Like most beef stews, this one is much better the next day. Store it in the refrigerator overnight then gently reheat it either in the Sun Oven or stove top. Serve it with a good, crusty bread.

Sun Oven Beef Stew with Wine

Ingredients

1 pound beef stew meat

2 tablespoons butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 large onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup beef broth

1 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1 sprig rosemary

1 medium russet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Pat meat dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the butter in a Dutch oven over medium until it starts to brown. Add the meat and turn up the heat. Brown the meat on all sides, about 8 minutes.

Transfer the meat to a plate. Turn the heat back down to medium and stir in the onions and carrots. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 4 mintues. Stir in the garlic then the flour.

Return the beef to the pot with the potatoes. Pour the broth, and wine over the stew. Stir in tomatoes and add the rosemary.

Cover and transfer to the Sun Oven. Cook until the beef is very tender, about 2 hours. Discard the rosemary before serving.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Serve this hearty stew with some good, crusty bread. It’s perfect on a cold winter’s evening.

Sun Oven Short Ribs with Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

6 tablespoons sour cream

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and cut into 2-inch chunks

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1-inch chunks, and patted dry with paper towels

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups baby carrots

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

In a serving bowl, stir together the sour cream, mustard and chives. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mix together the flour, salt,and pepper on a plate. Coat beef with the season flour, shaking off excess. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add half the beef and cook until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining beef. Put the beef and any juices back in the Dutch oven, Stir in the potatoes, onion, carrots, garlic, broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and transfer to the Sun Oven. Cook until the meat is very tender, 2 1/2 t0 4 hours. Serve with mustard sauce.

Makes 6 servings

Braising meat in the Sun Oven doesn’t take much longer than traditional methods. And if you use a Dutch oven you can always finish it up stove top if you get a late start or some clouds roll in. Just transfer it to the stove over medium low heat.

Sun Oven Pot Roast

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 (about 2 pounds) round beef roast, trimmed and patted dry with paper towels

2 onions, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

6 juniper berries, crushed (optional)

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup beef broth

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides; transfer to a plate. Add the onions, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and juniper.

Cook stirring often, until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.

Return the beef and any juices it may have released to the pot. Add the remaining ingredients. Cover and transfer to the Sun Oven. Cook until the meat is fork tender, 2 to 3 hours.

Let the meat rest 15 minutes before slicing across the grain. Serve with pan juices.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

I got the idea for this sauce from my favorite local Italian restaurant, Franco Trattoria in Whittier. It’s a lot less labor intensive than regular bolognese and just as tasty. Like any good meat sauce it needs to simmer for at least three hours and only gets better if it cooks even longer.

Slow Simmered Sun Oven Tomato Sauce with Short Ribs

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 boneless beef short ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 carton (26-ounce) Pomì chopped tomatoes*

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Heat the butter and oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the short ribs, turning to brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total.

Transfer the ribs to a plate. Lower the heat and add the chopped onion, carrots, and celery to the Dutch oven. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables just begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Put the ribs, with their juices, back in the pot. Turn the heat back up to medium-high and pour the wine over the ribs. When the wine has almost completely evaporated add the chopped tomatoes.

Season with salt, cover and transfer the pot to the Sun Oven. Cook until the meat falls apart easily when poked with a fork, at least three hours. Remove the Dutch oven from the Sun Oven. Using tongs transfer the ribs to a cutting board and shred. Stir the meat back into the tomato sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over pasta.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

*If you can’t find Pomì brand tomatoes look for another Italian brand that has no added salt, ascorbic acid, or other ingredients – just tomatoes.

I read somewhere that meat loaf is one of America’s twelve most popular foods.

Cooking it in the Sun Oven is a good way to ensure it maintains its high ranking.

Given that it is so popular I’m sure most of you have your own favorite recipe.

To adapt yours for solar cooking you’ll only need to find a way to cover it. You could always go the aluminum foil and tea towel route, but I prefer to use an oval roasting pan. Mine is 14 inches long and just fits in the cooking chamber by placing it on the leveling tray on a diagonal.

It’s big enough to hold a standard bread pan with room for potatoes around the sides. The meat loaf comes out nicely browned and any juices that might overflow will be caught in the roasting pan.

For a larger loaf I line the roasting pan with foil and bake it without the bread pan. The foil makes it easy to lift the meat loaf out and the pan keeps the juices out of the Sun Oven’s cooking chamber. On a final note, my two favorite meat loaf recipes can be found here and here.

The stacking pots that come with the Sun Oven accessory package are ideal for preparing this stew. If you don’t have them, or any other stackable pots, the carrots can be cooked in the same pot as the meat. Add them towards the end of the cooking time so they don’t get too mushy. I like to cook them separately so they retain their color.

Double-Decker Sun Oven Beef Stew

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 pounds beef stew meat, trimmed of fat and patted dry

2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

2/3 cup strong brewed coffee

1 1/2 cups water, beer, or wine

2 carrots, cut into large pieces

1 cup frozen peas

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Combine the flour and salt in a large plastic bag. Add the meat in batches and shake until evenly coated. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches add the meat and cook until brown on all sides. Transfer the meat to a pot and add the potatoes, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme.

Pour the coffee into the frying pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape off any browned bits. Pour the coffee into the pot with the meat and vegetables. Add the water. Cover and cook in the Sun Oven until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours.

In a separate pot with a steamer insert, add 1/2 cup water and the carrots. About 1/2 hour before the stew is ready stir stack the pot with the carrots on top of the pot with the stew. When the carrots are tender stir them into the stew with the peas. Continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes until the peas are tender.

Makes 4 servings.

I’ve never made short ribs in anything other than my Sun Oven so I can’t really compare them to those prepared in a traditional oven or a slow-cooker. I can compare them to the ones I’ve had in restaurants. They’re just as good and a whole lot cheaper.

Sun Oven Braised Short Ribs with Herbes de Provence

Ingredients

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds short ribs

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 onions, sliced

2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 celery rib, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 teaspoons herbes de Provence

1 cup dry red wine

1 cup chicken broth

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup pitted black olives

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

In a small bowl stir together the flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pat the ribs dry and lightly dredge in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the ribs on all sides. Transfer the ribs to a plate. Discard the fat from the pot.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot and sauté the onions, carrots, and celery until just beginning to brown. Stir in the garlic and herbes de Provence. Add the wine and boil until reduced by half, then stir in the broth, tomatoes, and vinegar. Bring to a simmer and return the ribs to the pot. Cover and transfer the pot to the Sun Oven. Braise until the ribs are fork tender, 3 to 4 hours.

Using a slotted spoon transfer the ribs to a bowl. Let the sauce cool slightly, then skim the fat from the top. Stir in the olive. Adjust for salt and pepper. Return the meat to the pot.

Serve with noodles, polenta, or potatoes.

Makes 4 servings

Almost every Sunday in kitchens across Northern Italy you’ll find a large pot of “Brodo di Carne” simmering on the stove.

The broth is used throughout the week in risottos and soups.

The meat is sliced up and served with pesto like sauce called “Salsa Verde” (not to be confused with the Mexican salsa of the same name) or “mostarda di cremona”.

I like to use the meat for sandwiches to go into packed lunches.

Sun Oven Italian Meat Broth

Ingredients

For the Broth

4 pounds beef chuck, with bone

2 small onions, peeled

2 carrots, peeled

2 celery stalks, with leaves

3 bay leaves

5 whole cloves

3 juniper berries (optional)

1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

12 cups water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

Remove the leveling tray from the Sun Oven and place a wire rack on the floor of the cooking chamber before setting it out to preheat.

Combine all the ingredients in a large stock pot. Cover and cook in the Sun Oven 3 to 4 hours. Remove the meat. Strain the broth in a colander lined with cheese cloth. Discard the solids. Let broth cool then skim the fat off.

Salsa Verde

1 bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley, leaves only

Handful of fresh basil leaves

3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1/2 spring onion, white only, chopped

1/2 clove garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a paste.

Solar Braised Pot Roast

Ingredients

3 1/2 pound boneless chuck roast

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon herbs de Provence

Kosher salt

Pepper

1 large onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

1/3 cup dry red wine

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut lengthwise

Preparation

Set Global Sun Oven out to preheat.

Heat the oil in a heavy pot just large enough to hold the roast over medium high heat. Pat the meat dry with paper towels. Season with herbs de Provence and salt and pepper to taste. Brown the roast in the pot, about 5 minutes per side. Lift the meat out of the pot and arrange the onions and garlic on the bottom of the pot making a bed for the roast to rest on. Add the wine and the bay leaf, cover and transfer the pot to the Sun Oven. Cook until the meat is fork tender, 3 to 4 hours. About 1/2 hour before the end of the cooking time add the carrots. Remove from Sun Oven and let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

I’d be the first to admit that pasta, with the exception of baked pasta dishes such as lasagna or macaroni and cheese, is better when cooked the traditional way; in a large pot of rapidly boiling water. However, it is possible to make decent pasta in the Sun Oven. I’d just say it’s something I’d save for emergency situations, camping, or when I need something to blog about.

One Pot Sun Oven Pasta and Meatballs

Ingredients

2 cups pasta, cavatappi or fusilli

1 tablespoon olive oil

2/3 cup water

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs

1/3 cup dry red wine

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

Preparation

Set Global Sun Oven out to preheat.

Coat a large oval roasting pan with cooking spray. Scatter pasta in the pan and toss with olive oil. Add water and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Place bread crumbs in a large bowl and stir in wine, let sit until wine is absorbed. Stir in egg, garlic, 1/4 cup of the Romano cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add beef to bread crumb mixture and combine well with a fork. Form 16 even balls. Arrange meatballs on top of pasta in roasting pan. Season tomatoes with 1/8 teaspoon salt and and pepper to taste. Pour tomatoes over and around meatballs. Sprinkle remaining Romano cheese over tomatoes, cover and cook in Sun Oven until meatballs are cooked through, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.