colour comes from the pot, the spices, and the patience you give them.
The step that decides it is the browning. Añojo, young beef, is lean enough that if you crowd the pot it steams grey before it ever tastes of anything. Brown it in batches until the edges are deep and dark, then build the sofrito, the slow onion and tomato base, in those browned bits. That is where the sauce gets its backbone. Rush that beginning and the stew tastes thinner, however long you simmer it after.
If you are far from the islands, use beef chuck, shin, or boneless short rib cut into large pieces. Chuck gives a softer, richer sauce than añojo, and shin may need another half hour, but both are honest substitutes. Canarian pimentón is hard to find, so use sweet Spanish pimentón de la Vera with a light hand; its smoke speaks louder. No hace falta haber pisado España. Weigh it, brown it well, and let it go quietly. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
In the Margin beside this dish I have only one warning: count the cloves before they go in and count them when they come out. Two are seasoning. Four make the whole pot taste like a cupboard.
Carne compuesta belongs to the Canary Islands, with La Palma keeping a strong version of the dish in its home kitchens and casas de comida. The word compuesta points to the composed sauce, a guiso built from onion, garlic, pepper, tomato, wine, cumin, thyme, bay, clove, and pimentón rather than from meat alone. In many palmero homes the potatoes are fried separately and folded in at the end, while the humbler one-pot version lets the papas cook in the sauce and thicken it for the family table.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
añojo or beef chuck
Quantity
900g
cut into 3cm pieces
fine sea salt
Quantity
10g, plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
olive oil
Quantity
60ml
onions
Quantity
300g
finely chopped
green pepper
Quantity
150g
finely chopped
garlic cloves
Quantity
4
minced or pounded
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
400g
grated, or use 300g canned crushed tomatoes
tomato paste (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
sweet pimentón
Quantity
1 teaspoon
ground cumin
Quantity
1 teaspoon
dried thyme
Quantity
1 teaspoon
whole cloves
Quantity
2
bay leaves
Quantity
2
dry white wine
Quantity
200ml
beef stock or water
Quantity
500ml, plus more if needed
carrots
Quantity
180g
cut into thick coins
waxy potatoes
Quantity
500g
peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
pitted green olives
Quantity
80g
wine vinegar (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
to finish
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| añojo or beef chuckcut into 3cm pieces | 900g |
| fine sea salt | 10g, plus more to taste |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| olive oil | 60ml |
| onionsfinely chopped | 300g |
| green pepperfinely chopped | 150g |
| garlic clovesminced or pounded | 4 |
| ripe tomatoesgrated, or use 300g canned crushed tomatoes | 400g |
| tomato paste (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| sweet pimentón | 1 teaspoon |
| ground cumin | 1 teaspoon |
| dried thyme | 1 teaspoon |
| whole cloves | 2 |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| dry white wine | 200ml |
| beef stock or water | 500ml, plus more if needed |
| carrotscut into thick coins | 180g |
| waxy potatoespeeled and cut into 3cm chunks | 500g |
| pitted green olives | 80g |
| wine vinegar (optional)to finish | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy casserole or Dutch oven, 28cm
- •Wooden spoon
- •Mortar and pestle or spice grinder
- •Tongs
Instructions
- 1
Season the beef
Pat the beef very dry and toss it with the 10g salt and the black pepper. Let it sit while you chop the vegetables, 15 minutes if you have it. Dry meat browns; wet meat sweats, and this dish has no use for grey beef.
If using shin instead of chuck or añojo, keep the pieces large. It needs time, but it gives a deep, sticky sauce. - 2
Brown in batches
Heat 30ml of the olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in two or three batches, leaving space between the pieces, 3 to 4 minutes per side until the edges are dark and well coloured. Lift each batch to a plate. Do not clean the pot; those browned bits are the beginning of the guiso.
- 3
Cook the sofrito
Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining 30ml olive oil, the onions, and the green pepper. Cook slowly for 12 to 15 minutes, scraping the pot, until the onion is soft, dark gold, and sweet. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, then add the grated tomato and tomato paste if using. Cook another 10 minutes, until the tomato loses its raw smell and the sofrito is thick enough that the spoon leaves a track.
- 4
Wake the spices
Stir in the pimentón, cumin, thyme, whole cloves, and bay leaves for 20 seconds, keeping the heat gentle so the pimentón does not scorch. Pour in the white wine and scrape the base of the pot clean. Let it bubble until reduced by about half, 4 to 5 minutes, and the sharp smell of wine has softened.
- 5
Braise until tender
Return the beef and any juices to the pot. Add the carrots and 500ml stock or water, enough to come just below the top of the meat, not drown it. Bring to a quiet bubble, cover partly, and cook over low heat for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, stirring now and then, until the beef is nearly tender. The surface should move lazily, not boil hard.
- 6
Add the papas
Add the potatoes and push them into the sauce. Cover partly again and cook 25 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened around them. If the pot looks dry before the potatoes are done, add a splash of water. If it looks soupy at the end, uncover it and simmer a few minutes more.
- 7
Finish and rest
Stir in the green olives for the last 5 minutes. Taste for salt, then add the vinegar only if the sauce tastes heavy and needs a little lift. Fish out the bay leaves and the two cloves. Let the stew rest off the heat for 10 minutes before serving, so the sauce settles and clings properly to the meat and papas.
Chef Tips
- •Añojo is the island choice when you can get it. Outside Spain, buy beef chuck for softness or shin for a deeper sauce, and expect shin to take 20 to 30 minutes longer. Short rib works too, but it makes the dish richer than the leaner palmero pot.
- •Brown the meat in batches, even if it annoys you. Crowding the pot traps moisture and gives you grey boiled beef before the stew has begun. A wide pot is better than a tall narrow one here.
- •Use only two cloves and leave them whole so you can remove them. Clove belongs in carne compuesta, but it is not the whole conversation.
- •Canarian pimentón is not easy to find abroad. Sweet Spanish pimentón de la Vera is a good substitute, but its smoke is stronger, so do not add extra because you like the colour.
- •For the more casa de comida finish, fry the potato cubes separately in olive oil and fold them into the stew just before serving. For one pot, cook them in the sauce as written. They soften more, and they thicken the guiso. On a family table, that is no sin.
Advance Preparation
- •The beef can be cut and salted up to 12 hours ahead, then kept covered in the refrigerator. Bring it out 30 minutes before browning so it does not hit the pot ice cold.
- •The stew is better the next day. If making it ahead, cook the beef and sauce fully, then add the potatoes when reheating so they do not go woolly.
- •It freezes well without the potatoes for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight, reheat gently, and add freshly cooked papas or bread for the sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 490g)
Calories
595 calories
Total Fat
30 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
19 g
Cholesterol
140 mg
Sodium
1710 mg
Total Carbohydrates
39 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
10 g
Protein
42 g
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