Colombian-Style Lamb Chops a la Criolla

While rice cooks, wash and dry produce.

Halve, peel, and thinly slice half the onion; dice remaining onion into ¼-inch pieces. Trim, peel, and dice carrot into ¼-inch pieces. Core, deseed, and dice bell pepper into ¼-inch pieces. Roughly chop cilantro.

Pat steak* dry with paper towels; thinly slice against the grain.

In a medium bowl, combine steak and sliced onion with mustard, half the cumin, half the garlic powder, a drizzle of oil, a pinch of salt, and pepper until evenly coated.

Set aside to marinate until ready to use in Step 6.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add diced onion, carrot, bell pepper, remaining cumin, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies begin to brown, 3-4 minutes.

Turn heat to low and stir in remaining tomato paste and 1/4 cup water (1/2 cup for 4). Simmer, stirring occasionally, until steak is coated in sauce and steak is cooked to desired doneness, 2-3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Stir beans and their liquid, stock concentrate, half the cilantro, half the tomato paste, remaining garlic powder, and ¼ cup water (½ cup for 4 servings) into pot with veggies. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, undisturbed, until veggies have softened, 6-8 minutes.

Taste and season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat; keep covered until ready to serve.

Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add steak and onion mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until steak is browned and onion is tender, 3-4 minutes. (For 4 servings, work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.)

Reduce heat to low; stir in remaining tomato paste and ¼ cup water (½ cup for 4). Simmer, stirring occasionally, until steak is cooked to desired doneness, 2-3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.