Peruvian-style Venison Noodle Stew

In terms of return on effort, this Stew rocks. Maybe 30 minutes, max, and in return, filling happy deliciousness.

I had marked a Peruvian Beef and Noodle Stew recipe from Food & Wine in November of 2005. Last night, I modified it to work with what we had in the house, namely, Venison shoulder steaks from brother, a package of chinese bird's nest noodles, a full red bell pepper instead of half, and olive oil.

-4 T olive oil
-1 or 1.5 lbs venison, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes. I used shoulder steak.
-1 large yellow onion, diced.
-1 large red bell pepper, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-2 cans beef broth
-1 large russet potato, scrubbed, cut into 1/2 in pieces, skin left on
-1 T ground cumin
-1 t crushed bay leaf (or 1 full bay leaf)
-3 birds' nests

1. In a soup pot, heat 1/2 the olive oil on high heat. Sautee the meat until browned on the outside (2 minutes?) and transfer to a plate.

2. Heat the remaining oil in the pot and sautee the onion, bell pepper and garlic 'til softened (4-5 minutes?).

3. Add the stock, potato, cumin and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, lower to medium heat and cook for 10 minutes.

4. Add the noodles and simmer until al dente, approx 5 minutes or so. They will break apart when done.

5. Add the meat and any juices on the plate to the pot and cook for 1 minute.

6. Discard bay leaf if whole. Serve into bowls and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!