Facile by Cécile

Showing posts with label stews. Show all posts

The great thing about tajines is that you can be really creative, using whatever vegetables, fish or meat that you like. What will make it taste as a tajine is the cooking mode and the Moroccan spices (such as ras el hanout, cumin, saffron or paprika). I like to make fish tajines because they are quick to cook and also leaner than the typical lamb ones. I would recommend using a fish that will be firm enough and not get too flaky during the cooking process. Monfish or hake are perfect for that. Also, the fish should be added to the dish once the vegetables are fully cooked, otherwise it would overcook and become hard and chewy.

In terms of vegetables, the base should be onion and garlic, and for fish I like to add a pepper, tomatoes and zucchini. Fresh cilantro can be a nice option to give more freshness and flavor, or alternatively preserved lemons cut in small cubes. If you do not intend to serve couscous on the side, you can add a few fingerling potatoes while you are cooking the vegetables.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1.5 lb monkfish or hake filet, cut in large cubes

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 green or yellow pepper, cut in thin strips

2 large tomatoes, cut in cubes

1 zucchini, cut in 1/4" slices

Some fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

1 tbsp honey

A few saffron threads

1 tsp cumin or ras el hanout

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of white wine or clam juice

In a tajine dish (or a dutch oven), heat the olive oil on medium heat, add all the spices and let the mix get warm and fragrant. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes, until the onion becomes transluscent.

Add the rest of the vegetables, honey, cilantro leaves and liquid, add salt and pepper, bring to a boil and cook on medium heat until all the vegetables are fully cooked and the sauce is getting thicker (about 30 minutes). Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add the fish on top of the vegetables, cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves and serve with couscous.

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Adventuring into Tex Mex stew territory, chile con carne is the perfect wholesome meal that you start craving when winter is approaching. With its peppers, cilantro and various spices, such as cumin and cinnamon, it is a very flavorful dish which can be made more or less spicy, depending on your stomach sensitivity and whether you have children around.

There are obviously many many recipes of chile out there. My favorite one is Jamie Oliver's, which I have tweaked slightly here (how could there not be wine in a stew!). But the real secret to make this dish successful is to let it cook as long as possible (at least 2-3 hours). This way, all the ingredients will literally melt in your mouth.

Ingredients (serves 8):

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground turkey (you can also use veal, or only beef if you prefer)

3 large carrots, cut in cubes

1 onion, grossly chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch fresh cilantro

1 large can (800g) diced tomatoes

1 small can (400g) red kidney beans

1 small can (400g) chick peas

1 glass red wine

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp ground cumin (you may put more based on your taste)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

A few pinches ground chili pepper (optional)

1 chicken bouillon cube

Olive oil

In a large Dutch oven, heat some olive oil (about 2 tbsp), add the ground meat and brown for 5-10 minutes on high heat, separating all the big lumps. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and peppers, and cook on high heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the wine and let it evaporate for a few minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, chickpeas and beans, then all the spices, the balsamic vinegar and the chicken bouillon. Fill the tomato can with water and add. Season with salt and pepper (go easy for now as a lot of the liquid will evaporate), bring to a boil, then cook on low heat, uncovered, for at least 2-3 hours, stirring from time to time.

About 30 minutes before serving, add some of the chopped cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with white rice, shredded cheddar cheese, creme fraiche and fresh cilantro.

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Blanquette de veau (veal blanquette) is a staple of French bistro cuisine. Although it is one of my favorite dishes, I am showing you today an alternative to the classic recipe, which uses fish instead of veal as the protein. You can use various kinds of fish, but my favorites are monkfish and salmon because they tend to hold themselves well in stews. You can also add prawns and even mussels, which bring taste and color to an otherwise pale-looking dish.

The main difference in the cooking process between the veal blanquette and the fish one is that while the veal is cooked within the vegetable stew, the fish gets poached in the vegetable sauce just five minutes before serving.

One key component of the blanquette is the "roux blanc": it is basically a white sauce that is added to the vegetable broth and thickens the whole stew. Some people do a bechamel instead, and this is a VERY BIG MISTAKE! Roux blanc starts like a bechamel, with melted butter and flour, but instead of adding milk (as you would do with a bechamel), you incorporate some of the vegetable broth instead.

Ingredients (serves 8):

3 pounds fish (monkfish, salmon fillet, or a combination), cut in large cubes (about 1" sides)

One handful mussels, cleaned (optional)

A few shrimps (optional)

1 onion, diced

2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced

2 celery stalks, grossly julienned

3 large carrots, grossly julienned

2 cloves

Fresh thyme and bay leaves

Lemon juice

1 small bottle of clam juice

1/2 bottle dry white wine (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc)

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

2 egg yolks

3 tbsp crème fraîche

In a large dutch oven, melt one tbsp of the butter, add the leeks and let them melt for about 5 minutes on low-medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and let them sweat for another 10 minutes on low heat. Add the clam juice, the white wine and some water so that the liquids are about 1 " above the level of the vegetables. Add salt and pepper, a bouquet garni made of the fresh thyme and bay leaves tied together with a cooking string, the 2 cloves, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook on low heat, uncovered, for about an hour. After an hour, check the liquid level and add water if you think you will need more liquid to poach the fish. Remove the bouquet garni and cloves if you find them, taste and adjust seasoning.

Make the roux blanc: in a small saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter on very low heat, add the flour and mix well. It should make a thick paste. Cook on low heat for one minute, stirring constantly, then start adding some of the vegetable broth, one tablespoon at a time, and mix well in between so as to avoid flour lumps from forming. Once the roux is about the size of a cup, transfer back into the dutch oven and mix well. This should make your blanquette sauce thicker and give it the consistency of a stew.

At this stage, you can stop the cooking process and set aside your blanquette until the next day if you do not want to serve it right away. The next step consists in combining together, in a small bowl, the egg yolks, creme fraiche and about 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Add gradually and combine some of the warm blanquette sauce in order to heat the mixture, without shocking the eggs and creme fraiche. Once the mixture is warm enough, pour back into the dutch oven.

About 10 minutes before serving, add the fish, mussels and shrimps into the warm blanquette sauce and poach on low heat for 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the fish (if you are using mussels, they must be fully open). Serve with white rice.

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As previously mentioned, Moroccan cuisine is extremely popular in France, and according to recent polls, couscous has become the number one favorite meal of French people. Each time I go back to France, I need to go to one of these little unpretentious Moroccan cafes or restaurants that serve traditional couscous. Since this is a family meal, the best couscous is served in non-fancy places.

To make up for the lack of good couscous joints in NYC, I decided to make my own. I read a number of recipes, and I can tell you that the traditional ones are a little painful and long to prepare! So I came up with my own recipe, which, if not totally by the book, tastes pretty good. You can serve this dish as a whole meal for vegans (just replace the chicken stock by vegetable bouillon), or grill some merguez, chicken kebabs, or even better, a butterflied leg of lamb. You can also make keftas and cook the meatballs in the couscous broth.

Ingredients (serves 8):

One onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 celery stalks, cut in 1.5" parts

3 large carrots, cut in 1.5" parts and lengthwise in 2 or 4, depending on their size

3 turnips, cut in large cubes

3 tomatoes, cut in large cubes

3 zucchini, sliced in 1/2 " slices

One sweet potato

Some fresh cilantro

2 cubes of chicken bouillon

Ras el Hanout spice (available at Williams Sonoma and middle-eastern stores)

Couscous grain (I buy the Rice Select brand which cooks in 5 minutes)

Harissa (I buy the DEA brand which comes in tubes)

In a large dutch oven, heat one tbsp of olive oil, add the onions and cook on medium heat for a few minutes. Add the celery, carrots, turnips, garlic, sweet potato and tomatoes and cook for a few minutes more. Cover the vegetables with water, add the cubes of chicken bouillon, about one tsp of ras el hanout, and some salt (don't put too much as the chicken bouillon is already salty). Bring to a boil and cook on low heat,uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Add the zucchini and some fresh cilantro leaves, and cook for another 15 minutes. You want the zucchini to be fully cooked, but not mushy. Taste and adjust seasoning.

A few minutes before serving, prepare the couscous grain: in a saucepan, boil about one cup of water with salt, then add one tbsp of butter. Turn the heat off and once the butter is fully melted, add app. one cup of couscous grain, mix, cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Rake with a fork to separate the grains and make the couscous fluffy.

To serve the dish, place some couscous on each plate and generously cover with the vegetables and some broth. Pour about 1 tbsp of harrissa in a small cup, add a few tbsp of the vegetable broth, and let everyone help themselves with a small spoon. Be careful, harrissa is quite spicy!

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Ratatouille is the perfect summer dish. Vegetarians will enjoy it as a wholesome meal, and meat lovers will savor it as an accompaniment to grilled streak, chicken, pork or fish. I usually serve my ratatouille with couscous and a barbecued pork tenderloin (recipe coming soon!).

Chefs will often recommend cooking each of the ratatouille vegetables separately, which may make the dish more visually appealing but is not true to ratatouille's authentic, rustic origins. For that reason, and to avoid a mountain-load of dishes, I prepare it the traditional way: everything in one pot.

However, it is important to respect the order in which to add the ingredients: the eggplant needs to be fried first so that its texture remains firm, and the zucchini are added last because they cook much faster than the other vegetables.

Don't be afraid to add a generous dose of garlic and basil, as they will add a lot of taste and freshness to the dish. Also, here is a dirty little secret: if your tomatoes are not ripe enough, feel free to add one tablespoon of granulated sugar, which will remove some of their acidity.

Ratatouille (Serves 8):

1 large eggplant (or 2 medium eggplants) cut in 1/2 inch cubes
3 zucchini, cut lengthwise and sliced in 1/2 inch thick slices
3 large tomatoes, cut in large cubes
3 peppers, ideally different colors, cut in thin strips
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
fresh thyme
olive oil

In a large dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil at high temperature and add the eggplant. Brown the eggplant and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Add more olive oil if necessary.

Add the onion, peppers and garlic. Cook on medium/high heat for 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes start to render some juice.

Tie the fresh thyme twigs together with twine to form a bouquet garni. Add them to the vegetables and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, uncovered, on medium heat.

Add the zucchini and basil, and cook for another 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. At this point, enough water should have evaporated, and the ratatouille is ready!

Sprinkle some fresh basil leaves before serving.

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