Lamb and barley are a classic. Avoid the more expensive cuts; lamb shanks and even lamb neck bones flavor and thicken the stew. Preliminaries Trim excessive fat from the lamb.Heat pan And decide what the fat will be: olive oil, or a combo of butter, bacon or nearly any other fat and/or oil.Heat oil And start to rummage for the veggies.Brown lamb And chop the onion and garlic.Sauté onion and garlic As usual, the onion is first. Saute till translucent (or till browned.) … [Read more...]
Kielbasa and Kapusta
Polish kielbasa sausage is traditionally prepared in a sauerkraut stew called kapusta. Our steps work perfectly. Preliminaries Slice the kielbasa at an angle into large chunks. Optionally soak dried mushrooms in enough hot (but not boiling) water to cover. Reserve the soaking water. Optionally start the water for noodles. Heat pan A dutch oven works well to contain all that bacon splatter. (You could also consider butter. If you only pull out the … [Read more...]
Bouillabaisse, Chowder, Cioppino, Fish Curry
Seafood stews from around the world have distinct ingredients but the similarities are clear. Since there is no meat to brown, steps 2 - 5 go quickly, so get a early start on the veggies! Preliminaries For a total of 2 - 4 pounds of raw seafood: peel and devein shrimp (or buy it that way), scallops or sturdy white fish such as cod or halibut cut into in large chunks. For extra flavor and panache, scrub clean a pound of clams, mussels or octopus. Rinse in a colander, put the … [Read more...]
Paella and Jambalaya
Paella and jambalaya are both dry stews with the rice cooked right in the pot along with smoked sausage and/or ham, chicken and shellfish. PreliminariesIf the shellfish is frozen, defrost and clean: peel and devein the shrimp, scrub the clams and/or mussels. (The clams in the image above were pulled out of a box of Trader Joe's frozen steamer clams. No scrubbing needed. They tasted quite good considering the ease and convenience.) Heat pan And decide what the fat will be: olive oil for the … [Read more...]
Cacciatore, Tomato Sauce or Italian Gravy
Hunter stew, tomato sauce or gravy? Grandma was Sicilian and made a thin, soupy sauce. Like most Americans, I like mine thick. A very liquidly stew is a soup; a stew poured over a starch is a gravy or sauce. Stretching one ingredient and pulling back on another creates a different dish, but why bother with a different recipe? Preliminaries Optionally cut up a chicken (or buy it that way), cut Italian sausage into chucks (or leave whole, but larger pieces take longer to cook.) The image below … [Read more...]
