The great thing about this stew is that it gets put together very quickly, and this is partly to do with the fact that no time is spent browning the meat. Even though this goes against all my training, I experimented with two batches of meat – I browned one and put the other straight into the pot. The latter turned out to be the sweeter and cleaner-tasting, so I’ve stopped browning the meat for most of my stews these days.
Preheat the oven to 160ºC/300ºF/gas 2. Put a little oil and your knob of butter into an appropriately sized pot or casserole pan. Add your onion and all the sage leaves and fry for 3 or 4 minutes. Toss the meat in a little seasoned flour, then add it to the pan with all the vegetables, the tomato purée, wine and stock, and gently stir together. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and just a little salt. Bring to the boil, place a lid on top, then cook in the preheated oven until the meat is tender. Sometimes this takes 3 hours, sometimes 4 – it depends on what cut of meat you’re using and how fresh it is. The only way to test is to mash up a piece of meat and if it falls apart easily it’s ready. Once it’s cooked, you can turn the oven down to about 110°C/225°F/gas ¼ and just hold it there until you’re ready to eat.
The best way to serve this is by ladling big spoonfuls into bowls, accompanied by a glass of [grape juice] and some really fresh, warmed bread. Mix the lemon zest, chopped rosemary and garlic together and sprinkle over the stew before eating. Just the smallest amount will make a world of difference – as soon as it hits the hot stew it will release an amazing fragrance.
heh 'knob' of butter. British people crack me up.
__________________ What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of a peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war.... not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women -- not merely peace in our time, but peace in all time.
I'm buying a digital temperature probe... I really don't like rare meat.
__________________ What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of a peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war.... not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women -- not merely peace in our time, but peace in all time.
You don't need one. Just poke your finger into the meat and if it gets cooked...well voila the meat is done
I don't trust my internal squishometer.
__________________ What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of a peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war.... not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women -- not merely peace in our time, but peace in all time.
omg, jamie oliver is amazing, I watched his christmas special and wondering wher ei can get halal goose from His wife must love him (if he clears up after himself...! ) He's def beating nigela on my love list
__________________
"Until you annihilate your selfish lower self of desires and lusts through strict and sincere mujahada [self disciplinary exercises], your heart will never become illuminated with the light of knowledge." - Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazli, Dear Beloved Son.
omg, jamie oliver is amazing, I watched his christmas special and wondering wher ei can get halal goose from His wife must love him (if he clears up after himself...! ) He's def beating nigela on my love list
i've never had the opportunity to watch his show :\ but i hear good things about him, so i feel left out and empty...
holy mole indeed, guys. so i made chicken with mole sauce yesterday for kicks, and because i had an audience (siblings). no recipe, and the stuff outta a can (not dona maria, i'm sad to say- can you believe my grocery store in HERNDON doesnt have the good brands?). the reason i didnt follow a recipe was because i found so many different methods and ingredient combinations online, that like chili, i figured my best bet was just throwing stuff into a pot and making a little prayer.
so i chopped up and fried (in a spoon of clarified butter, or ghee, because i had it) a small onion in a frying pan and browned some chicken pieces in that first; i wanted to make sure the chicken would cook all the way through in the sauce. in another pot (not pan), i first made a roux of ghee and flour and then added the mole sauce (which was really hard to get out of the can, and that junx stains, so watch out) and slowly, a whole quart of chicken stock (water would work fine too). i used a lot of flour in the roux so it was able to thicken a whole quart of liquid very well. and then i found an envelope of taco seasoning in the cupboard, so i figured, what the heck, and i threw that in too (it added a good amount of salt and tomato flavor). i think i ended up putting in a little bit more of the mole sauce (i used a little more than half a smallish jar), black pepper, a little salt (after making sure i needed more), and paprika (though it served no real purpose). and because i was paranoid about it being too salty, i chopped into small pieces one big red potato and threw that in (no, traditional mole sauce definitely doesnt have potato in it). then of course the chicken went in and i finished cooking that off. the sauce kept sticking to the bottom of the pan (the mole sauce has quite a bit of sugar in it, and remember it was pretty thick), but none of it burned so it was fine. sweet, with a mellow spiciness- this was a nice dish.
oh, some notes and tweaks i would make, should i do this again (which i will). i made a crazy thick roux, so i'd go a little easier on that flour and thus end up using maybe half a quart of liquid instead of a full quart; i ended up with a lot of extra sauce and i made some extra chicken today and put that in again because there was so much leftover sauce and i couldnt for the life of me justify throwing that delicious stuff out. also i would have cooked the chicken pieces more thoroughly before putting them in the sauce (i did that today), because like i said the sauce tends to stick to the bottom, so the less time you give it to do that, the better off you'll be. oh, and go real easy on salt so you don't have to throw in a random potato (although the potato pieces i really like).
because i've been on a "mexican" kick lately, i also made some fake-o enchiladas; i cooked a can of diced tomatoes in some oil and onions (fried before the tomato went in) and wrapped that sauce up with some shredded cheese in corn tortillas. voila- fake enchiladas
the fake mole sauce with chicken and fake enchiladas tasted great
oh and we watched ratatouille while we ate dinner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spice
I'm going to be doing a lot of cooking when the parents are gone, yay!
that's what i've been doing while mine are gone (but they come back sunday).
so i chopped up and fried (in a spoon of clarified butter, or ghee, because i had it) a small onion in a frying pan and browned some chicken pieces in that first; i wanted to make sure the chicken would cook all the way through in the sauce. in another pot (not pan), i first made a roux of ghee and flour and then added the mole sauce (which was really hard to get out of the can, and that junx stains, so watch out) and slowly, a whole quart of chicken stock (water would work fine too). i used a lot of flour in the roux so it was able to thicken a whole quart of liquid very well. and then i found an envelope of taco seasoning in the cupboard, so i figured, what the heck, and i threw that in too (it added a good amount of salt and tomato flavor). i think i ended up putting in a little bit more of the mole sauce (i used a little more than half a smallish jar), black pepper, a little salt (after making sure i needed more), and paprika (though it served no real purpose). and because i was paranoid about it being too salty, i chopped into small pieces one big red potato and threw that in (no, traditional mole sauce definitely doesnt have potato in it). then of course the chicken went in and i finished cooking that off. the sauce kept sticking to the bottom of the pan (the mole sauce has quite a bit of sugar in it, and remember it was pretty thick), but none of it burned so it was fine. sweet, with a mellow spiciness- this was a nice dish.
oh, some notes and tweaks i would make, should i do this again (which i will). i made a crazy thick roux, so i'd go a little easier on that flour and thus end up using maybe half a quart of liquid instead of a full quart; i ended up with a lot of extra sauce and i made some extra chicken today and put that in again because there was so much leftover sauce and i couldnt for the life of me justify throwing that delicious stuff out. also i would have cooked the chicken pieces more thoroughly before putting them in the sauce (i did that today), because like i said the sauce tends to stick to the bottom, so the less time you give it to do that, the better off you'll be. oh, and go real easy on salt so you don't have to throw in a random potato (although the potato pieces i really like).
You are amazing.
Yeh tell me about the staining factor. The first time I used it out of a jar, the thing exploded and the whole stove and counter top was stained this orange color. It was a total train-wreck haha.
What kind of cheese did you use? The traditional kind is this crumbly stuff almost like feta (but tastes different). I can't remember the Mexican name off hand, but any Latin market could tell you, or 'queso fresco' or 'queso seco' works too.
I still have a bowl of mole down in the fridge but I don't have any chicken right now. You know though, I've actually found it tastes really good on eggs - omelet style.
__________________ What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of a peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war.... not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women -- not merely peace in our time, but peace in all time.
Yeh tell me about the staining factor. The first time I used it out of a jar, the thing exploded and the whole stove and counter top was stained this orange color. It was a total train-wreck haha.
What kind of cheese did you use? The traditional kind is this crumbly stuff almost like feta (but tastes different). I can't remember the Mexican name off hand, but any Latin market could tell you, or 'queso fresco' or 'queso seco' works too.
I still have a bowl of mole down in the fridge but I don't have any chicken right now. You know though, I've actually found it tastes really good on eggs - omelet style.
well gosh
i have this huge bag of shredded mozzarella because i was under the impression that i was going to make pizza, but i didnt, so that's what i used. did you mean panela? (Guide to Mexican Cheeses (Quesos))
the mole seems like it would taste great with lots of things (including enchiladas, haha; i remember now that i poured a little bit of it into the tomatoes).
speaking of mexican, burritos are my at-school standby food (instead of, i guess, ramen), because i usually have a can of refried beans lying around and at least tomatoes and onions in the fridge, as well as tortillas. the more raw vegetables i have around (like green peppers, cilantro, etc.), the better. cheeses, sour cream, and hot sauce (tapatío!) are like the cherries on top (not literal cherries...).
my parents left money for groceries, and they left more than we needed, and i have this bad bad bad urge to make a trip to wegman's. the siblings are gone to DC for the day and i have nothing to do. i shouldn't go, but i'm about to.
So today I made a recipe from Everyday Italian, it's Sauteed Spinach with Red Onion.
I used a yellow onion though. It had garlic, soy sauce, red chili flakes, pepper in it but it tasted bland and weird. I added hot sauce and then it tasted spicy and weird. Wouldn't make it again.
not trying to put on airs (promise; i'm not like that), but does anyone else here think caviar is just glorified fishiness? i bought a small jar of il cheapo (i think it was $5) caviar the other day, and it just tastes like salty fish eggs....fishy. like nothing special. i'm really not going to spend tons of money on "good quality" caviar, so can someone just tell me i'm right on this one? i would imagine that real caviar tastes very similar to what i'm eating right now. and it tastes alright and all, but the jars i saw at the store ranged well into the hundreds. is the taste really that superb? i think it's just hype.
well, yes i suppose. fish eggs. but, you know those little orange dots on your sushi (if you eat sushi)? those are fish eggs too. flying fish eggs that have been dyed, to be exact. and i dunno about your parents culture, but my parents (bangali) often fry fish, and the fish eggs are still inside and they're perfectly edible (albeit high in cholester
Re: The Art of Cooking
His wife must love him (if he clears up after himself...! ) He's def beating nigela on my love list 
