Ingredients

1 kg (2 pounds) cubed beef or lamb
bouquet garni
1 large onion, diced
50 ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
500 g (1 pound) green or wax beans, cut up (fresh or frozen)
7ml (1 1/2 tsp) salt
2ml (1/2 tsp) black pepper
2ml (1/2 tsp) allspice
dash cinnamon
1 156 ml (5 1/2-ounce) can tomato paste

Directions

Cover meat with water. Add the bouquet garni (a small onion, bay leaf, piece of celery, sprig of parsley) and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender (at least one hour). Spoon the meat onto a plate discarding the flavoring vegetables. If your cut of meat is a very tender one it won't need this cooking stage, so omit it and begin here.

In a cooking pot, fry onion in oil until wilted. Add the meat and fry, turning over a few times. Add beans and sauté for five minutes. Cover with boiling water, add salt, spices and tomato paste. (If the meat has been cooked beforehand, use meat stock instead of boiling water.) Lower heat, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes.

Adjust spices to taste. (You may use less black pepper or omit it altogether but allspice is essential.) Serve with rice.

Makes 4-5 servings