Beef round refers to the meat from the hind leg of the animal that, because it is well exercised, is especially lean and tasty. Sirloin tip, a marketing term for round knuckle, is particularly economical and delicious. I buy a whole cryovac packer cut from our local restaurant supplier, around 12 to 15 pounds, and break down into meal-sized cuts. For this roast I use a sirloin tip center weighing about 2½ pounds. Like all of the tougher cuts of beef, this one is best cooked slowly for an extended period of time. To let the flavor of the beef shine through I add nothing to the meat; I just brown it well in a bit of lard before roasting—one could equally well use butter, oil, or bacon fat. Serve it with mashed potatoes and gravy accompanied by a green vegetable for a classic Sunday dinner or with potatoes and carrots roasted in the skillet you browned the meat in.
Note: a meat thermometer is essential to getting the roast done right.
Preheat oven to 250° (225° for convection). Dry the meat well. Melt the lard in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over high heat. When nearly smoking, brown the meat on all sides turning with tongs, not a fork, so as not to let the juices escape. It should take you around 20 minutes to get the meat well browned.
Put the browned meat into a roasting pan, preferably one with a rack, and cook to an internal temperature of 135°. Place the roast on a cutting board or platter and cover loosely with foil. Allow to rest at least 10 minutes before serving.
Last February I posted a version of this Portuguese-style fish chowder using frozen and canned ingredients. Now that fresh vegetables are abundant I thought it a good time to reprise it with fresh. Alas, the fish I used was frozen since fresh cod is very expensive here but if you can get fresh by all means use it. Remember that the stock is the key to the final result so use a good fish or seafood stock (I made mine from a salmon head and some shrimp shells) but do not use too much—this is a chowder, not a soup. Enjoy it with a glass of wine and perhaps some crusty Portuguese rolls.
Note: chourico is a spicy Portuguese sausage that it pretty readily available in New England and the Northeast. If you cannot find it you can substitute fresh chorizo or kielbasa. If you do use kielbasa, render it before using because it tends to be much fattier than chourico.
Serves 2 to 4
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or enameled Dutch oven over medium heat. When hot add the bay leaves and cook for a few minutes until they turn brown. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 30 seconds or until fragrant and lightly golden. Add the onions and allspice. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chourico and sauté for yet another 5 minutes. Finally, add the potatoes and stir for a couple of minutes to coat with the fat in the pan. Deglaze the pot with the wine then pour in the stock. If needed add a bit of water to just cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
Uncover the pot and stir in the tomatoes and green beans. Season with a generous grind of black pepper and salt to taste. Turn the heat up a bit to maintain a simmer for another 10 minutes.
Gently fold in the fish—you do not want to break it—and simmer for a final 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
The head of cabbage that I bought at the Vestal farmers’ market a few days ago has been eyeing me reproachfully from the back of the kitchen counter threatening to go bad if I did not put it to good use soon. A quick Internet search led me to this interesting recipe that I have adapted to what I had on hand and to a quantity suitable for two. Feel free to use more or fewer vegetables or to substitute whatever you have. As long as you have a good stock as a base it is almost impossible to ruin beef stew. By the way, the tomatoes I used really were brownish red.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over high heat and brown the beef cubes well. Remove and set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium, add a bit more oil if needed, and sauté the onion until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, a minute or two. Pour in the wine and deglaze the bottom of the pot.
Add the tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, raisins, and bay leaves to the pot. Pour on the beef stock and season with salt and pepper. (Go easy on the salt as you can adjust it later if need be.) The stock will not quite cover the other stew ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for an hour, stirring from time to time.
This is Mediterranean-style stew with a light broth is perfect for a summer evening. If it seems familiar that may be because I have posted similar recipes in the past. The ingredients are simple: sausage, a protein, vegetables, and stock. The protein can be chicken thighs, as in this recipe; or it can be fish, shellfish, pork, or whatever—just do not be tempted to leave out the sausage. The vegetables, too, can be whatever you have on hand: peppers, green beans, or squash. I think the potatoes are essential, though. And the stock can be chicken, pork, vegetable, or, as here, duck. Keep the seasoning simple so that the ingredients shine through.
Four servings
Cut the chourico into ⅜-inch slices and the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook the sausage until nicely browned. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
In the same Dutch oven, brown the chicken well. Remove and set aside.
Adjust the fat in the Dutch oven to about 2 tablespoons by either pouring off any excess or by adding a bit more olive oil. Add the onion, pepper, and chili if using. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or until fragrant. Pour in the wine and deglaze the pot. Add the tomatoes and potatoes then return the sausage and chicken to the pot. Stir to combine. Sprinkle on the pimentón. Pour in enough stock to just barely cover the ingredients. Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Cooking longer will just make it better, so if you have the time just uncover and let simmer for a while.
For me, nothing is better with Indian food that a cold Indian lager. Unfortunately Indian beers can be difficult to find in the US. My local Wegman’s had nary a one. I was about to give up when it occurred to me that Jamaica has a large Indian population. Sure enough, Jamaican Red Stripe lager, which is easy to find, was perfect with the Indian dinner I made. Try it.
Greens are a popular dish in many, if not most, cultures. In the Indian and Pakistani Punjab they are called saag and usually are made with mustard greens, sarson, or spinach, palak, and often include potatoes, saag aloo, or yoghurt cheese, saag paneer. In the Punjab, Saag is usually eaten with bread such as na’an or a Pakistani corn bread called makki ki roti however in other part of India and in the West it is often served as a side dish. For the uninitiated American, palak saag will probably be more familiar but do try sarson saag. Its slightly bitter taste, reminiscent of its relative horseradish, makes a nice foil for any of a variety of curries.
Strip off and discard the tough stems from the mustard greens the wash the leaves well. Shake off excess water but do not over-dry. Chop or tear into small pieces. Set aside.
Put the tomato into boiling water for about 10 seconds. Cool under running cold water and remove the peel. Cut in half equatorially and squeeze out the seed. Chop the tomato flesh finely and set aside.
Chop the garlic in a food processor then add the onion and ginger paste. Pulse a few times to make a smooth puree.
Heat the oil in a large pot (I find that a wok works best) over medium-high heat. Fry the asafetida for a few seconds then add the onion mixture. Stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown.
Stir in the turmeric then add the mustard greens and turmeric. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the greens wilt and almost all the liquid has evaporated
Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the garam masala, salt, and lime juice. Cook for a minute or so to allow the flavors to blend.
What we commonly refer to a simply pesto is more properly called pesto alla Genovese, after the Ligurian port of Genoa where it is said to have originated. As with most traditional preparations each cook has a unique version that is purportedly the only authentic one. I make no such claim; I just offer than my particularly garlicky pesto is very good and worthy of a try.
Yield about 1 cup
Put the peeled garlic into a food processor and chop finely. Add the basil leaves and pulse to mince. Turn on the food processor and pour the olive oil in slowly until a paste forms. Scrape down the sides and pulse. Add the parmesan, pignoli, and salt. Pulse to combine then taste and correct salt if needed.
Notes:
1) If you do not have pignoli or prefer not to use them, walnuts or almonds are good substitutes, or you can just leave them out altogether.
2) Since you can make pesto for a small fraction of what it cost to buy, make a lot and freeze it. Lightly oil an ice cube tray, freeze the pesto in it, then store the cubes in a plastic freezer bag.
Salted herbs are used throughout Québec to season stews, soups, and other sauces, especially in the winter when fresh herbs are not available. Recipes vary regionally; some contain turnip, some carrots, some celery leaves, but all have some sort of onion. This combination is typical of Charlevoix, the region along the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River northeast of the city of Québec. Traditionally the chopped herbs and grated vegetables are layered with coarse salt in a small crock. I simplify the process by chopping everything in a food processor, mixing in the salt, and storing the mixture in a clamp-top jar in the refrigerator. I have kept them for several months with no problem but I urge you to smell them before using and discard if they seem off. Usually the herbs are used to salt as well as to flavor food but some people rinse off the salt before using them. I translated and adapted this recipe from the Web site Recettes de Québec.
Yield: about 1½ cups
Grate the carrot finely and set aside. Put the celery leaves and scallions in a food processor and chop, not too finely, you have about ½ cup total. Add the herbs and chop them too. Finally put the grated carrots into the food processor jar and pulse a few times to combine everything. Turn into a bowl and mix in the salt. Pack into a 2-cup (500 ml) clamp-top jar and tamp down gently. Pour in the water, close, and refrigerate. In about a week, pour off the accumulated liquid and your herbes salées are ready to use.
The combination of scallions and beef is rather common in some South Asian cuisine but in the West scallions rarely have a starring role. Here I have sought to give these lovely little onions their chance to shine by using only a bit of beef as a flavoring. The rich homemade brown stock obviates the need for much further seasoning beyond salt and pepper. I finish the South Asian twist by serving the rice with Indian-inspired cucumbers in yoghurt.
Put the beef into a small bowl and add the Thai seasoning sauce or soy sauce. Stir to combine and set aside.
Line a strainer with cheesecloth, set over a bowl, and add the yoghurt. Peel, seed, and shred the cucumber then place it in a colander and sprinkle generously with salt. (Don’t worry; you will be rinsing it off later.) Let both sit for at least a half hour to give up their moisture. Rinse the cucumber well, squeeze out the extra water with your hands or a towel. Put the yoghurt into a bowl and add the cucumber, curry powder, garam masala, and cinnamon. Mix well to combine. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator.
Finely chop the white parts of the scallions and separately cut the green parts crosswise into ½‑inch thick pieces. Bring the stock to a simmer. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium-high heat and brown the meat well. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Adjust the oil in the pan and sauté the onion until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the rice and fry, stirring constantly, until chalky, about 3 minutes. Stir 1 cup of the stock into the rice. Reduce the heat until the rice is simmering gently. Stir constantly until the liquid is nearly absorbed. Continue to add stock, 2 ounces at a time, stirring until nearly absorbed. After you have added 2 cups of stock taste the rice. It should offer just a bit of resistance to the tooth. If it is too hard continue to add stock until it is done. If it is ready fold in the beef and the scallion greens then another 2 ounces of stocks. Stir of a minute to warm the meat through and just wilt the scallions. Mix in the butter if using. Serve hot with a large dollop of the cucumber sauce.
If you follow this blog you know that I advocate buying meat—and most other things—in bulk. That, however, is not without its perils. Recently I bought two 10-pound bags of chicken pieces: one of thighs, the other of breasts. The price was certainly right. The thighs cost just $1.19 a pound and the boneless, skinless breasts $1.89. The problem was that the bags they were packed in leaked. My refrigerator,like most, has crisper drawers for storing fresh vegetables at the bottom, under the lowest shelf. So when I put the bags of chicken on that shelf, which is where they should go, they leaked into the crispers. So, out went four pounds of fresh carrots, a head of celery, and a handful of radishes. The lesson? When storing raw meat in your refrigerator put them on the bottom shelf in a leak-proof container. Restaurant-style plastic storage containers are an inexpensive solution. You can easily find them at any restaurant supply store or your local big-box shoppers club.
