This is a spectacularly delicious chicken dish.  It can be made with lamb or meatless.  Using seven vegetables brings good luck.  I used parsnips, butternut squash, onions, tomatoes, turnips, zucchini and carrots.  Feel free to put together any combination you want.  And the quantities I used in the recipe are totally open to modification.  I used a flavorful homemade organic chicken broth but store bought chicken broth or vegetable broth will work just fine.  Garam Masala is an Indian spice blend that is sweeter than some of the other blends.  It contains cinnamon, ginger, cumin,, clove, coriander, bay leaf and chili.  I also use a traditional Moroccan curry blend called Ras el Hanout.  It contains turmeric, white pepper, aniseed, cardamom cloves, all spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and ginger.  Some recipes include saffron but I don’t think it stands up with all the other spices.  I prefer to use saffron by itself. 

When I make this dish I serve it with rice instead of couscous which would be the traditional accompaniment.  But I just found a smoked basmati rice which is delicious with fried onions and barberries.  For 6 people I cook the cups of  rice as directed and then take out a 1/4 of the rice and add a  pinch of saffron that has been steeped in a TBS of hot water.  To the rest of the rice I add a 1/4 cup of  barberries that have also steeped in a little hot water (draining the water) and add a medium onion that has been diced and fried until beginning to brown.  I serve the barberry rice on a platter surrounded by the saffron rice.

 [recipe difficulty=”medium”]

SEVEN VEGETABLE MOROCCAN CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS

8 chicken thighs with bones and skin

4-6 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup flour

3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

2 parsnips peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 large onion cut into small dice

1 small turnip or part of a rutabaga chopped into 1-2  inch dice

1 cup butternut squash cut into 1-2  inch dice

1/2 pound zucchini, either the tiny zucchini cut into 1 inch pieces or a larger one cut into 1/2 slices

1 can chickpeas

1/4  lb.  sliced dried apricots

2 garlic cloves, crushed.

2-3 TBS garam marsala

1 TBS Ras el Hanout (Moroccan blend of spices) 

1/4 pound slivered almonds

Harissa  (This is a spicy  red pepper blend that serves as a condiment. It can be found in Middle Eastern section of Wegmans or from a specialty grocer.)

DIRECTIONS

1. Dredge the chicken in flour and fry in olive oil until brown on both sides.  Set aside
2. Fry onions in olive oil until soft and beginning to brown,  set aside.  Then fry turnip, parsnip, carrot  and butternut squash in batches until beginning to brown and smell aromatic.  Set aside
3. Fry spices mixtures for three or four minutes,  stirring until aromatic, but take care not to burn.
4. Add broth to frying pan along with tomatoes and bring to boil.
5. Combine the vegetables, chickpeas, apricots and chicken and bring to simmer.  Cook for 30 minutes.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and more curry seasonings to taste.
6. It is best if the dish cools overnight in the fridge and is reheated one or two days later.
7. Last minute  lightly brown almonds  in butter.
8. Also last minute fry the zucchini until barely cooked in olive oil and add garlic for the last minute, stirring it evenly into the zucchini.
9. Remove the chicken mixture from fridge and carefully spoon off the solidified oil from the top.  Heat it up.  When simmering add the zucchini.  Check for seasoning .
10. Serve on large platter sprinkling with rice and almonds.  Serve Harissa on the side.

This is an experiment based on a wonderful dish we had at Café Bolud in NYC during their restaurant week.  This was served with a Southwestern style lamb dish and they were tiny 1 inch squares of layered beans and tortillas.  I thought it would be even better with a layer of corn as well.

[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

Tortilla corn and black bean stack with pulled pork

Pulled Pork

Corn tortillas

Black beans

2 ears of corn

½ cup heavy cream

Bean layer:  I make my own black beans in a pressure cooker without needing to soak ahead of time.  To half a pound of beans that have been cleaned, I add ½ cup of soy sauce, ¼ cup orange juice, and a cup of water.  I then add salt, a couple of garlic cloves and a little cumin.  I pressure cook for 20 minutes and then reduce pressure and check for doneness.  They take between 20-30 minutes.  I then leave them to cool in their liquid and when you make the puree add only enough liquid to give it a smooth spreadable consistency.  You can also buy canned black beans and puree and season them to your liking or you can do this with refried beans.

Corn layer:  Take kernels off the cobs and fry this in a sauce pan until beginning to smell aromatic but not brown.  Add heavy cream and cook together for 5-6 minutes until the corn is cooked.  Then put in food process or blender and puree until very smooth.  If it’s too thick add some more milk or cream to think it out but you want it spreadable and not runny.

To make the stacks:  Toast the tortillas in a toaster oven until very lightly toasted but not brown.  On a tortilla spread a thin layer of beans, then layer another tortilla and then a layer of corn followed by another layer of tortilla.

Wrap them up and refrigerate them until ready to serve.  Right before serving fry them in a hot frying pan until lightly browned on each side.  

For main course serve one or two per person and for an appetizer serve a quarter of the stack alongside the pulled pork.

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[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

Grilled Kielbasa with corn relish

Kielbasa ( I like the small individual smoked Polish Kielbasa from Hilshire Farms)

Corn Relish Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·         1 large cucumbers, peeled, finely chopped

• 1 cup chopped green cabbage

·         2 cups of finely chopped onions

·         2 stalks celery finely chopped (Size of corn kernels)

·         ½ cup chopped pimento

·         4 cups corn kernels (cut from 4-6 ears, depending on how big the ears are)

·         1/2 cup sugar

·         1 ½  Tbsp Kosher salt

·         1/2 teaspoon black pepper

·         1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)

·         1/2 teaspoon turmeric

·         2 teaspoons mustard seeds

·         1 teaspoon celery salt

·         cayenne pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1        Place everything except corn, celery and cucumber and pimento in a medium-sized (4 to 6-quart), thick-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

2        Add celery and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes.  Then mix in pimento.  Taste for seasoning.

3         Spoon the corn relish into clean jars and seal. Will last for 4-6 weeks refrigerated.

4        This is better made a few days before you serve it.

Yield: Makes 3-4 pints.

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• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 pounds ground bison meat* or ground beef
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 8 oz mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cup dry red wine

• 2 cups diced peeled carrots

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 large head of cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds), cored, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup milk OR ½ &½  
• 2 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided (about 8 ounces)
• Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
• Chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Paprika

[recipe difficulty=”moderate”]

 GINGERED BOEUF BOURGUIGNON 

Years ago I entered a recipe contest through Fine Cooking Magazine where we were instructed to use certain ingredients to create our own recipe.  This is what I came up with and though I didn’t win, I did get a phone call from the judges asking for more clarification so that was pretty close to winning, right? 

My concept was to blend the best ingredients of French beef stew with the great Chinese stew ingredients:  wine, garlic, bacon, oyster sauce,  and of course ginger. The other flavor booster I work into this recipe is to layer the ingredients so that you have garlic and ginger cooking slowly and flavoring the broth.  But I also add these ingredients the last minute to enhance the ginger and garlic flavors.This is a recipe I go back to time and again.  My grown up son asked for the recipe and said it came out great.  Feel free to modify as you wish.  For instance, he used regular mushrooms rather than shiitake. If you don’t have the rosemary, don’t worry.  You can add a little thyme, a bay leaf some herbs de province or leave out the spices 

GINGERED BOEUF BOURGUIGNON Serves 5-6

 3 slices bacon

Olive oil as needed

2 lbs stew beef, cut in 2×2 inch pieces (a marbled, fatty cut works best for stew such as chuck.  And if you use organic meat it may take less time since organic meat tends to be less fatty)

Salt and pepper

1 ½ cups shallots, coarsely chopped (about ½ lb)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs. fresh ginger, finely minced

¼ cup flour

2 cups dry red wine (such as Shiraz or Merlot)

1 can chicken broth (10.5 oz)

¼ cup oyster sauce

2 Tbs. sugar

1 sprig fresh rosemary

½ lb. shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed and cut in slices.

2 (more) cloves garlic, finely minced

1 Tbs. (or more) fresh ginger, finely minced

1 tsp. sesame oil

3-4 green onions finely minced

1.  Heat a medium size heavy pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crispy.  Remove and set aside to drain on paper towel.  Chop into small pieces.

2. Season meat with salt and pepper.  Increase heat to high, add oil to bacon fat to coat bottom of pot and when oil shimmers add meat in three batches, browning each batch and setting aside. Add more oil if necessary to coat bottom of pan after each batch.

3. Turn the heat to medium and add shallots, browning while stirring for about 5 minutes.  Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring for two more minutes or until aromatic.  Add flour and mix together while cooking for another 2 minutes.

4.  Add wine while stirring quickly to mix in the flour.  Add broth, oyster sauce, sugar, rosemary, and reserved bacon and beef. Stir well and heat to simmer.

5. Cook for 30 minutes and remove rosemary.  Continue to cook stew over low heat for 30- 60 minutes more hours stirring every 30 minutes and adding more water or stock if necessary.  Depending on the cut of meat and size of the chunks this may take more or less time.  Take a piece out and see if it is tender.

6.  While the stew is cooking, fry the mushrooms in two batches over medium heat in frying pan coated with oil for 3 minutes or until beginning to brown. Add the mushrooms to the stew for the last 30 minutes of cooking.

7. For best flavor refrigerate the stew overnight and reheat the next day, adjusting seasoning as desired. 

8.  15 minutes before serving add the two cloves of mashed garlic and 1 Tbs. of ginger to the simmering stew.

9. Just before serving, stir in the sesame oil and sprinkle with spring onions.

 Serve over mashed potatoes, with peas on the side.

 Preparation time is 30-45 minutes and cooking time is 2 hours.

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 VENISON HASH

My friends Evie and Dave presented me with venison the other day.  Rather than worry about the cut of meat being too tough to eat as a steak, I decided to feature it in a hash with lovely local root vegetables.

No recipe needed here.  I cut all the vegetables and meat in roughly the same size small cubes, maybe ¼ inch.  I cooked each vegetable separately and used what I had on hand from my local CSA share.  The only thing I bought was a sweet potato but it certainly wasn’t necessary.

This is what I used:  onion, carrot, celeriac, potato, and sweet potato.  I could have added squash, parsnip,and turnip.  Everything should be cooked in olive oil in a hot frying pan.  I like to brown everything because it caramelizes and adds flavor and sweetness.  But stay right there and flip the frying food over as it browns…and don’t overcook or everything will be mushy or burned.

The only seasoning needed is salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.  When everything has been cooked separately, add it together and heat up again. 

The only necessary  addition is an egg fried in the middle of the hash.  One per person. 

Now of course this sounds like a brunch dish.  But  I usually don’t eat a heavy brunch.  So we have this for dinner.  It's real comfort food.  And it looks beautiful and tastes wonderful.

• You’re supporting our local farmers who work hard to give us great quality
• No middle-people are involved
• You know what you’re getting. Just visit the farms to see for yourself.
• It’s healthier. Grass fed meat have 2-4 times the levels of Omega 3 than in grain fed animals. And you aren’t consuming unknown chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics.
• And for me, knowing that the animals are humanely treated is particularly important.