Stoba di Cabrito (Curacao-Style Lamb or Kid Stew)
This stew recipe includes a small amount of salted beef, another holdover from "the old days," when that was the only way to ship beef, and it is an ingredient found in almost all the recipes for this stew. The usual meat for the Stoba is kid (goat or cabrito), but we have substituted lamb. If you have a source for goat, try it because it is delicious. The annatto oil is commonly called ruku.

Ingredients


  • 6 ounces salt beef, covered with water and soaked overnight in refrigerator

  • 4 cups fresh water

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 2 pounds young kid (cabrito) or lamb, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces

  • 2 cups diced onion

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped

  • 1 habanero chile, stems and seeds removed, minced

  • 2 cups tomatoes, peeled and diced

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

  • 2 tablespoons annatto oil (see Note)

  • 3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes



Instructions


Drain the soaked beef and place it in a heavy casserole with the 4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 hour. Remove the beef from the pot, cube, and reserve; strain the broth and reserve.

Heat the vegetable oil in the heavy casserole, add the lamb, and brown it. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper, habanero pepper and saute the mixture until the onion is wilted - about 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, lime juice, nutmeg, annatto oil, the reserved cubed beef, and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.

Add the reserved beef stock and the potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Servings
6
Servings
6