Bear Cuisine

The Paschal Lamb

This is another winner from Christine Hickman's class, "Pasqua Italiana" (Italian Easter) class. This is a simple, but incredibly rich, Lamb Stew from Sicily. This, a crusty loaf of bread and a salad would make an amazing meal.

Sicilian Easter Lamb Stew

 

SICILIAN EASTER LAMB STEW

(serves 8)

1. 2 TBS EVOO
2. 1 onion, minced
3. 4 pounds boneless lamb stewing meat,cut in large chunks
4. 2 3/4 cups meat broth (enough to cover the lamb completely)
5. 6 egg yolks
6. Juice of 4 lemons
7. 1 pint heavy cream
8. 1 TBS corn starch for very 2 cups liquid, dissolved in 1/4 cup water (optional)
9. Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large casserole warm the oil and saute the onion until it is translucent. Add the lamb pieces and cover with broth. Cook over medium-low heat until the lamb is tender. This could take anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours.

Remove the lamb from the broth and keep it warm, Degrease the broth. (The recipe may be done ahead to this point. If you do, you can chill the broth and remove the fat when it has solidified. You can reheat the lamb in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes.)

Warm the broth off the fire. Whisk in the egg yolks and lemon juice and mix well. over a very low flame whisk in the cream bit by bit.

Turn the fire up to medium and slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture, whisking to prevent lumps from forming.As the sauce thickens, add the lamb, season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Blanquette de Veau

A while back a reader suggested that I needed more interesting titles for my posts. He thought my content was pretty good, but that my titles were boring. Ouch. Since then, I've tried to think of snappier titles for posts, but I'm not always successful. Sometimes, the  bare statement of fact seems enough and if it isn't, that's all I could come up with. So, today it's just the name of the dish. Maybe having the title in French will help.

Blanquette de veau is a dish I have read about for years and wanted to make ever since Julia Child brought it to my attention. But there was this thing about not using veal because it was raised so inhumanely. Then when some farmers were raising it responsibly, I couldn't find a source. Finally, I have found a source for humanely and sustainably raised veal.  ( D'artagnan) No more excuses.

I chose a recipe from Saveur Cooks Authentic French. After I made it I discovered that a "real" Blanquette must have white pearl onions and mushrooms. This one doesn't have either. And the meat should never be browned. This recipe tells you to brown the meat. So, this isn't really a real Blanquette; but I will tell you that it was delicious. So, we can call this veal stew and tip our chef's toque to the Lyonnais cook, Arlette Hugon who liked a more deeply flavored dish than the traditional version.

"Blanquette" de Veau

"BLANQUETTE" DE VEAU

1. 2 1/2 pounds veal shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2"-3" pieces
2. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3. 1 tablespoon flour
4. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5. 1 yellow onion, chopped
6. 2 cloves garlic, minced
7.  2 1/2 cups dry white wine
8. 1 small leek, white part only, washed znd chopped
9. 3 sprigs fresh thyme
10. 3 bay leaves
11. 1 cup beef stock
12. 1 lemon, halved
13. 1 cup heavy cream
14. 2 tablespoons capers, drained

 

Season the meat with salt and pepper, then dust with flour. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add veal and brown on all sides. Remove pieces as they are done and set aside. When all the veal is browned, return it to the pot, add onions and garlic and cook,stirring frequently, until the vegetables are golden. this should take about 10 minutes.

Add wine, leeks, thyme and bay leaves to the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the stock. Cover the pot and simmer until the veal is tender about 1 1/2 hours. ( I put the pot in the oven and cook at 350 degrees F. for about the same amount of time. This way I don't have to worry about scorching on the bottom of the pot.)

 Remove the veal from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside. Squeeze the juice from the lemon halves into the sauce and add the lemon shells. Stir in cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes. Remove the lemon halves, bay leaves and thyme. Transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve and return to the pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper, return the veal to the pot and heat through for about 10 minutes. Serve garnished with capers.

Serve with noodles or white rice.

Slow-Roasted Boneless Pork Shoulder

I  read a version of this recipe years ago in one of the first River Cafe Cookbooks and have wanted to make it ever since. This winter we had a beautiful pork shoulder resting in the freezer just waiting for the proper time to become our dinner. The Canal House cooks love pork cooked this way and offered a rendition that was very close to my memory of the River Cafe version. We invited friends over to share this with us and they just loved it. It is the perfect dinner party recipe because you can relax and enjoy your guests.

SLOW-ROASTED BONELESS PORK SHOULDER

(serves 6 to 8)

1. 1 six to seven pound boneless pork shoulder
2. 1 handful fresh rosemary, parsley or other herb leaves, finely chopped
3. 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4. Salt and pepper
5. 1/2 lemon thinly sliced

Lay the meat on a clean work surface, fat side down. Season it with chopped herbs, garlic and plenty of salt and pepper. Arrange the slices of lemon on top. Gather the loose folds of the pork together to enclose the seasonings and make a nice neat package by trussing the roast shut with kitchen twine. Rub salt and pepper all over the roast. Cover the meat and refrigerate it for a few hours, or, for more flavor, overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Put the roast into an enameled cast iron pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cover the pot and slide it into the oven. Roast the pork (resisting the urge to check on it as it cooks) until it is fully tender and a lot of the juices have accumulated in the pot, about 8 hours. Remove the lid and continue cooking the roast until it is golden brown on top and the juices have reduced a bit, 30-60 minutes.

Let the roast rest for 10-15 minutes before carving. Serve with the juices.

 

Asian Spaghetti

The other day I was looking in the freezer and the pantry as I was trying to decide what to cook for dinner.The freezer offered up a pound of hamburger and ground pork while the pantry revealed a package of spaghetti just waiting to be cooked. I remembered that Ming Tsai's latest cookbook, One-Pot Meals had a recipe that would use all three of these ingredients. Even though the kid wasn't around I know that this would have pleased her; she might even have asked for seconds.

The soy sauce adds a mysterious dimension to the sauce and gives it great depth of flavor. Ming says that this will feed four. I would say that it would satisfy six hungry people.

Asian Spaghetti

1. 1 pound spaghetti
2. Kosher salt
3. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the pasta
4. 2 large onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
5. 2 tablespoons minced garlic
6. 1 pound ground beef
7. 1 pound ground pork
8. freshly ground black pepper
9. One 32-ounce dan roma tomatoes with their liquid
10. 1/4 cup soy sauce
11. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
12. 1/2 cup loosely packed Thai basil

 

Fill a large bowl with water and add ice cubes. In a large pot, cook the pasta in abundant boiling salted water until al dente, about 11 minutes, drain, and ad to the bowl. When the pasta is cold, drain, coat lightly with oil, and set aside.

Heat the pot over medium-high heat. Add the 1 tablespoon oil and when hot, add the onions and garlic. Saute, stirring, until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the beef and the pork, season with salt and pepper, and saute, stirring to break up the meat, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their liquid, the soy sauce, tomato paste, and basil and bring to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by a quarter about 25 minutes. Add the reserved pasta to the pot and stir gently. transfer to a platter and serve.

Sara Moulton at Las Cosas

John Vollertsen of Las Cosas Cooking School in Santa Fe creates some wonderful cooking classes himself and he brings in some outstanding chefs and cooks from time to time. This month Sara Moulton, formerly of Gourmet magazine and The Food Network was in town to promote her latest cookbook and Chantal cookware. She demonstrated several recipes from her new book and extolled the virtues of Chantal.  (Chantal may replace All Clad in my cookware affections.)

Sara Moulton is a very funny person and an accomplished culinary professional. I admit that I attended this event mostly out of curiosity. "What is she like?" I wanted to know. Well, she is short. About 5 feet tall and by her account this is the first thing that people say to her. How rude! But I did notice and comment on the fact to Kay who accompanied me on this excursion. She also has a full repertoire of stories about many of the chefs we see on television or read about. The evening  was a bit like dishing with the girls at work.

JOHNNY VEE AND SARA MOULTON

 

Her book is extremely practical for those of us who cook most nights and don't always want to spend a lot of time or money on the task. Last night I tried her recipe for Hungarian Chicken Livers and it was outstanding. (If you don't like chicken livers, you can skip the rest of this post. But don't dismiss this book. I think you will find many foods you do like in Sara Moulton's Everyday Family Dinners.)

HUNGARIAN CHICKEN LIVERS

(4 to 6 servings)

1. 1 pound chicken livers
2. 1 cup whole milk
3. 1 large onion
4. 1 red bell pepper
5. 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon Wondra
6. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
7. 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
8. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
9. 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
10. 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
11. 1/3 cup dry white wine
12. 1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
13. 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

1.Trim the chicken livers and separate them into halves if they are still attached. Combine the livers and milk in a small bowl and chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, thinly slice the nion (about 2 cups) and bell pepper (about 1 1/2 cups).

2. Spread out 1 cup flour in a pie plate lined with wax paper or parchment. Drain the livers and season them with salt and pepper to taste. Working in batches, toss the livers in the flour, lifting the wax paper on both sides to move the livers around; transfer to a strainer and shake off the excess flour.

3. Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot. Saute the liver for 4 to 5 minutes, turning frequently, until they are golden on all sides. Transfer the livers to a bowl and set aside.

4. When the livers have been removed from the skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil along with the onion. Reduce the heat to medium and saute the onion, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until it is golden, add the bell pepper and cook for 3 minutes more.

5. Add the tomato paste, paprika, caraway seeds and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 1 tablespoon flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the white wine and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 minute. Whisk in 1 cup chicken stock and simmer for 3 minutes more; add more chicken stock if the sauce sems too thick. Return the livers to the skillet and cook just until they are hot and cooked through. Stir in the sour cream, if using and b lack pepper to taste and serve.

 

I served this over egg noodles. Sooo good!