Irish Stew

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Ducks Mahal

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Irish stew (Stobhach Gaelach) is any variety of meat and root vegetables. Originally, the dish used goat meat and now mostly made with lamb. However, lamb can be expensive here and the taste can be too sweet and gamy. My recipe uses pork stew meat. The reason I use pork versus beef is I will brown the pork first to create a fond (The culinary term, French for “base” or “foundation”) as I do in a Jambalaya.

I also use less meat, just enough to add flavor. Most recipes are built around a pound of meat. I use one-half pound. After browning the meat, I will also create a demi-roux (butter and flour) to thicken the fluids and create a gravy, then sauté the mirepoix in the roux. I will then add a bottle of Guinness Stout a cup at a time and whisk creating even thicker gravy. This continues to build flavors.

I will also add whole potatoes, but mashed potatoes if you desire can be added, which will thicken the gravy further. The other root vegetables and the Brussels sprouts (baby cabbage) are then added. Add herbs and more fluids and cook slow for almost 2 hours on a very low heat.

Ingredients (shown in the picture above, click on pic to enlarge):

Mirepoix
1 small onion – chopped
½ bell pepper, – seeded and chopped
1 celery stalk – peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves – cut into small coins

Meat
½ Lb. stew pork – cubed
2 TBSP olive oil – (for browning meat)

Vegetables
3 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
12 Brussels sprouts, halved
2 cups potatoes, or as needed – cubed w/skin

Seasoning, Herbs and Stock
Salt and pepper
1 small bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock (or as needed)
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
12 fluid ounce bottle dark beer – Guinness Stout

Demi-Roux
2 TBSP All-purpose flour
2 TBSP butter

In the olive oil brown the meat and then remove.

Add the flour and butter and whisk for several minutes until the flour starts to brown.

Add the mirepoix and sauté until you can smell the onions start to cook.

Move the mirepoix to one said and add ½ cup of Guinness Stout beer and deglaze that half of the pot. Move the mirepoix to the other side and add another ½ beer and deglaze the other side.

Add the remaining beer and stir into a thick paste.

Add all the remaining ingredients and return the meat. Add chicken stock until the ingredients are covered. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cook 1½ to 2 hours.

Gyōza Sauce

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Ducks Mahal

Gyōza Sauce (pronounced ji-ohz-i)

Gyōza sauce is a dipping sauce used mostly with pot stickers. But, I use it with a piece of salmon. I buy frozen salmon, defrost it, fry it in sesame oil, and then serve it on a salad or on the side with stir fry veggies. I make this sauce for it. This sauce is also served with Hamachi Kama (broiled yellowtail gill plate) at sushi bars.

Gyōza is a non-standard Japanese word. The Chinese word Jiaozi means dumpling. These dumplings are stuffed and served boiled, steamed or fried.

1 piece salmon
Sesame seeds
1 tsp. sesame oil

Gyōza Sauce
½ cup rice vinegar
½ cup soy sauce
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove minced
½ tsp. ginger minced (or grated)
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/3 cup minced green onions

Baste the salmon with sesame oil and then add one teaspoon of the oil to a nonstick fry pan. Cook a minute or so on each side, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, drop in a dash of Gyōza and cook until done. When eating, dip the salmon in the remaining Gyōza sauce.

Shrimp, Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Ducks Mahal

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Gumbo is a perfect meal for a winterish day. It is very easy to make. For me, it is a labor of love and heritage. There are a lot of choices.

My Godmother makes the best seafood Gumbo I ever ate. She packs a lot of flavors in her Gumbo. Down here in the South I consider her Gumbo the “real deal”. Hers leans more toward the Creole side. My mother made a Filé Gumbo using filé powder, which is ground sassafras leaves. I’m not a real fan of filé. But, I think the finishing herb drives the final touch. Some people use bay leaf, some use filé, some use both. I use bay leaf and fresh oregano from my garden.

There are other choices to consider – the oil and the peppers (heat).

Most people use vegetable oil or canola oil and some use olive oil. I use olive oil for several reasons. Mostly, I think the flavor suits the vegetable profile better but more importantly, it handles the heat better when making a dark roux.

With respect to peppers, I know people who add jalapeño peppers and others add lots of Tabasco pepper sauce and others add a Creole Seasoning containing cayenne pepper. I de-seed a jalapeño (limit the heat) and add it to the vegetables and then add a little Tabasco sauce when serving. This allows the person to control their own destiny with the pepper heat when serving. The other thing to calculate is the Andouille sausage has ground pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and chili powder in it. If you live in a place where you cannot get Andouille sausage, use your favorite smoked pork sausage and toss in a small dash of red pepper flakes. The base of this Gumbo depends on a mild pepper back flavor, but not an over-powering pepper flavor.

Roux

The roux (oil and flour) is not only the thickening agent for the stock; it is the main flavor for the entire dish. The key to a roux is patiently cook by whisking the equal parts flour and oil until it becomes dark brown on a steady medium heat; add chopped onions and sauté. After 5 minutes, then add the celery and bell pepper. The aroma that occurs between the roux and the onions is incredible and can’t be missed in the flavor from that point forward.

Ingredients (shown in the picture above, click on the pic to enlarge):

Mirepoix (Vegetables)
1 small onion – chopped
1 bell pepper – seeded and chopped
1 celery stalk – peeled and chopped
1 jalapeño pepper – seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves – cut into small coins
4 scallions (green onion) – chopped

Meat
1 chicken thigh – with skin and bone
1 chicken breast – skinned and deboned
1 Lb. of shrimp – shelled and cleaned
1 stick of Andouille pork sausage – sliced

Seasoning, Herbs and Stock
Salt and pepper
Fresh oregano (or a dash of dried)
1 small bay leaf
1 TBSP Worcestershire
2 cups chicken stock

Roux
4 TBSP all purpose flour
4 TBSP olive oil

In a Dutch Oven, add the flour then the oil and whisk into a paste.

Turn heat to medium and as the flour begins to cook whisk every few minutes or so as not to let the roux burn. You will see the flour begin to bubble.

In a little while you will see the flour begin to turn brown. A baked bread smell will begin to emerge.

Whisk more until the roux turns a dark oak color. Whisk every two or three minutes.

While the roux is hot add the onions and sauté five minutes. You will see the roux begin to brown even more.

Then add the celery, bell pepper and jalapeño pepper.

Mix and let that cook a minute or so more then add the stock a half-cup at a time. Stir and watch the roux begin to foam.

Then add the chicken and the Andouille sausage.

Add the rest of the stock, bring to a boil and then cover, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook 30 minutes.

At 30 minutes remove the chicken and remove the bone and skin, cut into pieces and return to the pot, add the garlic and scallions, add the shrimp, herbs, Worcestershire and salt and pepper. Cover and cook another 30 minutes on low.

Serve over a bed of rice and sprinkle Tabasco sauce.

I also made a bread for dipping in the stock.

This was so good. The meat was tender and flavor was wonderful.

Lentil Soup

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Ducks Mahal

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Actually, this is a refrigerator dump soup. The good thing about lentils is you can add just about any vegetable to it. Most lentil soup recipes are a vegetarian soup. I added some meat b/c I had bacon that was nearing expiration and a thick ¼ inch slice of black forest ham needing use. I also had a half orange bell pepper and a baby bok choy needing cooking. So, it was a good time to offload all that into a slow cooker.

Ingredients:

3 slices of bacon – cut into squares
1 onion – chopped
2 carrots – peeled and chopped into medium squares
2 celery stalks – peeled and chopped
½ orange bell pepper – chopped
1 garlic clove – cut into small coins
1 slice of black forest ham – have deli cut into a ¼ inch slice, chopped into squares
1 baby bok choy chopped – or you can use kale or some other leafy green or cabbage
1 lb. dried lentils – rinsed. I use Camellia brand
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 small cube chicken bouillon
Salt and pepper
1 tsp. Emeril’s Essence Seasoning – which is paprika with a dash of garlic powder and onion powder
1 tsp. dried thyme

I first brown the bacon then remove.

I then sauté the vegetables and remove.

I then brown the black forest ham and remove.

I now add everything to the slow cooker crock pot. I cook on high for 3 hours then low for 4 hours. While cooking I add water as needed.

I also made a loaf of Artisan Bread for dipping.

This is so EARTHY!!!

Ragù alla Marinara Sauce

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Ducks Mahal

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There seems to be a tomato sauce and a Ragù sauce from every city in Italy, which would be a couple of different sauces for every day of the year. There are differences in each and some of them totally different. The sauces can range in a spectrum of a meat gravy to a thick paste. Some are sweet and some not so much. This dish is a sweet Ragù alla Marinara Sauce.

A Ragù is a “meat-based” tomato sauce commonly served with pasta. I have listed a Roman Ragù recipe on this blog. The Roman Ragù sauce is mostly meat gravy with vegetables (soffritto) where tomatoes are added for color to minced carrots, celery and onions. A Bolognese Ragù is a Roman Ragù with cream or milk added.

A Marinara sauce is a “thick” Italian sauce without meat. It originated in Naples, usually made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs (mostly basil), and onions. The story goes this sauce was prepared by sailors (mariners) for the sauce’s ability to resist spoilage owing to the acid in the tomato. Mostly Italian-Americans refer to the sauce as a Marinara but it is called a Napolitana sauce in other parts of the world.

A Napoletan Ragù (from Naples) has lots of onions, a soffritto and big chunks of beef that cook in the tomatoes for many hours. In this recipe I use ground beef, ground pork and a thick slice of prosciutto chopped – no soffritto. The selection of meat is not the issue as the absence of a soffritto is a noticeable departure.

So to be precise, I call this Ragù alla Marinara Sauce. To make a “thick”, sweet, red sauce I use tomato puree instead of a tomato sauce. Puree is much thicker. I pre-blend tomato paste in red wine. I cook it in a frying pan versus a sauce pan to put a larger heat area under the sauce and cook it for an hour or more on low. Periodically, I add a little stock to keep it moist but I want to serve it as thick as ketchup.

Serves 2 -4
Meat:
• 1 – ¼” slice of prosciutto (diced)
• ½ Lb. ground pork
• ½ Lb. ground beef

Sauce
• 2 large Roma tomatoes (peeled and mashed)
• ½ yellow onion chopped
• ½ green pepper chopped (a New Orleans thing)
• 2 garlic cloves (sliced cross ways into tiny coins)
• ½ cup of dry red wine plus a few dashes (Chianti or Burgundy)
• 1 TBSP tomato paste (mixed in the wine)
• 1 – 10 oz. can tomato puree
• ½ cup veal stock (beef or chicken stock will also work)
• Fresh basil leaves
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 TBSP brown sugar
• 1 TBSP olive oil

First, I fry the prosciutto in olive oil and then remove. BTW, that frying pan is my grandmother’s and is at least 75 years old. Love it!

I then add the meat. I do this to create a “fond”. This is done to glaze the meat and then add some sort of fluid to de-glaze the pan. This releases the meat flavor. I remove the meat.

I add the onions, garlic and green pepper and sauté.

I add the Roma tomatoes (peeled and mashed) and ½ cup of dry red wine with the 1 TBSP tomato paste mixed in on a high heat.

I let that reduce to a point when the wine has evaporated.

I then add the 1 – 10 oz. can tomato puree, brown sugar, salt and pepper and reduce the heat to low and cook that for 30 minutes covered. I add a little veal or beef stock to keep it moist.

Now I return all the meat and fresh basil. I always add fresh herbs last to make sure the flavor is not overcooked. I increase the heat until it starts to bubble then cover and turn to low and cook 45 minutes covered.