A classic recipe with simple, rustic ingredients; Pepper Steak with Pearl Onions is a family favourite! Loaded with beef, peppers, and onions, and all tossed in an easy gravy, this dish is cheap, but super impressive!
Whenever beef goes on sale, I stock up! Well, I don’t stock up as much as I’d like to, because I don’t own a deep freezer and rely only on the top half of our kitchen refrigerator for storing anything that needs to be frozen. When there’s already ice cubes, a few bags of frozen vegetables, and a few ice packs already squished into it, there’s not much room left for meat.
But, I was able to squeeze about four pounds of beef sirloin in there anyway. But, I knew I couldn’t keep the beef in there for very long, so this past Sunday, I had a beef cooking day. Yes, a beef cooking day – you read that correctly! I spent all of Sunday morning preparing two separate beef recipes, taking photos of the prepared dishes, and cleaning it all up. It was worth the effort, because both dishes were delicious. This Pepper Steak with Pearl Onions recipe was one of the dishes I prepared.
The day before, John.e, McKenna, and I took a drive out to St. Jacob’s – Ontario’s king of farmers’ markets – and pushed our way through the crowds. I’ve been to the market a million times before, but never on a day so busy as this particular day.
We had completely forgotten about the fact that we had headed into the thick of things right before the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend! Vendors were everywhere! We had to park our car on the back of the market, right next to the long line of Greyhound buses that were busing in thousands of shoppers. It was quite the experience!
But, nevertheless, in spite of the crowds, we were able to find some very fresh produce. In addition to the peppers and pearl onions you see in these pictures, we purchased red and yellow beans, celery, beets, apples, garlic, carrots, parsnips, turnip, shallots, potatoes, and swiss chard. All of that for only forty dollars! That might seem a little pricey compared to your local grocery store prices, but to me, it was totally worth it!
Now, Dear Reader, don’t be a fool like me and try to peel all of those pearl onions with a knife. Yes, that’s exactly what I did! It took me almost an hour – ha! I’ve never worked with pearl onions before, so how was I supposed to know. Later, I found a great video that shows how to peel pearl onions easily. And, of course, the one and only Martha Stewart was the one to teach me all about it. Basically, you dump the onions into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds and then scoop them out an into cold water. Then you trim off the end and the peel should just slide right off. Ugh! Here’s the link the video: How To Peel Pearl Onions
I’ll never make that mistake again! I loved using the pearl onions though. They have a sweeter flavour and seem to be a little more mellow in taste. If you cannot find pearl onions or prefer to use regular onions, then go right ahead. You’ll get the same basic result.
If you choose to use regular yellow onions, just peel them, and cut the whole onion into eighths; this will ensure that your onions are not overcooked and still relevantly visible in the dish when all is said and done.
As you can see, Dear Reader, I sliced the beef very thinly and keep the pieces rather large. That was just a personal preference for me, but you can make them smaller if that suits your preferences more so. The large pieces make the initial searing process much easier and faster.
Not to sound overly cliche, but no matter how you slice or dice it, this dish is delicious and most certainly will be a great go-to, cooler-weather, comforting dish. A great way to prepare a large amount of cheaper cuts of beef.
Pepper Steak with Pearl Onions
Ingredients
- 2 pounds top sirloin beef roast, sliced into 1/4 inch slices across the grain
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups pearl onions, peeled
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 packet Club House mushroom gravy seasoning mix, 42 grams
- 1 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil for frying
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions for garnish, optional
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Add the sliced beef, along with the black pepper and soy sauce to a large bowl. Toss well to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour to marinate.
- Next, in a large skillet or Dutch oven, add enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Over medium heat, and in a single layer, sear the beef on each side until slightly brown - about two minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside. Do this in batches, adding more oil as needed until all the beef has been cooked.
- Add the onions to the skillet and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add the peppers and saute for another 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and saute for one more minute.
- In the meantime, whisk together the Club House mushroom gravy seasoning mix with one cup of water.
- Pour the mixture over the peppers and onions and cook until the sauce has thickened.
- Toss the beef back into the skillet and toss to combine with the gravy and the vegetables.
- Add a lid and turn off the heat. Allow the beef to sit for 5 minutes.
- Plate and garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. (Optional)
- Suggestion: Serve with your favourite cooked rice.
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