Lamb and Lentil Stew

Lamb and lentil stew is a staple around my house.  I prefer semi boneless lamb, so I can easily bone the lamb and trim generously, leaving lots of meat on the trimmings.  I then use the bone and trimmings for this stew.  You can use a full bone-in leg of lamb, but you better have a big enough pot to house that bone.  The bone and trimmings really form the flavor base for this rich stew, but you also could do a variation of this stew with a combination of lamb meat and chicken broth, if that's what you've got on hand..
1 lamb bone
¼ lb meaty lamb trimmings
1 carrot, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
6 cups water

2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
8 oz mushrooms, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp powdered cumin
½ tsp powdered coriander
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp rosemary leaves, crushed
1 cup Puy lentils

1 potato, peeled and diced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained, or 3 plum tomatoes, diced
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Toss the lamb bone and trimmings along with the carrot and onion into a soup pot with a dash of olive oil. Cook over medium high heat for about 10-15 minutes, to allow the meat and veggies to brown up and caramelize very, very well.

This will form the flavor base for the stock. Add the water and bring to a boil. Skim of any foam that might float to the surface, reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for about 45 minutes.

Let stock cool and then strain into a bowl. Remove and dice any meat from the bone and trimmings and set aside.

Sauté the next batch of carrot, onion and celery in a dash of olive oil in a soup pot. Simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the veggies to caramelize a bit. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking on high heat until the mushrooms release what water they will.

Turn heat to medium and allow the mushrooms to brown up a bit. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes and rosemary, and cook another 2-3 minutes.

 Return the stock to the soup pot and add the lentils. Bring to a gentle boil, stir, and reduce to a simmer. Cook covered for about 45-60 minutes, depending on the age (hardness) of the lentils (you can soak the lentils the night before, and that can reduce the cooking time).

Meanwhile, heat a dash of olive oil in a small skillet to shimmering hot. Carefully add the tomatoes and allow them to cook for about 5-8 minutes to darken in color and enrich their flavor.

Once the lentils are just becoming soft and toothsome, like slightly undercooked rice, add the potato and tomatoes to the soup. Salt and pepper to taste (better to salt and add tomatoes [acid] later when cooking lentils because salt and acid can slow the cooking process). If you used canned diced tomatoes, you can certainly add the reserved tomato liquid, or save for another use.

Cook stew until potatoes are only just soft, and the lentils are soft enough to eat, but still have body. Stir in the vinegar.

Garnish with fresh parsley. Serves 6.

Cook’s Note: You can use whatever vinegar you have, or lemon or lime. A dash of acid brightens up this very rich dish.

Sriracha Minestrone

This is a go-to Master Recipe I use for using up leftovers - meat and veggies - and make a rich soup really very quickly.  There are myriad variations on this theme depending on what you have hanging around that needs to be used up.  You certainly have flexibility with the name Minestrone, which comes from the Italian root minestra, and apparently ultimately means 'that which is served'.  No constraints...
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart chicken broth
1/4 cup barley

1 can Sriracha chili beans with sauce (I used Bush Beans)
1/3 lb chicken meat (I used leftover grilled chicken)
1 large potato, peeled and diced

2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

Sauté the carrot, celery and onion in a dash of olive oil in a soup pot. Allow the veggies to soften and caramelize a bit, cooking for about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and the barley and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes until the barley is just about softened. Add the beans, chicken and potato and return to a gentle boil. Reduce to a simmer and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the green beans. Cook until the potato and the green beans are just soft enough to eat.

Serve 4-6.

Cook’s Note: If you don’t have prepared Sriracha chili beans, you could use a regular can of chili beans (pinto beans in a chili sauce) and add Sriracha to your taste.  Alternatively, you can use a whole (undrained) can of pinto beans and add a dash of cumin and chili powder, and again, Sriracha to taste.

Paella Primavera

Adding tomato paste to the paella gives the dish a rich flavor note that elevates this vegetarian rice and bean dish to something quite extraordinary.  Especially if you are generous with the red pepper flakes.
2 cups cauliflower floweretts
2 cups green beans cut 1-1/2 inch
1 carrot diced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 red onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups water

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Sauté the cauliflower, green beans and carrot in a dash of olive oil in a large skillet. Salt and pepper to taste and add red pepper flakes.

Cook veggies about 5 minutes, only until the veggies heat through and the green beans just begin to soften - the veggies will cook more later.

You want them still very crisp. Remove veggies to a bowl.

Tip the rice along with the onion and red pepper into the skillet with a dash more olive oil. Toast the rice with the veggies for about 5 minutes, stirring almost regularly.

Add the tomato paste and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the tomato paste darkens up a bit.

Add the water to the rice and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, until the rice is just about cooked.

Now the messy part. Stir the veggies and the pinto beans into the rice to mix well.

Cover the skillet and cook the paella for another 5-10 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked.

Serves 4.

Pork and Pinto Stew

Cooking up beans in the slow cooker is a great way to a fast weeknight meal.  Cooks by itself while you work - what could be easier? So long as you have a few minutes the night before to prep.
1 lb pinto beans
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 lb baby carrots
3 stalks, celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp crushed rosemary flakes
1 Tbsp oregano leaves, minced
1 lb oxtail (two large)
1/2 lb smoked chorizo, sliced
1 lb baby Yukon potatoes
1 quart chicken stock plus 2 cups water to cover

Soak beans for 8 hours in plenty of water. Drain when ready to prepare the stew.

Sauté the onion, carrots and celery in a browning slow cooker or in a skillet. Add the chorizo and ox tail pieces.

Cook about 10 minutes, browning the meat on all sides. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary and oregano and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Add this mixture into the slow cooker with the beans, potatoes, stock and water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook 4 hours on high and then 4 hours on low setting.

Remove oxtails to a plate and then remove meat from bone. Return meat to stew. Gently stir and serve in bowls.

Serves 6-8.

Moroccan Chickpeas

Last weekend on my way to mountain biking, I was listening to Milk Street Radio, a great cooking show on Saturday WHYY radio.  They asked an Indian chef, Vikram Vij what she would cook on a simple weeknight.  She described a nice vegetarian chickpea curry in about 3-4 sentences which seemed so simple, wholesome, delicious and most importantly - fast!  I hopped on my bike and as I rode I worked out how I would make this dish, and it went something like this.
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbsp Ras el Hanout, Moroccan spice blend
1 tsp ground cumin

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 can coconut cream (I used Trader Joe’s)

Sauté the onion and carrot for about 5-8 minutes in a medium pot.

Add the drained tomatoes and cook another 8-10 minutes.

Add the tomato paste to the veggies and cook about 5 minutes, until the tomato paste darkens up a bit and enriches its flavor.

Remove mixture to a bowl.  Add a dash of oil to the pot and toss in the garlic and ginger.

Cook about 2-3 minutes. Add the Das el Hanout powder and cook another minute, stirring constantly.

Return the tomato mixture to the pot along with the chick peas.

Add the coconut cream and the reserved tomato liquid. Add enough water (only if necessary) to make a nice stew consistency.

Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat, stir, and cover. Cook for about 15-20 minutes to develop the flavor - just about enough time to make some rice.

Serve with rice. Serves 4-6.

Cook's Note:  This is a quick dish directly from the pantry - a real fast weeknight dinner.

If you do not have Das el Hanout, just use whatever curry spices or garam masalas you do have.  You could mix 1/2 Tbsp cumin with 1/2 Tbsp turmeric, 1/2 Tbsp ground coriander and 1/2 Tbsp smokey pimenton paprika, for example.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Black Bean and Kale

If you ever do get a cold day this mild winter, warm up with baked squash - a traditional winter dish.  Here I stuff a carnival squash with a mixture of black beans, kale and leek, baked under a toasted hazelnut topping sweetened with dried cranberries. Hearty, warming and stick-to-your-ribs.  And you get to turn the oven on in winter.
1 Acorn squash, quartered and seeded
1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 leek, trimmed, cleaned and sliced
1/2 purple Bermuda onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups Tuscan kale, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup cooked rice

Topping:
1/4 cup hazel nuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil

Toast the hazelnuts in a 375F oven for about 3-5 minutes, just until aromatic. Watch, or they can burn quickly. Remove from oven and allow to return to room temperature. Keep oven at temperature.

Place squash, skin-side down, in a an oiled casserole. Sprinkle with sugar and season with coarse salt.

Roast covered in oven for about 15 minutes. Continue cooking uncovered about 15 minutes.

While squash cooks, sauté leek and onion in a skillet with a dash of olive oil.

After about 10 minutes, add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the kale and cook another 10 minutes. Add the black beans and rice and warm through. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss hazel nuts, cranberries and garlic in a small food processor. Pulse to form a coarse meal.

Tip into a small bowl and toss with the olive oil.

Remove squash from the oven and carefully stuff the squash evenly with the kale mixture. Top each squash with the hazel nut topping, distributing evenly.

Return to the oven and cook another 30 minutes.

Serves 4.

Pumpkin Apple Soup Over Savory White Beans

There's a reason they call it winter squash.  My smaller pumpkins from Halloween, kept in the cool, dark basement were still beautiful right after New Year's.  OK, they may not have been so sweet as at harvest, but let's not forget what our forefathers had, as they stored their harvest for winter feeding.

If you don't have a nice medium-small sweet pumpkin, stored from fall and still ''rooking mawh-velous" (a shoutout to Saturday Night Live) in January, then you can simply use a nice butternut squash that you find in the market.  Really, any winter squash would work wonders here.  But don't fret about how sweet your pumpkin or squash might be (so long as it looks unblemished, beautiful and smells absolutely fresh), because this soup is sweetened by apple and sweet potato.

This soup becomes a full meal when coupled with savory beans, stewed with tomatoes and fennel and rich herbs like rosemary.  This is a warm, hearty winter dish, probably not unlike those eaten many decades ago in a simpler time.
1 medium pumpkin, about 8-inch diameter (or 1 large butternut squash)
1 lb carrots, peeled and thickly sliced, about 5-6
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced (I used Honey Crisp - choose something sweet)
1 sweet potato, peeled and coarsely diced
1 quart vegetable (or chicken) broth
about 2 cups water, more or less as needed
1 cup half and half

1 fennel bulb, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp rosemary, crushed or minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 cans white beans, lightly drained
1 cup water
1 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut the top off the pumpkin and scoop out and discard all the seeds and wet internals. Carefully slice the pumpkin (or squash) into 1-2 inch slices. Lay the slices on rimmed baking sheets and sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper.

Roast for about 40 minutes, or until they brown at the edges and smell very aromatic. Check the pumpkin every once in a while and turn pans if necessary to assure even heating.

While the pumpkin roasts, sauté the onion, carrot and apple in a dash of olive oil in large soup pot. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the veggies begin to brown and caramelize a bit. Remove from heat.

When the pumpkin is roasted, remove from oven and carefully slice the meat from the peel and add the meat to the carrots and onions in the pot. Add the broth and enough water just to cover the veggies. Bring to a boil, and stir. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring several times. Add the sweet potato and cook another 20-30 minutes, stirring often.

While the soup cooks, sauté the fennel and onion in a medium pot with a dash of olive oil.

Cook for about 15 minutes, until the veggies soften and begin to caramelize. Add the garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes and coriander.

Cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook for another 8-10 minutes.

Add the beans and water and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, stir, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often. Then add the butter to the beans and stir to incorporate.

Purée the soup with an emersion blender. Pour soup into shallow serving bowls. Mound a cohesive mound of beans, about 3/4 cup, into the center of each bowl protruding from the soup.

Serve with crusty bread. Serves 6.

Baked Carnival Squash with Chorizo Brown Rice and Black Bean Pilaf

Stuffed acorn squash is such a warming fall and winter dish - every time I have it I wonder why we don't eat more of it.  There are myriad ways to stuff acorn squash, and you can call one your own.  As a start, try this.
1/3 cup short grain brown rice
1 Tbsp rainbow quinoa
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 cups water
1/4 tsp salt

2 Carnival acorn squash, sliced in half through stem and seeded
1 Tbsp brown sugar

1/3 lb ground pork
1/3 lb raw chorizo
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic
palmful cilantro
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp whole grain mustard

1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400F. Sauté the rice and quinoa in the oil for about 5 minutes until fragrant.

Add the water and salt and bring to a gentle boil. Place acorn squash halves in an oiled casserole with 2 tablespoons water on the bottom.

Season evenly with brown sugar, salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the pork, chorizo, shallot, garlic, cilantro coriander, cumin and mustard in a medium bowl.

Mix gently with your hands or two forks. Sauté mixture in a large skillet until the meat is well browned. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Then add the black beans, and the rice when it is cooked. Mix well.

Stuff the squash halves with the rice mixture.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake in oven covered for 15 minutes, and then uncovered for 15 minutes.

Serves 4.