Sometimes I walk into the kitchen, take a cookbook off the shelf, start on a recipe, and end up with something significantly different. Tonight was one of those times. I started out intending to make Chicken with Chorizo and Sherry but ended up with this stew. As usual there was a reason I made the change made sense to me at least. In this case I found a Tobago Seasoning Pepper that I had thawed but not used. These relatives of habaneros, with all the flavor and little of the heat, are a beautiful red so it seemed a shame to use them with tomatoes that would diminish their splendor. And I could not see overwhelming that lovely flavor with the paprika that the original recipe specified. (If you do not have any Tobago Seasoning Peppers use another red chili of your choice.) Finally, it just made sense to add the potatoes and green beans to the casserole rather than cooking them separately.
Turn the oven on to 375° (350° for convection). Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat a bit of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and brown them on all sides then move to an oven-proof casserole with a lid. In the same pan cook the chorizo slices until done and add to the casserole with the chicken.
Adjust the fat in the pan, pouring some off or adding a bit of oil, then put in the onions. Sauté until softened, 4 minutes or so, then add the garlic and pepper. Cook another 2 minutes. Pour in the sherry and let the alcohol boil out for a few seconds before adding the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes.
Meanwhile put the potatoes, green beans, and bay leaves into the casserole with the chicken and chorizo. Pour the sauce over all, cover, and place in the oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are done. Remove the bay leaves and serve.
The area of Massachusetts and Rhode Island surrounding New Bedford, called the South Coast, is home to a large population of the descendants of immigrant Portuguese fishermen. Those fishermen, or course, caught the prized fish of the region, cod, and certainly ate it regularly with the spicy chourico sausage they had brought from their homeland. This hearty chowder, reminiscent of the cioppino the Portuguese introduced to the San Francisco Bay area, is perfect for a winter’s night with a nor’easter howling outside.
Heat a 6-quart enameled Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. 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 it is 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. Then add the potatoes and stir for a couple of minutes or until coated with the fat in the pan. Finally pour in enough stock to just cover the potatoes, turn up the heat to bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and green beans to the pot and simmer, uncovered, for another 10 minutes. Season with a generous grind of black pepper and salt to taste. Gently stir in the fish—you do not want to break it—and simmer for a final 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle on the cilantro. Let the chowder to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
The cuisine of the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan is known for its bold flavors of chili, garlic, and the unique Sichuan peppercorn (Zanthoxylum piperitum). This recipe is an amalgam of several I found online and in cookbooks in my library—I will spare them the embarrassment of citation by name—and I make no claims about its authenticity. In China the green beans would likely be long beans (Vigna unguiculata). If you can find them by all means use them in place of ordinary green beans. The various hot pastes make this a rather spicy dish. You can tone it down by reducing or omitting the hot chili sauce and hot bean sauce but do not cut down on the Sichuan peppercorn or chili soy bean paste as their flavors are essential. If you prefer a somewhat sweeter dish replace the hot bean paste with hoisin sauce. Note that this recipe should include green onions but I had none on hand so I just left them out. If you have some shred a couple and add them toward the end of cooking. Serves 2 INGREDIENTS 8 ounces pork loin 2 tsp. Sichuan peppercorns, ground 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 1 Tbsp. corn starch 6 ounces green beans 1 Tbsp. minced garlic 1 Tbsp. chili soy bean paste 1 Tbsp. Sichuan hot chili sauce 1 Tbsp. hot bean sauce 2 Tbsp. oil ¼ cup water Steamed white rice to serve METHOD Cut the pork into shreds about the size and shape of a large wooden kitchen match (this is much easier if you partially freeze the meat first). Put into a bowl, add the Sichuan peppercorn, soy sauce, and corn starch. Mix well with your fingers and set aside. Trim the green beans and, if long, cut into 1½ to 2 inch lengths. Measure out the garlic and sauces into small bowls. Heat a wok on medium-high heat then add the oil. When hot stir-fry the pork shreds until no surface pink is visible, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the green beans and stir-fry for 1 minute then stir in the sauces and cook for another minute or 2. Finally, add the water and scrape the sides of the wok to dissolve the bits stuck to it. Serve immediately over steamed rice.
This year I promised to emphasize basic techniques rather than specific recipes. Stew, which is really nothing but a very thick soup, is one of the basics that turn up in every cuisine in one form or another. But all stews have a few things in common: a protein, a starch, vegetables, and sauce. Fish and shellfish, potatoes, leeks and tomatoes, and fish stock make bouillabaisse. Lamb, potatoes, peas and carrots, and roux-based gravy make Irish stew. And chourico, potatoes, green beans, and tomato sauce make a Portuguese Chourico Stew. I like to make my stews heavy on the vegetables and light on the protein because that is simply healthier and more economical. The general method for stew is to brown the meat in a pot, remove the meat and sauté any root vegetables, return the meat to the pot along with the rest of the vegetables and the sauce, cover and simmer until done. Fish stews omit the browning of the protein but otherwise follow the same game plan. That’s it. Simple.
This recipe I adapted from one at the Gasper Sausage Company’s web site. If you live in or near to New England you are probably fortunate enough to find their products in your local supermarket. Otherwise you can order them online.
Oh, and yes, I did post a similar recipe in September. This serves two generously.
Heat the oil in a suitable pot (I use a 3-quart Dutch oven) and render the chourico until nicely browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and adjust the oil in the pan as needed. Sauté the onion until softened, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute. If there is residue stuck to the bottom of the pan, pour in a small amount of water and deglaze it with a wooden spoon.
Put the rest of the ingredients into the pot and stir to combine. Add water, about 2 cups, to just cover the vegetables. Stir in the pimentón if using. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are done. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
This is dish is from the cookbook I got for Christmas: Rick Bayless and Deann Groen Bayless, Mexican Everyday (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2005) 254-257. Since I followed the recipe in the book pretty closely reproducing it here would be tantamount to plagerism so I refer you to the original. The only change I made was to use chicken tenders instead of thighs because that is what I had on hand. I do plan to make with thighs, though, because they are more robust and would stand up to the flavorful mole better. Enjoy!
When I get boneless chicken breasts with rib meat attached, I trim the so-called “tenders” off the breast and save them in a bag in the freezer for whenever I need pieces of chicken for fajitas or stir fry. So, I thawed a half pound of chicken strips, cut them into bite-sized pieces and stir fried them with onion, celery, green beans, and a generous amount of Chinese chili paste with garlic. Add some steamed rice and skip the take out.
Technically, I suppose, these should not be called spiedies unless they are cooked on a skewer. However, in Binghamton cubes of meat marinated in spiedie marinade are usually called spiedies regardless of how they are cooked. And while you can make your own spiedie marinade I really like the bottled ones sold by Salamida and Lupo’s, two local companies. Even though spiedies are not well known outside of the Southern Tier of New York, spiedie marinade is now widely available in the Eastern US.
Locals in Binghamton argue endlessly about whether spiedies are of Greek or Italian origin. I suspect that although the name is Italian, the marinade is Greek because it always contains mint. No matter, though, they go very well with anything from an Italian roll to Greek-style vegetables as I have done here, garnished with tzatziki.
Put the pork cubes in a large plastic bag and add enough spiedie marinade to cover well. Close the bag squeezing out as much air as possible. Refrigerate at least overnight; preferably for a couple of days. (Any spiedies that you do not use right away can be frozen in the bag.)
Set a rack 4 inches below the broiler and preheat on high. Heat a large cast iron skillet first over medium heat then when well warmed over very high heat until very hot. Remove the spiedies from the bag, letting any excess drip back, and place in the hot skillet. Turn off the heat and place under the broiler for about 10 minutes or until done and lightly browned.
Preheat over to 350°. Combine the garlic, herbs, stock, and olive oil in large bowl. Add the potatoes and toss until well coated. Spread the potatoes in a single layer in a baking and scrape anything left in the bowl over them. Sprinkle with kosher salt and a good grind of black pepper. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. If the potatoes have stuck to the baking dish, just scrape them up with a nylon spatula.
Sauté the onions and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the green beans, tomatoes, herbs, and stock. Stir to combine, cover, and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat a bit, and reduce the stock or water until nearly evaporated. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Line a strainer with cheesecloth and put the yoghurt in it to drain for at least 30 minutes. Grate the cucumber, place in a colander, sprinkle with the salt, and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
Rinse the cucumber well to remove the salt then twist in a kitchen towel to remove as much water as possible. Combine in a bowl with the yoghurt, herbs, garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.
When I don’t want to go a lot of trouble for dinner I make stew. This recipe, that I adapted from one on the sausage manufacturer’s website, www.gasparssausage.com, features spicy pork chourico and fresh ingredients from the farmers’ market. Incidentally, while Gasper’s sausages (that’s all they make) are widely available in the Northeast you may not be able to find them in your local supermarket. You could substitute any spicy smoked sausage, but Gasper’s are so good I recommend ordering some online.
1 Gasper’s chourico sausage, ½ pound
Olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small hot chile, seeded and minced
2 cups tomato sauce, I use homemade but canned would work (see my post of September 13)
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 tsp. pimentón or paprika
8 ounces green beans, halved
Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Film the bottom with olive oil and sauté the chourico for a few minutes until the fat is rendered out. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, and chile. Continue to cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, water, and potatoes. Season with pimentón. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 25 to 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir in green beans, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, or until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve alone or with a green salad.
Albóndigas, small meatballs similar to koftas, are believed to have been brought to Spain by the Moors. The Spanish in turn introduced them to Mexico where they are often served in soup. Paella, from the Spanish word for pan, is a rice dish cooked in an open pan on the stovetop making it a bit tricky to master. While in the US most people often think of paella as the wonderful Valenciana version made with seafood, chorizo, and saffron, it can be made with all sorts of ingredients as I have done here.
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 small red chile of medium heat, optional
1 egg
¼ cup masa harina
¼ cup water
1 pound ground beef, I used ground chuck
Flour or masa for dredging
Extra virgin olive oil
1 cup medium or short grain white rice
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups beef, lamb, or chicken stock
Salt and pepper
6 ounces fresh or frozen green beans, preferably French cut
Put the garlic cloves in a food processor and mince finely. Add the onion and pepper, if using, and chop finely. Combine the egg, masa, and water with the vegetable in the food processor and process until smooth. Add the ground beef and pulse until well mixed and the consistency of a very thick mousse. It should be much smoother than an Italian-style meatball. Moisten your hands to prevent sticking and form the meat into small meatballs about 1 inch in diameter, about ¾ ounces each.
Heat about 2 tbsp. of the oil in a paella pan or wide shallow skillet. Working in batches, dredge the meatballs lightly in the masa or flour, shaking off any excess, and roll around in the pan until well browned. Replenish the oil between batches if needed. When done, wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
Heat another tablespoon of oil in the pan and when hot fry the onion and rice together until the onion is soft and the rice chalky, about 4 minutes. Pour in the wine and while it is cooking down spread the rice out evenly in the pan. Mix the tomato sauce and stock then pour half of it over the rice. Arrange the meatballs on top and pour in the rest of the liquid. Do not mix. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, shaking the pan from time to time, for 10 minutes. Strew the green beans on top and continue cooking, still shaking, until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 to 15 minutes. Note that the rice will form a crust at the bottom of the pan. That is the sign of good paella.
Shrimp, especially large ones, are wonderful cooked on a charcoal grill with a hint of wood smoke. To balance the smokiness of the shrimp I have added a bit of bacon to the green beans. Simple white rice makes a great accompaniment. It may seem that there is a lot prep work in this recipe but much of it can be done ahead. The actual cooking only takes a few minutes.
½ pound green beans, fresh or thawed if frozen
¼ cup raw almonds
½ slice bacon, about ½ ounce
10 large tail-on shrimp, about 12 ounces, thawed if frozen and deveined
1 Tbsp. melted butter
Old Bay seasoning
1 cup, about six ounces, long-grain white rice
2 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
Put a small chunk of hickory and 4 bamboo skewers into water to soak.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Trim the ends off the green beans, but leave them whole. Put the beans into the rapidly boiling water and blanch for 4 minutes. While they are cooking prepare a large bowl of ice water. Drain the beans and plunge them into the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again and set aside.
Bring a cup of water to boil and add the almonds. Blanch for about 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Remove the skins and sliver the almonds lengthwise with a sharp knife. Heat an ungreased cast iron skillet over high heat and toast the almonds, tossing regularly, until they are just brown and fragrant. Be careful not to let them burn. Remove immediately to a small bowl and set aside.
Prepare a charcoal grill for direct cooking over high heat. Place the hickory chunk on the edge of the coals.
Combine the rice and water in a small pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until done.
Render the bacon in a non-stick skillet until crisp, remove, and set aside. You should have a light film of bacon fat in the pan.
Thread the shrimp on the skewers, using two skewers for each serving of 5 shrimp to prevent them turning on the grill. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with Old Bay. Repeat on the other side.
About 5 minutes before the rice is done, put the shrimp over the hot coals. Grill for about 3 minutes on a side.
While the shrimp are cooking, heat the skillet with bacon fat on medium-high heat, add the green beans, and toss to heat through. Add the reserved bacon and almonds. Toss for another minute or so.
To serve, place a serving of rice on a plate, lay the shrimp skewer across it, and spoon the green beans next to the rice.
