Tag: Food

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Two New Recipes

This past weekend, we made 10 different meals.  Two of the meals got quite a positive response and I was asked to post them here.  The dishes are a Pomegranate and Raspberry Wine Pork and a Mushroom and Barley Stew.  Both dishes are fairly easy to create and I hope you like them.

Pomegranate and Raspberry Wine Pork
Ingredients:
1 pork shoulder (4 – 5 lbs)
2 cups of pomegranate juice (unsweetened)
2 cups of Raspberry wine
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt

Place the pork in a large pot and add the wine and juice together and cook on a stovetop on medium heat for 2.5 hours.  After the first hour, add the black pepper.  After the second hour, add the salt.  The pork is done when it falls apart (like pulled pork).  We served it with the Mushroom and Barley stew.  It also works well with Wild or Brown Rice.

Mushroom and Barley Stew
Ingredients:
2 medium onions diced
4 cups of button mushrooms, chopped (portobello mushrooms may be used instead)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1.5 cups of barley
3 cups of water
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot on medium heat, add the olive oil and onions.  Sweat (cook) the onions until clear, add half of the mushrooms and stir occasionally.  After the mushrooms have cooked down a bit, add the rest of the mushrooms.  Add the barley, garlic, and water.  Continue to simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the barley so that it doesn’t scorch.  The goal is that the barley should be al dente and tender.  Take off of the heat and let set for 5 minutes, stirring at 2.5 minutes and another stir at 5 minutes. Serve.

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Scotch Broth Recipe

Autumn is nearly upon us and the smell of dried leaves, bonfires, and the days grow colder as the nights grow longer.  The harvest festivals of the past brings forth memories of feasts and eventually soups and stews that help keep the chill off of one’s bones.

Feasts of all kinds were found with the wealthy and peasant alike.  Each feast was different from culture to station to family.  Once the feasts were done, leftovers or remnants were often used for soups, stews, or other hearty dishes.

Throughout the British Isles, soups and stew became part of the culture.  It was a time for families and communities to share and to help ward off the chill of the approaching winter.  Scotch broth, a filing soup that originated in Scotland that utilized many of the common ingredients such as lamb and root vegetables, but also added cabbage or leeks and barley.

The proportions and ingredients vary according to the recipe or the availability of ingredients.  In modern England, Scotland, and Wales, Scotch broth is often sold in cans. As with many slow-cooked dishes, Scotch broth tastes even better when re-heated.

The preparation methods varied based on the location.  When there are limited resources, the recipe would require creative use of supplies while offering the best nutritional value.
Original recipes would use one pot to cook everything in it to conserve wood for cooking fires while providing enough for everyone to eat.

Later evolutions of this recipe, would call for a joint, mutton, or lamb covered with water in a pot and simmered until boiling.  Barley would be added until done.  Potatoes would be added with their skins on in a separate pot, so that the starch would not affect the taste. Root vegetables would be added near the end with shredded cabbage added on top prior to serving.

Families will often make small changes to the master recipe.  Some would leave out the onions and replace them with two medium sized leeks, a vegetable that tastes like a very mild onion.  I’ve seen celery replaced with parsnip, fennel, or even a turnip.  If lamb is not available, use beef or a stewing chicken.  If chicken is used, the dish is called ”Hen Broth.”

I invite to try the recipe on your own and once you have experienced it, make your own rendition of it for your family.

Scotch Broth
2 lbs. of stewing lamb with bones
6 cups of cold water
3 TB of barley, washed
2 onions, finely chopped
½ head of a small cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp of thyme
3 TB parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp of sea salt
black pepper to taste

Place the lamb in a large casserole or a dutch oven.  Cover with cold water.  Cover pan with lid and simmer for one hour.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for one more hour.  Discard bay leaf.  Remove lamb.  Separate mean from bones.  Discard the bones and shred the meat into small pieces.  Return meat to pot and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serves 6

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Old Twist on Meatloaf (14th Century English recipe)

From the July issue of Renaissance Magazine

Over the years, my historical research with cooking, recipes, and food has taken me to different cultures and tasting their cuisines.  Occasionally, I will encounter a new tidbit of information that will surprise me as well as culinary professional colleagues and amateur foodies alike.

The modern meatloaf usually consists of a combination of bread or cracker crumbs, eggs, and ketchup; some other ingredients may be added to each recipe making it unique for the geographic region or various family traditions.  Meatloaf has been with us for a very long time, but under different names.

The oldest recorded ground meat recipe can be found in Apicius, an ancient Roman cooking text.  This recipe consisted of finely chopped meat (or mince), combined with pepper, garum (a fermented fish sauce popular In Roman cooking), and pine nuts while its center contained white bread crumbs soaked in wine.  This mince was wrapped in a sheep’s stomach or upper intestines and then baked in a large oven.

Other versions of meatloaf can be traced to German, Belgium, and Holland 5th century recipes.  These central and northern Europeans regional forms of meatloaf usually consisted of minced or ground pork, hard boiled eggs, and bacon with bread soaked in milk or wine to help form the hand-shaped loaf and then baked.   These later forms influenced recipes from other cultures including the Middle Eastern kofta and Italian meatballs.  All meatloaf recipes came about for the same reason; by adding various fillers including bread, rice, or oatmeal to chopped, minced, or ground meat, anyone could stretch a small amount of meat to feed others.  Today, meatloaf has become a mainstay in the comfort food menus in many homes.  In this issue of Renaissance Magazine, I am sharing a meatloaf recipe from 14th century England.
dish 1 color
Meatloaf
2 lbs. (4 cups) ground or minced beef
1 cup of oatmeal
1 / 3 cup of red wine
4 eggs
1 /4 tsp black pepper
1 / 4 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 / 8 tsp ground mace
1 / 8 tsp ground cloves

Combine ingredients in large bowl and shape into a loaf or place in deep casserole pan. Add a pinch of the mace and ground cloves and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Drain off fat and tip onto serving platter and slice up servings. Serves 4-6

Glazed Root Vegetables
4 cups of root vegetables, largely diced (carrots, rutabagas, turnips)
1/2 cup of brown sugar or honey
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground clove
1 / 4 tsp ground ginger
Salt to taste

Cook vegetables in pot of water until tender.  Drain water.  In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and add the brown sugar or honey, cinnamon and cloves.  Continue to stir, slowly adding the brandy to the sauce mixture.  If honey is being used, the sauce will need to be reduced by one half.  Turn up the heat to medium and add the root vegetables. Continue to cook over medium until sauce thickens.  Serves 4.

Unlike the modern meatloaf recipes that have a saltier finish due to the use of ketchup, this recipe has a sweet/spicy finish due to the cloves, cinnamon, and mace.  The oatmeal provides an even binder when combined with the red wine and eggs.  I’ve also partnered this recipe with a side dish of Glazed Root Vegetables.  Both dishes complement each other rather well and may be served with red wine.

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Harira (Beef and Chick Pea Soup)

The cuisine of the Middle East is an  exotic and colorful as the people themselves.  It is indeed a traditional and deeply-rooted way of eating with recipes handed down from mother to daughter or daughter-in-law.

Some of the ingredients in these recipes date from civilizations that go back to earliest known history.  The simple foods of the desert and oasis – lamb, milk turned into yogurt and dates – merge with what was available in the maze of food stalls or souks in the markets of towns and cities. Here, olives of brown, green, red, and black, rice, dried beans of all color and varieties, wheat, peppers, onions and garlic were added.

The results of this merging are creations that are as appealing to the eye as well as the palate.  Beautiful vegetables are hollowed out and filled with seasoned combination of meat, rice, nuts, fruits, and spices.  Generous hospitality is the most important phenomenon in the Near east and no one is ever turned away.  Whether you stop for a visit in the morning or afternoon, a long-handled pot of fragrant coffee, platter of sweets, and a bowl of fruit would appear.  This hospitality would also be found at dinner.  Although the dishes were often easy to create, they were made with the utmost care.  Once of my favorite dishes is Harira, a Moroccan soup.   It’s a rich and delicately spiced  soup-stew of beef, vegetables, and chick peas.  It makes a meal in a bowl or is perfect with a light main dish.

1 lb  beef cubes (1/2 inch)
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp crushed saffron or ground turmeric
1 tbsp butter
1 cup beef broth
1 cup minced tomatoes or 1 small can of tomato paste
2 cups of water
1/4 cup of barley
1 lb of chick peas (equal to one can (drained) or 1 lb soaked chick peas)
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp fresh lemon zest

In a large pan, brown beef and cook carrots, celery and onion with seasonings in butter until tender.  Add broth, tomato paste, water and barley.  Cover and cook over low heat for an hour and 15 minutes.  Add chick peas, tomatoes, parsley and lemon juice.  Cook 15 minutes more or until done, stirring occassionally.  Sprinkle a pinch of lemon vest over each bowl served.  Make about 9 cups.

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Barbecue is Best

Memorial Day is quickly approaching and it is a time to get together, remember those who we have lost, and a time for family.  My own family visits friends, go fishing, and enjoy a nice barbecue.  Proper barbecue (BBQ) is slow-cooking meat at a low temperature for a long time over wood or charcoal. In North America, BBQ originated in the late 1800s during the cattle drives. The cowboys were fed the less than perfect cuts of meat, often brisket, a tough and stringy piece of meat that required five to seven hours of cooking to tenderize. Other barbecue meats used were pork butt, pork ribs, beef ribs, venison and goat.

The slow cooking would allow the toughest of meats to tenderize during the slow cooking process.  It is no secret that I enjoy cooking over a fire.  BBQ and smoking meats is a nice way of creating a tasty meal out of the cheapest cuts.  Sometimes even sealing up a tough piece of meat, like brisket, can be tender using a slow cooked method.  On of my favorites, is using a cast iron pot on the fire or grill.  I place thinly sliced onions or leeks at the bottom with the brisket on top with just a bit of salt, pepper, and chili powder and then place it fat side up and cover the pot.

The onions will keep the meat from sticking to the pot, help flavor the meat, and help keep it moist while it slow cooks.  When using this method, I let it cook for 2-3 hours.  It’s hard to resist though as it cooks, it smells so good.  When done, I use the onions as a side dish to be served with the brisket.  I avoid the sauces as it just creates a mess.  Keep the flavors simple and you will enjoy your dish.

Other variations can include:

  • marinade of soy sauce and honey or using curry powder for an Asian influenced
  • marinade of Coca-Cola, so a bit of a “pop.”  The sugar in this version will help caramelize the outside while leaving the inside moist and flavorful.
  • A Latin inspired, chili powder and cumin with garlic

Using a wood fire:

Depending on the types of wood you use, can determine the heat of the fire and how long it will last.  Hard wood like Oak, will burn slower and longer.  Pine will burn fast and hot.  I prefer to use fruit tree wood or cedar due to its aromatic influences.  Wood fires are very different the standard BBQ or stove/oven cooking.  I strongly encourage you to try wood fire cooking if you haven’t already.  Please make sure you use safe precautions including having a bucket of water or a hose ready in case the fire gets out of control.

I hope all of my readers have a safe Memorial Day.