Hungarian Goulash

Another recipe for later:

Active Time: 40 minutes Total Time: 2½ hours Serves: 4 with leftovers

2½ pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 1½-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black epper
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
1 large onion, cut into thin half moons
2½ cups beef stock
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1½-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, cut diagonally into 1½-inch lengths
3 cups tomato passata or purée
¼ cup sweet paprika
1 large russet potato, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, toss beef with salt and pepper, and let come to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

2. Once beef is ready, heat oil in a large, lidded heavyweight Dutch oven over medium heat until oil just begins to ripple but not smoke. Add beef and its residual liquid to pot in batches, browning well on all sides and transferring to a clean bowl as you go. Set bowl aside.

3. Add onions to pot, stirring to coat with fat. Cook until translucent, 5 minutes. Pour in half of stock, then use a wooden spoon to scrape up bits of caramelized meat and onion from bottom of pot. Add carrots and celery to pot, stir well, then fold in beef and its juices. Add passata, remaining beef stock and paprika to pot, stirring well.

4. Increase heat, bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and bring liquid to a simmer. Add potatoes to pot, stir well, cover and place in oven. Cook, stirring every half hour, until gravy is dense enough to coat the back of a spoon, 1½ hours. If goulash is too thick, add additional beef stock or water by the quarter cup, stirring well.

5. Remove goulash from oven, set lid askew and let rest 15 minutes. Serve goulash in bowls over cooked rice, spaetzle or thick slices of challah.

Braised Escarole and Cannellini Beans

Total Time: 25 Minutes Serves: 4

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
¼ dry white wine
4 cups dried, cooked or canned, drained cannellini beans
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for finishing
24 ounces chicken stock
6 cups coarsely chopped escarole (I used red kale)
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sliced country bread, toasted and drizzled with olive oil, parmesan and rosemary for serving

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic and carrots together until onions become translucent, 3 minutes. Add white wine until reduced. Add beans, bay leaf, red pepper, cheese and stock. Bring to a simmer and stir in escarole. Cook, covered, until gravy thickens and flavors meld, about 15 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. To serve, divide escarole and beans evenly among 4 serving bowls. Garnish with freshly grated cheese, drizzle with olive oil and serve with warm, olive-oil-rubbed, rosemary, and parmesan toast.

Original source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/lenny-russos-recipe-for-braised-escarole-and-cannellini-beans-1475688489 I thought it could use a little more acidity, so I added white wine with the vegetables. The toast was nicely done in the oven with rosemary and parmesan.

Paul Qui’s Pork Adobo Recipe

My buddy Bret put me on to this recipe. I went out and scoured the markets for coconut vinegar... My only regret is that I didn't make more. I used less vinegar than he suggested and it still did the job more than adequately. Tonight I had it with corn tortillas, tomatoes, and cilantro (because I had some in the fridge). And it keeps getting better with time, but it's simply not going to last that long... every time I walk by, I get some. Portion control... but not repetition control.




1 Boston butt

4 heads garlic, minced

4 shallots, minced

1 tablespoon coarse ground peppercorn 

4 bay leaves

1 litre coconut vinegar 

1/2 liter of water

75 grams sea salt

Put all the ingredients together and marinate for minimum 12 hours. Place pork in a shallow roasting pan with a rack and pour out some of the marinade, leaving all the vegetables and spices. Slow roast in your oven for 12 hours at 225 degrees or until it pulls apart. Serve over white rice.




Original post: http://www.gq.com/story/top-chef-paul-qui-pork-adobo-recipe

Algerian Lemonade

I went to Baraka Cafe, an Algerian restaurant near Central Sqaure in Cambridge, Mass. a few times and loved it--especially their lemonade. After a few attempts, I recreated it... and haven't made it for over 10 years. Something reminded me of it the other day. I hope you enjoy it.

1 quart lemonade
1/8 c. rose water
2 springs of mint
6+ strawberries, quartered
3-4 sticks of cinnamon

How easy is that? Just let them sit in the fridge overnight and give it a good stir the next morning. (This will let the cinnamon infuse--and it might have a tiny pink hue.) Get a nice tall glass with ice in it.

Coronation Chicken

The first time that I ever had Coronation Chicken was at a sandwich shop on Cornmarket St. I've always been a fan of chicken salad, and this added in another ingredient that I adore: curry. I've been wanting to make it for a while, but the recipe from The Hairy Bikers almost put me off. Then I found a recipe for 'Easy Coronation Chicken.' It hits the spot and has already proved a hit on this side of the Atlantic: (Also, it's orange-looking chicken salad... so I'm giving you a picture of HMTQ instead.)

Ingredients

• 100g (4 oz) mayonnaise
• 75g (3 oz) apricot chutney or preserves
• 1 teaspoon curry powder (or more if you like it as much as I do)
• 1 dessertspoon lime zest
• 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 500g (1 1/4 lb) skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets - cooked and diced
• some chopped coriander/cilantro

Preparation

Simple: put it in a bowl and mix it all together. Done. Serve it on some crusty white bread or a bed of lettuce. 

Kedgeree

I came into an SCR lunch one day at Oriel College and before me was this curried rice concoction... When I saw fish in it, I thought, "Well, here we go again, the kitchen's trying to use up leftovers. Another failed British culinary experiment." Well, one bite proved me wrong, and I was hooked. It combines several ingredients that I love: rice, smoked fish, and curry powder. When I tried to re-create it in the US, I looked to Jamie Oliver, who has not let me down when it comes to these fish and rice dishes.

Ingredients

• 2 large free-range eggs
• 680 g undyed smoked haddock fillets (I couldn’t find any in the US, so I used cod)
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 170 g long grain or basmati rice
• sea salt
• 1 knob pure butterghee
• 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 medium onion, or 1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 heaped tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 good handfuls fresh coriander, leaves picked and chopped
• 1 fresh red chili, finely chopped
• 1 small pot yoghurt

Preparation

This is Jamie, verbatim:

1. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes, then hold under cold running water. Put the fish and bay leaves in a shallow pan with enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from pan and leave to cool. Remove the skin from fish, flake into chunks and set aside.
2. Cook the rice in salted water for about 10 minutes and drain. Refresh in cold water, drain again, and leave in the fridge until needed. Melt the butterghee in a pan over a low heat. Add the ginger, onion and garlic. Soften for about 5 minutes, then add the curry powder and mustard seeds. Cook for a further few minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and lemon juice.
3. Quarter the eggs. Add the fish and rice to a pan and gently heat through. Add the eggs, most of the coriander and the chilli and stir gently. Place in a warm serving dish. Mix the rest of the coriander into the yoghurt and serve with the kedgeree.

Chana Masaledar

I love Indian food. I can think of no exceptions. The other week I had some chana masaledar (spiced chickpeas) with kulcha. Since I already had most of the spices at home, I gave Madhur Jaffrey's recipe a try. Easy. Simple. Make sure do you your mis en place first.

Ingredients

• 1 Tb vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 fresh, hot green chili pepper, minced
• 1 Tbs ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper 
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• 1 Tb amchoor powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 c. tomatoes, chopped small or 1 15-oz can of whole tomatoes with their juices, chopped small
• 2/3 c. water
• 4 c. cooked chickpeas or 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 lemon (juiced) 

Preparation

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seeds, amchoor (if using it), paprika and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spiced for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, add lemon juice and salt to taste.