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Kashmiri Lamb Stew

Taken from Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cooking

• 4 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 3 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into cubes
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 10 cardamom pods
• 15 whole cloves
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 24 ounces, plus one tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
• 15 ounces yogurt
• 1/4 tsp garam masala (ground to a powder)

Grind the fennel seeds into a powder, set aside.

  (Click on Image to Enlarge)

Add a bit of oil to the pan, and heat over high heat.  Add the meat, whole cinnamon, whole cardamom and cloves.  Stir and cook about five minutes until the meat starts to brown.

Lower the heat, add one tablespoon water, fennel, and ginger, stir to mix.  Add the 24 ounces of water.  Cover partially, simmer 30 minutes.

Cover completely, lower the heat to low, simmer another 40 minutes.

Beat the yogurt in a bowl until it’s smooth and creamy.

Push the meat to the sides of the pan, making a well in the center.  Add the yogurt, slowly stirring constantly so it does not curdle.  Once the yogurt has been added, continue stirring for another ten minutes.

Cover partially, cook on low ten more minutes.

The spices are not meant to be eaten. You can remove them before serving.

Stir in the garam masala serve over rice.

Ingredients

48 clams, cherrystone, middleneck, or mahogany, something like that

1 lb pasta

crushed hot pepper to taste

1 head garlic

Olive Oil (really good olive oil)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped parsley if desired

Put the clams in a large bowl, cover with cold water, scrub to remove any surface dirt.

Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil, start cooking the pasta,  You want it to cook almost all the way through, but not done.

 (click on photos to enlarge)

While the pasta is cooking start the clams.  Press the garlic or chop it finely and saute in a bit of oil with the hot pepper until the garlic starts to brown

Add the clams, cover, and cook until they release their juice and start to open.

As they open, remove them to a platter. Discard any that don’t open.  If the remaining clams don’t open a minute after the last one opens, I usually give up on them.

Drain the pasta, and add to the skillet with the clam juice, garlic, pepper.  Cook until the pasta is cooked through and most of the clam juice has been absorbed.

Place the pasta in a bowl, stir in some olive oil,.  Stir in the parsley, place clams on top.  Serve with the rest of the clams.

Ingredients

• 3 lb short ribs, trim fat off if necessary
• 2 onions
• 1 bottle zinfandel
• 2 packages mushrooms
• 2 jalepenos
• 3 large carrots (or more smaller ones)
• 4 celery stalks
• 1/2 head garlic
• 3 lb potatoes
• flour for dusting
• salt and pepper to taste
• chili powder to taste
• Olive oil for cooking

Notes - This can be cooked in just about anything.  I’m using a clay pot because I like cooking in the clay pot, but it can be done on the stove in a dutch oven, in a crockpot, in a covered baking dish in the oven, etc.

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Using the shred blade of a food processor, shred the onions, garlic, and peppers.

Add a bit of oil to a skillet, and start sweating the onions, peppers and garlic till soft and starting to brown, about five minutes.

Peel and shred the carrots and celery.  Add to the onions, cook another five minutes.

Remove the vegetables to the clay pot.

Slice the mushrooms, saute in a bit of oil till they begin to brown, add to the clay pot.

Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes, add to the clay pot.

Mix the flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder.

Dredge the meat in it, and over fairly high heat with a bit of oil, brown the meat on all sides.

Mix the vegetables, dig little trenches in it and place the robs into the vegetables.

Pour a bit of wine into the cooking plan and stir to deglaze the bits on the bottom of the pan.  Pour the wine from the skillet into the clay pot.  Repeat if necessary, to remove most of the bits from the pan.

Pour the rest of the wine into the pot.

Cover and cook in a 250 degree oven for seven hours, if using a slow cooker, cook on low eight to ten hours, or high for six hours.  If cooking on top of the stove, bring to a boil, lower the heat to a very gentle simmer, cover, and cook six hours at a simmer.

From the NY Times.  I used a covered clay pot, it came out perfect.

Sesame Braised Chicken in a Pot With Shiitake, Daikon and Ginger

• 3 bunches scallions (about 3/4 pound)
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 pound daikon radish, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 2 inches ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 whole chicken (3 1/2 pounds)
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 whole star anise pods
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar, more to taste.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Trim the roots off the scallions. Separate the dark green tops from the bottoms.

In a 5- or 6-quart Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the scallion bottoms, daikon, mushrooms and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 7 minutes. Add the ginger and cook 1 minute more. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon, set aside.

  (click on photos to enlarge)

Rinse chicken and patdry; season inside and out with salt and pepper. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil to the Dutch oven. Brown chicken, turning, until the skin is well browned.

Turn chicken breast-side up. Scatter the vegetables around the chicken. In a small bowl, whisk together the stock, sherry and soy sauce.

Pour over the chicken. Drop in the star anise pods. Tightly cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink, 50 to 60 minutes.

Remove to a cutting board. Skim fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Chop the scallion tops and stir in, with the vinegar. Carve chicken and serve, topped with vegetables and pot juices.

This is adapted from Giada’s Holiday Biscotti recipe over at foodnetwork.com

Think of it as a starting point, you can use different fruits, change the nuts, add cocoa or not, use the chocolate chips or not, dip them in chocolate and sugar (white chocolate works real well with these) etc.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Prehaeat the oven to 350.  Line a cookie sheet or baking pan with parchment paper.

Stir the flour and baking powder together, set aside

 (click on pictures to enlarge)

Mix the butter, sugar, salt,  and lemon zest to combine

Add the eggs, one at a time, blend after each egg

Add in the flour mix, blend to combine

Add in the nuts, fruit, and chocolate chips if using, blend to combine

Shape into a 13 x 3 inch loaf on the parchment

Bake for 40 minutes, remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes

Using a sharp knife, slice into half inch slices,  Place cut side down on a cookie sheet, bake another fifteen minutes until golden

Adapted from the New York Times.

Notes

• There’s three parts to the stew, making the stock, making the stew, and making the sauce
• This stew keeps growing and growing, the pictures show that the pot starts close to empty and pretty much ends up full, so don’t skimp on the pot
• You can use whatever fish you have available in your area.  I used cod because it was on sale, the stock was made with random backs they were selling at the store.  In most areas, seafood stew was whatever the fishermen came in with at the end of the day, so use whatever you can.

Ingredients

Fish Stock

• 1 1/2 lbs fish backs, heads, bones, whatever they have to make stock from
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 8 cups water
• salt and pepper

Stew

• 1 Dozen Littleneck (or Middleneck) Clams
• 2 lbs mussels
• 1 1/2 lbs whitefish, cut into one inch cubes, if possible cut around any bones
• 1 lb squid, cut into half inch rings, plus the heads
• 1 lb bay scallops
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 2 chopped onions
• 2 chopped cleaned leeks
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• pinch saffron
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Pinch hot pepper flakes
• 8 cups fish stock
• 1 lb potatoes, cut in half inch cubes
• garlic saffron sauce

Garlic Saffron Sauce

• 2 cups day old bread, chopped in 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch Saffron
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Prepare the fish stock 

Heat a bit of olive oil in a stock pot.  Add the  onions, carrots, and leeks to the pan and saute until softened.  Add the fish, add water to cover.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to boil, and immediately lower to a simmer.

Simmer for 40 minutes, skimming off any foam that comes to the surface.  When done, strain, save the liquid, toss everything else. Set aside.

Prepare the Garlic Saffron Sauce

Soak the bread in cold water for 1 minute and squeeze dry. Mash garlic and salt into a paste. Put it in a blender to mix it all together.

Gradually add the olive oil to make a thick sauce. Add the lemon juice, parsley and salt. Keep the sauce at room temperature.

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Prepare the Stew

.Soak the clams in cold water to remove grit and sand, then drain.

Rinse and de-beard the mussels.

Put the fish, squid and bay scallops (if using) in separate small bowls. Season the fish lightly with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add the onions and leeks and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomato, thyme, bay leaf, saffron, garlic, paprika and red pepper flakes. Season generously with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.

Turn the heat to high, add the stock,  and bring to a boil. Taste for salt and adjust to taste. Add the potatoes and reduce the heat so they simmer gently until firm-tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the clams and cook till they open, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the mussels, fish and simmer until the mussels open, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the squid and scallops, if using, and cook 1 minute more. Turn off the heat, stir in the garlic-saffron sauce.

Ingredients

•  3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 teaspoons dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• Coarse sea salt, poppy or sesame seeds to garnish if desired

In a small food processor, with a hand blender, or using a mortar and pestle, grind the rosemary leaves (discard stems) with the olive oil, set aside.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Fill the mixer bowl with warm water to warm the bowl, discard the water.  Add the 2 tesapoons yeast, one teaspoon of the sugar, and 3/4 cup of warm water to the bowl, mix.  Let sit till foamy, about five minutes.

Add the flour, remaining 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and one teaspoon salt to the mixer, mix till combined

Switch to the dough hook.  Start kneading the dough, adding flour a spoonful at a time until it holds together and starts coming away from the sides of the bowl

Add one Tablespoon of the olive oil rosemary mix, knead a total of eight minutes.  Add additional flour as necessary  so it’s not sticking at all

The next step can be done in the mixing bowl, it was done in the glass bowl for the pictures.  Remove the dough hook, lightly oil the sides of the bowl, stir around to coat the dough with oil, cover with a towel and let sit till it doubles in size.

Before rising

After about an hour (how long will depend on your yeast, temperature, humidity, and the temperature of the dough.)

Divide the dough into two portions.  Roll one out to a square, about 14 inches on a side.  I just made it the size of the cutting board.  Paint one side of the dough with the oilve oil rosemary mix, sprinkle with the sea salt and seeds if desired

Cut into strips (pizza cutter works good here)

Line a cookie sheet with parchment.  Twist each strip and lay side by side on the parchment

Cover and let rise for another half hour or so (there won’t be much of a change)

Preheat oven to 350, cook for 45 minutes or so until they are dry and golden brown.  Rotate the trays while cooking.  They won’t all finish at the same time, so as some are done, remove those from the oven, return the rest