Catalan Stew with the warm flavours of chocolate and cinnamon

A few years ago I spent Christmas in Paris. It was two weeks of bistros, fine dining and petits dejeuners. And Paris is where I saw the movie Julie and Julia! It was a rainy afternoon and cold so rather than walk and see more sights I chose the coziness of a movie theatre.

But I digress. I remember one meal in particular at a small quiet yet classy restaurant on Ile St. Louis which was within walking distance of my hotel. I ordered a simple beef stew however, it was anything but simple. The flavours were complex, well balanced, beef perfectly tender with hints of chocolate and orange. I didn't take notes but I thought it was perhaps a daube, a Provencal beef stew, yet I have not found a daub recipe with chocolate. This Catalan stew comes close to what I remember.

Catalan Stew

8 oz. pancetta or other unsmoked cured pork
1/3 c. quality cooking oil such as olive, camelina or organic canola
4 lb. stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
2  medium sized yellow onions, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 c. beef stock
1 c. dry red wine
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 - 4 inch cinnamon sticks
4 sprigs fresh thyme or dried
3 strips orange peel
3 tbsp. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
fresh Italian parsley, garnish

Turn oven to 350 F.

In an ovenproof pot add a tablespoon of the cooking oil and chopped pancetta. Saute until lightly browned. Remove to a bowl.

In three batches brown the beef in the same pan and adding more cooking oil as necessary. Remove to the same bowl as pancetta.

Deglaze pot with red wine vinegar. Add to beef mixture.

Add another tablespoon or two of cooking oil. On medium low heat saute onions and garlic until tender but not browned. Add meat back to pot. Add the rest of the ingredients except Italian parsley.

With the lid on the pot cook in the oven for about 2 hours or until beef is tender. Cool. Refrigerate overnight. Next day remove any congealed fat before warming to serve. Serve in heated bowls garnished with chopped Italian parsley. Or as I did, top a dollop of mashed potatoes with the stew and garnish with roasted baby carrots. Serves 8.

Making Membrillo

Another flavour of the fall and winter season that I adore is quince. Quince is a pome like apples and pears. That means it has a core with usually 5 seeds surrounded by the fleshy fruit. Unlike apples and pears, however, quince is usually not edible without cooking. They can be rock hard. However, they are similar to apples in that they contain natural pectin.

I was delighted to find quince at my local grocery store. They make a lovely jelly or jam for toast, but I have always wanted to make membrillo. This is also called quince paste and is popular in Spain where it is paired with manchego cheese.

The light coloured flesh develops a beautiful rosy hue as it cooks.










Membrillo

4 pounds quince, washed, peeled, cored, roughly chopped

1 vanilla bean

2 strips (1/2 inch by 2 inches each) of lemon peel with pithy white part removed

3 Tbsp lemon juice

About 4 cups of granulated sugar

Place quince  large saucepan and cover with water. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add vanilla seeds, pod and lemon peel and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook until the quince is  fork tender (30-40 minutes).

Strain water. Discard the vanilla pod but keep the lemon peel. Purée the quince in a food processor or blender. Measure the quince purée. Add an equal amount of sugar. So if you have 4 cups of purée, you'll need 4 cups of sugar. Return the quince purée to the large pan. Heat to medium-low. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add lemon juice.

Continue to cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1-1 1/2 hours, until the quince paste is very thick and has a deep orange pink color.

Preheat oven to a low 125°F (52°C). Line an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment paper. Spray a thin coating of oil on the parchment paper. Pour the cooked quince paste into the parchment paper-lined baking pan. Smooth out the top of the paste so it is even. Place in the oven for about an hour to help it dry. Remove from oven and let cool.

To serve, cut into squares or wedges and present with Manchego cheese. To eat, take a small slice of the membrillo and place it on top of a slice of the cheese. Store membrillo in an airtight container in the a cold room. It will keep for months.

Virtual Supper Club - All Things Green

This month the Virtual Supper Club is hosted by Susan of The Spice Garden. In honour of St. Patrick's Day we are selecting dishes with a little green! And, oh! Does this sound like a feast. Enjoy!

Sandi -Whistestop Café Cooking Lemony Snap Peas 
Jerry - Jerrys Thoughts, Musings and Rants  Salmon with Cucumber Salad and Dill Sauce
Val- More Than Burnt Toast     Creamy Feta Spinach Dip  
Susan Linquist –The Spice Garden    New Hampshire Maple Mustard Salad Dressing
Roz - La Bella Vita    Pesto Caesar Salad

This Iberian dish is similar to shrimp scampi. Good bread to soak up the rich sauce is a must.

I made this dish with both my giant shrimp and then again with smaller prawns more like a large shrimp. I like the flavour of the smaller prawns better. It was more assertive. This would be great as part of a tapas meal or shared as an appetizer. Using the giant prawns it is definitely a main course.
 

Shrimp in Green Sauce

    3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

    6 garlic cloves, peeled

    1 cup coarsely chopped green onions

    1 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

    2 1/4 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

    1/3 cup dry white wine

    6 ounces sourdough or French bread, torn into 6 (1-ounce) pieces

    Preheat oven to 500°.

    Place olive oil and garlic in a food processor; process until garlic is finely chopped, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Add green onions and parsley in food processor; pulse until minced. Spoon garlic mixture into a large bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, red pepper, and shrimp to garlic mixture, and toss well to coat.

    Spoon the shrimp mixture into a shallow roasting pan, and add the wine. Bake at 500° for 7 minutes or until the shrimp are done, stirring once. Serve with bread.

Smaller prawns were used in this dish.

Cooking Class Monday - Pressure Cookers

Using a pressure cooker offers two benefits. You can use less expensive foods for healthy meals and you can cook them quickly.

I regularly cook dried chickpeas without presoaking in 15 minutes or a turkey stock in 30 minutes of active cooking time. The term active cooking time indicates the prescribed cooking time but you must allow the cooker to cool to room temperature before you can remove the lid. This may take 10 to 15 additional minutes.

A pressure cooker is a specialized heavy aluminum pot with a lid that locks into place and seals tightly. The lid has a rubber gasket to create the seal. The lid has a regulator that maintains the build up of pressure.  Pressure cookers come with either a jiggle top or with a gauge that rises with the pressure.

Under pressure a higher temperature and greater humidity are reached and the food cooks more quickly. Modern pressure cookers have safety features if too much pressure builds up in the pot.

Liquid is required. The pot has measurement lines to indicate half and two thirds full. The pot must not be filled more than two thirds full. Be sure to submerge any solids so you can accurately read the fill level.

Place food and liquid in pot; secure lid and place on high heat. Once pressure has been reached, reduce heat just to maintain pressure. You can judge that the pressure has been reached by the sound the pressure regulator makes. It will have a constant stream of steam. Start your cooking time now. Continue cooking for the prescribed time and then turn off heat. Allow pot to cool naturally until no steam is being released from pressure regulator. Now the lid can be opened safely.

Pressure cookers can be purchased in most home cookware departments. Price varies from $49 to $250. Usually they are made of an aluminum core with a stainless steel outer surface for easy cleaning and attractive appearance. Their aluminum base maintains a more even temperature so the food does not burn on the bottom.

All parts should be hand washed. The rubber gasket should be removed and washed to remove any greasy or sticky residues. Dry thoroughly before placing the lid on for storage.

Foods that take a long time to cook are ideal to prepare in a pressure cooker. This includes the less tender cuts of meats, dried beans and grains, stews and stocks. The active cooking time will vary but usually is between 10 and 45 minutes. Vegetables and other foods that cook in less than 15 minutes are not good candidates. They will turn out soft and mushy.

Turkey Stock

1 turkey carcass

1 onion

1 stalk celery

1 large carrot

1 or 2 bay leaves

Whole spices including black peppercorns, juniper berries, allspice to equal 1 teaspoon 5mL

Remove all fat and skin from the carcass and discard. Place bones in the pressure cooker. Roughly chop the onion, celery and carrot. Add to pressure cooker. Add whole spices. Fill with cold water to the 1/2 or 2/3 line. Place lid on pot and secure. Place pot on high heat. When the steam regulator allows a steady stream of steam to escape reduce heat just to maintain this level. Cook like this for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and allow the pot to cool naturally until no steam escapes from the regulator. Open.

Strain the solids through a colander over a large bowl. Discard solids. The liquid is the stock and can be used right away, be frozen or pressure canned for future use or pressure canned.

Oxtail Stew Cádiz Style     as shown above

Oxtail is commonly discarded. The gelatin in oxtail creates a silky mouth feel resembling fat but without the calories. The garlic mellows out with the long cooking time so please use the prescribed amount. (Adapted from Tapas the Little Dishes of Spain by Penelope Casas)

2 lbs small oxtail                                                            

1 head garlic, separated and peeled

1 bay leaf

1 whole clove

salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine, optional                                    

1/4 cup canola or olive oil                                                

1 cup water                                                                       

1 cup chicken broth                                                            

Combine all ingredients in your pressure cooker pot. Cook as prescribed in the instructions above for 45 minutes. Turn off heat and let pot cool naturally.

Pour the stew into a strainer. After cooling, pull the meat off the bones and return the broth and meat to the cooking pot. Discard the bay leaf and clove. In a food processor or blender purée the garlic and onion. Beat in about 3/4 cup of the broth gradually, then stir this mixture into the pot. This recipe may be made ahead and reheated. Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer.

Green Olives Sevilla Style

I have always loved olives.  But I have found that most people on the prairies don't really like them as much as I do.  I served these to a friend who hated olives but she did consent to give these a try.  She is now a convert.  This recipe is from Tapas - the Little Dishes of Spain by Penelope Casas.

Green Olives Sevilla Style

7 oz. jar of large green Spanish olives

½ t.            cumin

½ t.            oregano

¼ t.            crushed rosemary

½ t.            thyme

2                bay leaves

½ t.            fennel seed

2                cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled

4 T.            vinegar

4                anchovy fillets

Place the olives in a  glass jar in which they just fit.  Add all the other ingredients, then fill the jar with water.  Shake well and marinate at room temperature for several days.  They will keep for weeks in the refrigerator, but do bring them to room temperature before serving.

Note:  I use the jar the olives came in.  I just drain and put them back in and add the marinade.

Sunny Sunday Sangria

I know, it was probably only a week ago that I was crying in my soup about snow!  But it has been so hot lately that I decided to use one of those cheap bottles of red wine in my cellar and make sangria.

I love sangria and this recipe from Flavours magazine is my favourite.  Just a note, it is potent!!!  Mix with lots of soda water.

I really don't know what they mean by cutting the peel into a long spiral.  I just took each slice of fruit and removed the peel in a long spiral.  I also removed all the white pith.

Spanish Sangria

1 1/2 bottles dry red wine
1 large lemon, thinly sliced with the peel cut into a long spiral
1 large orange, thinly sliced with the peel cut into a long spiral
1/2 lime, thinly sliced with the peel cut into a long spiral
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brandy

1/2 cup orange liqueur
1/4 cup gin
green seedless grapes
2 cups club soda
ice cubes
apple, orange and lemon wheels, for garnish

Combine all ingredients, except soda and ice, in a large glass pitcher.  Stir well, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.  Fill each glass with ice cubes.  Add liquor mixture to each glass to the halfway mark.  Top with club soda.  Garnish with an orange, apple and lemon wheel.