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Braised Beef Chuck with Three Legumes and Chrysanthemum Greens
This is the kind of dish I come back to when I want something that truly nourishes — not just fills. I make it on slow Athens afternoons when the market has good chuck and the chrysanthemum greens are fresh and slightly bitter, the way I like them. The acerola juice is my small nutritionist's secret here: it lifts the whole pot and helps with iron absorption from the legumes, which is exactly the kind of detail that matters to me. #mediterranean #braised beef #legumes #greek cuisine #lunch #comfort food
100
min total
(Prep:
25
| Cook: 75)
4
servings
2
Beef, New Zealand, imported, chuck eye roll, separable lean and fat, cooked, braised
400.0 gram
Chicken, broilers or fryers, drumstick, rotisserie, original seasoning, meat only, cooked
300.0 gram
Cowpeas, common , mature seeds, raw
100.0 gram
Broadbeans , mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt
100.0 gram
Beans, french, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt
100.0 gram
Chrysanthemum, garland, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt
150.0 gram
Onions, yellow, raw
150.0 gram
Garlic, raw
40.0 gram
Tomato, roma
200.0 gram
Olive oil
60.0 gram
Lemon juice, raw
45.0 gram
Acerola juice, raw
100.0 gram
Wine, white
200.0 gram
Salt, table
5.0 gram
Water, NFS
300.0 gram
Beef, variety meats and by-products, heart, cooked, simmered
75.0 gram
Chicken, broilers or fryers, dark meat, meat only, cooked, fried
150.0 gram
Nutrition Facts
Energy
3514.8 kilocalorie
Protein
317.1 gram
Myristoleic acid (C14:1)
0.3 gram
Pentadecenoic acid (C15:1)
0.0 gram
Palmitoleic acid (C16:1, Omega-7)
4.5 gram
Heptadecenoic acid (C17:1)
0.0 gram
Gondoic acid (C20:1, Omega-9)
0.4 gram
Erucic acid (C22:1, Omega-9)
0.0 gram
Nervonic acid (C24:1, Omega-9)
0.0 gram
Oleic acid (C18:1, Omega-9)
72.0 gram
Alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA) (C18:3, Omega-3)
0.1 gram
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (C22:6, Omega-3)
0.1 gram
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (C20:5, Omega-3)
0.0 gram
Pufa 2:5 N-3 (epa)
0.1 gram
Linoleic acid (C18:2, Omega-6)
2.8 gram
Gamma-Linolenic acid (GLA) (C18:3, Omega-6)
0.0 gram
Stearidonic acid (SDA) (C18:4, Omega-3)
0.0 gram
Eicosadienoic acid (C20:2, Omega-6)
0.0 gram
Eicosatrienoic acid (ETE) (C20:3, Omega-3)
0.0 gram
Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) (C20:3, Omega-6)
0.0 gram
Arachidonic acid (ARA) (C20:4, Omega-6)
0.7 gram
Adrenic acid (DTA) (C22:4, Omega-6)
0.0 gram
Docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) (C22:5, Omega-3)
0.2 gram
Palmitic acid (C16:0)
26.0 gram
Capric acid (C10:0)
0.0 gram
Lauric acid (C12:0)
0.1 gram
Myristic acid (C14:0)
1.4 gram
Pentadecylic acid (C15:0)
0.0 gram
Margaric acid (C17:0)
0.7 gram
Arachidic acid (C20:0)
0.1 gram
Behenic acid (C22:0)
0.0 gram
Lignoceric acid (C24:0)
0.0 gram
Butyric acid (C4:0)
0.0 gram
Caproic acid (C6:0)
0.0 gram
Caprylic acid (C8:0)
0.0 gram
Stearic acid (C18:0)
12.3 gram
Palmitelaidic acid (C16:1)
0.0 gram
Linolelaidic acid (C18:2)
0.0 gram
Erucic acid (C22:1, Omega-9)
0.0 gram
Dietary Fiber
39.0 gram
Starch
0.0 gram
Lactose
0.0 gram
Maltose
0.0 gram
Sucrose
2.6 gram
Fructose
3.4 gram
Galactose
0.0 gram
Glucose
3.9 gram
Carotene, Alpha
1.8 microgram
Carotene, Beta
3208.4 microgram
Choline
594.9 milligram
Folate (Vitamin B9)
2901.3 microgram
Retinol
110.0 microgram
Vitamin A
5187.1 International Unit
Vitamin B-12
17.4 microgram
Vitamin B-12, Added
0.0 microgram
Vitamin B-6
3.4 milligram
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
1.9 milligram
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
3.3 milligram
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
47.8 milligram
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)
9.6 milligram
Vitamin B7 (Biotin)
0.9 microgram
Vitamin C
1716.6 milligram
Vitamin D
32.0 microgram
Vitamin E
21.4 milligram
Vitamin K
348.4 microgram
Calcium, Ca
599.6 milligram
Copper, Cu
3.0 milligram
Iron, Fe
39.6 milligram
Magnesium, Mg
587.7 milligram
Manganese, Mn
4.1 milligram
Phosphorus, P
2752.5 milligram
Potassium, K
5886.0 milligram
Selenium, Se
202.2 microgram
Sodium, Na
3667.2 milligram
Zinc, Zn
50.7 milligram
ALA (Alpha-Linolenic Acid, Omega-3)
26.7 gram
Alcohol, Ethyl
20.6 gram
Arginine
19.1 gram
Ash
26.0 gram
Aspartic Acid
16.3 gram
Betaine
41.5 milligram
Caffeine
0.0 milligram
Carotene, Gamma
4.2 microgram
Cholesterol
1163.0 milligram
Cis-lutein/zeaxanthin
0.0 microgram
Cryptoxanthin, Alpha
19.2 microgram
Cryptoxanthin, Beta
40.0 microgram
Cystine
1.9 gram
Fluoride, F
0.1 microgram
Folic Acid
0.0 microgram
Glutamic Acid
43.1 gram
Glycine
14.4 gram
Histidine
9.2 gram
Hydroxyproline
0.4 gram
Iodine, I
0.0 microgram
Isoleucine
12.6 gram
Leucine
22.2 gram
Lutein
112.0 microgram
Lutein + Zeaxanthin
5347.1 microgram
Lycopene
5720.0 microgram
Lysine
23.6 gram
Methionine
8.1 gram
Nitrogen
0.2 gram
Oleic Acid (Omega-9)
0.2 gram
Phytosterols
0.0 milligram
Proline
12.0 gram
Serine
11.5 gram
Theobromine
0.0 milligram
Threonine
10.5 gram
Tocopherol, Beta
0.0 milligram
Tocopherol, Delta
0.0 milligram
Tocopherol, Gamma
0.4 milligram
Tocotrienol, Alpha
0.2 milligram
Tocotrienol, Beta
0.0 milligram
Tocotrienol, Delta
0.0 milligram
Tocotrienol, Gamma
0.1 milligram
Tryptophan
3.0 gram
Tyrosine
9.4 gram
Valine
13.5 gram
Water
1792.0 gram
Zeaxanthin
0.0 microgram
0
Get your best olive oil shimmering in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat — it should be almost at the point of smoking. Dry the beef chuck thoroughly with paper towels first, because any surface moisture will steam the meat instead of searing it. Work in two batches, leaving the pieces undisturbed for 3–4 minutes per side until you have a deep mahogany crust and the drippings smell rich and nutty. Set the seared beef aside on a plate and resist the urge to clean the pot.
1
Into those same drippings go your diced onion. Keep the heat at medium and let them cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring now and then, until they soften completely and the edges start to turn golden and jammy. This step is not decoration — it is the flavour foundation of everything that follows.
2
Add the minced garlic and stir for about a minute until the aroma blooms, then tumble in the diced tomato. Cook it all together for 3–4 minutes, pressing the tomato gently so it begins to collapse and surrender its juice into the pot. The mixture should smell bright and almost sweet against the savoury backdrop.
3
Pour in the white wine and use your spoon to scrape every browned bit from the bottom of the pot — do not leave any of that behind, it is concentrated flavour. Let the wine bubble and reduce for 2–3 minutes, then nestle the beef back in, add the acerola juice, and pour in just enough water to barely cover the meat. Season with salt and bring to a calm, steady simmer.
4
Cover the pot, lower the heat, and let the beef braise gently for 45–50 minutes. You are looking for fork-tenderness — the meat should yield without fighting back. By now your kitchen should smell the way a proper Athenian kitchen smells on a Tuesday: rich, slow-cooked, completely alive.
5
With about 15 minutes left on the beef, add the cowpeas, fava beans, and french beans directly into the pot. Stir them through the sauce and let them warm and absorb the flavours. They should stay intact and hold their shape — you want beans, not porridge.
6
In the final 2–3 minutes, fold in the chrysanthemum greens with a gentle hand. They need only enough time to wilt into the stew, not dissolve. Their slight bitterness is exactly the counterpoint this rich, wine-braised sauce needs — do not cook it away.
7
Squeeze in fresh lemon juice, taste, and adjust the salt. The sauce should be glossy and coat a spoon — if it looks thin, give it another minute or two uncovered. At the same time, warm the rotisserie chicken drumstick in a 160°C oven for 8–10 minutes and have the fried dark meat ready alongside.
8
Serve the braised beef and beans in deep bowls with the sauce ladled generously over everything, and plate the chicken pieces alongside. A scatter of fresh oregano or thyme is the last thing I add — not for show, but because the fragrance it releases over a hot bowl is something I genuinely love. Eat it while it is hot and the flavours are still sharp and speaking to each other.
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