Braised Lamb Shanks

 

Maybe 15 or 20 years ago, we found a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant in my neighborhood called Troy. It quickly became our favorite - we never had a meal there that we didn't love, especially the braised lamb shanks which we washed down with bottles of Zoe red wine. We tried for years to buy that wine, but it was only sold to restaurants.  The other night we were reminiscing about Troy, thinking we might have to make the trip down to Savannah for some lamb and Zoe, when he urged me to look online one last time. Eureka! I ordered two bottles which he picked up today, and he bought me 4 lamb shanks from the butcher. The shanks are already in the the crock pot, and the house smells amazing!

Dredge the shanks in 2 tsp granulated garlic, 1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika, 1/2 tsp pink salt, 1 scant tsp black pepper, 1 tsp ground nutmeg. Brown in olive oil on all sides, remove and set aside. 

In same pan, add more EVOO if needed and saute till transparent:

2-3 carrots, peeled and chunked

2 celery, chopped 

1 med yellow onion, diced

Pour in 2/3 cup red wine, stir to scrape up the browned bits of fond, then stir in:

1.5 cup beef stock

15 oz can of tomatoes and juice

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp thyme

1 scant tsp rosemary

Nestle the shanks into the wine sauce, cover, and let it cook in the crock pot on high for 6 hours or more. The meat  should be falling off the bones easily. I dont think it is possible to overcook shanks in a crock pot, so let it go as long as you want, just check the liquid from time to time.

I think we will sop up the yummy wine gravy with couscous, or maybe barley.

My crock pot is a rectangular, 4 qt pot which sits on top of a teflon coated, heated griddle. The pot can be used on a burner, which I did today to do the browning and sautéing, or in the oven up to 350F. I highly recommend this type of slow cooker for its versatility. 

Edited the next morning: we had the shanks on a bed of simple farro, and killed a bottle of Zoe red wine. The meat literally fell off the bones. The wine was perfect for this. It was an absolutely delicious meal. We ate till we nearly burst, then vegetated on the sofa dozing and talking like the old farts we are. I highly recommend this recipe.

Cranberry Brie Crinkle Pie

 

Wow, this was big hit at Christmas dinner yesterday! I used an entire can of whole berry cranberry sauce, but I think it would be equally delicious with raspberry or fig preserves. In future, I would add a few nuts on top, maybe almonds or walnuts. The possibilities are endless. 

Half a package phyllo dough, room temp

2 x 8 oz rounds of brie

1 1/2 cup preserves or cranberry sauce

1 stick butter, melted

4 eggs

1 cup cream

Salt and pepper

Thyme, fresh or dried

This is so simple to put together in a lightly buttered 9x13 pan. Preheat oven to 350F. Lay the phyllo out flat. Grab 1 or 2 sheets and quickly crinkle like a fan - just scrunch it up - and place in pan. Don't worry if pieces tear or get a bit dried out as you work because it all works out in the end. Work quickly to cover the entire pan. Cut brie into 1/8 or 1/4" slices and tuck into the folds. Pour melted butter over all. Whisk eggs and cream, season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over all. Spoon dollops of cranberry all over and sprinkle with thyme.

Bake uncovered in center of oven for 20 - 25 minutes till lightly golden and bubbly. Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting. It's good cold, but best while still warm and gooey.

I have a photo, but can't seem to add it to this post right now. Will try later.

Chicken and Portabello Cannelloni

 I didn't have a recipe, but it was so delicious that I'm writing it down. Yesterday, I made Cock A Leekie soup and the two cooked breasts were left over. In my fridge, I had 4 large portabellos, some heavy cream, parmesan, and an unopened package of egg roll wrappers. In the pantry was a quart of Bertolli Marinara gathering dust, and the idea was born. It was yummy, but in retrospect, it would have been better with a classic bechamel. O was too lazy for that. I used my Vitamix which made short work of mincing.

2 large, cooked chicken breasts, ground or finely minced

2 large portabello mushrooms, ground or finely minced

1  tsp chicken bouillion powder

1 tsp each of salt, garlic powder, poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp pepper

Mix together well with your hands, adding enough heavy cream to make a moist paste.

Preheat the oven to 375F

Put about a cup of sauce into a 9x13 pyrex baking pan, and roll the stuffing into the rectangular pasta pieces. You don't have to wet them to keep them rolled, just place them seam side down. When all is used up and the pan is full, pour the rest of the sauce on top and drizzle the cream liberally over the top. I could have used more cream. 

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle about a half cup parmesan over the top and bake for up to 10 more minutes, till the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Let stand for a few minutes, then serve with broccoli, green beans, or salad on the side.

Pasta Puttanesca

Ah... I fondly remember my first exposure to pasta puttanesca ("streetwalker style"). Back in the 1960s, Mike Douglas, a big band singer, hosted an afternoon talk/variety show. He always had a cohost who filmed an entire week of episodes with Mike, so you got to know the cohost. A favorite cohost of Mike, and us, was the funnyman Dom Deluise, and there was always a cooking segment or two when Dom was on. One time, he cooked pasta puttanesca, full of olives, garlic, and capers, and my Mom and I were drooling. So my Mom made it exactly like Dom, and we absolutely loved it. Over time, this dish seemed to fall off the rotation.

Fast forward to the mid 1980s. I was living in San Jose, California, and saw a cookbook called, "Eat This, It'll Make You Feel Better", by Dom Deluise. The book is hilarious, just very funny, like Dom, but the recipes are delicious, and I began making his Pasta Puttanesca again. Over the years, I've made changes and substitutions according to what I have on hand. As my Italian mother's daughter, I always have a chunk of parmesan, various pastas, some kind of canned tomatoes and a selection of olives in the house, as well as onions, garlic and anchovies. I usually have capers, too, because I love them. And there is your puttanesca!

I've found that you can use cheapo canned black olives successfully, but if you do, you really need the bite of the capers. Green pimento or salad olives are a reasonable substitute for capers and look pretty, too. Whole San Marzano tomatoes don't add anything special here, so save them for your spaghetti sauce and use crushed tomatoes instead. Fire roasted, or tomatoes with basil don't seem to make much difference, either, so just use whatever you have on hand. I like a little bit of anchovy paste, or a couple of fillets in this, but leave them out entirely if you don't like them, especially if you are using very salty capers or oil cured olives. Just remember, the more olives, the better!

Here is what I did:

Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

2 or 3 large garlic cloves, minced

16 oz can pitted black olives, halved

4 Tbs capers, not rinsed

1 Tbs torn fresh basil, or 1/2 tsp dry

One 28 oz can crushed tomatoes 

Pinch of red pepper flakes

8 oz dried spaghetti of your choice

In a large, deep saute pan, 12" x 2", saute the onion in olive oil till transparent over medium high heat, add in the garlic for a minute. Add anchovy paste, too, if you are using it - I didn't last night.  Next, add the drained olives, or rinsed olives if using very salty or oil cured olives, and the capers and saute till everything is fragrant, a couple of minutes. Add in the tomatoes, stir well, bring to a slow simmer on medium low heat, and let it simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often so nothing burns. If using dry basil, add that and the red pepper while simmering.

While simmering, cook the spaghetti just till al dente. Nothing worse than mushy pasta. Ugh.  Strain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Stir the pasta into the sauce while on the stove, still simmering, adding a few spoons if the water if the sauce is too thick. Taste for salt, but you shouldn't need any. Serve plain, or with parmesan.

Feeds 4 as a pasta course, 3 light eaters as a main course, 2 hungry folk, or one ravenous Italian American.

 

Summer Minestrone

 I've often said that I could eat soup and ice cream every day. Today was a soup day. Normally I would not add any meat to this, but the dietician said to eat more protein and more beans, so chicken was added.

If you don't have homemade chicken broth, use Swanson's. It has the best flavor.

1 small onion, minced

1 large carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 lg cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp 

2 bay leaves

2 pinches red pepper flakes or to taste

2 qts chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes in juice

2 cups cooked or 1 can canellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 zucchini, diced

1 yellow squash, diced

2 lg handfuls greens (kale)

1/2 Cup soup pasta

Half bunch Italian parsley, chiffonaded

Half bunch fresh basil, chiffonaded

Salt and pepper to taste

Serve with parmesan

I added 8 oz diced chicken breast

Lebanese Chicken and Rice

 My mother-in-law was the best cook in her family, and trust me, that is saying something. I absolutely loved eating at her table, and she appreciated my obviou pleasure. Though she and I sometimes butted heads, she always cooked my favorites for me when we visited. Food was what we had in common, other than her youngest son, and it was the way she showed love in a somewhat contentious relationship. 

However, my mother-in-law absolutely refused to share recipes, or allow me (or her other 3 daughters-in-law) to watch her cook. So, her personal recipes are lost forever. I never understood that reluctance to teach us. 

When we moved across the country to California, we met many Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanians, and Palestinians at church. There were many pot lucks, and my husband and I soon found that two women cooked like his mother, Marge Hanna and Mary Salah. Both of these kind women took pity on this new bride and taught me everything I needed to know about cooking the meals my husband longed for. I thank God for the older women I met there at Church of the Redeemer, who taught me so much, some of it about cooking. I try to pay it forward in their honor. 

Rice is a staple for lebanese people, and it usually takes the form of broken vermicelli and long grained white rice sautéed till golden in butter and olive oil, then simmered till done. There are many versions; some with nuts, some with meat or chicken, some simmered in rich broth, and some in water. 

I used to always make the fanciest version for Pascha with minced lamb, onions, shallots, Arabic spices (see a prior post about my special mix), pistachios, almonds and pine nuts, called snoobah in Arabic. I will post that recipe soon.

This is a simple, every day version, ready in half an hour, made from ingredients readily available in most people's kitchen.

This will serve 3 or 4, with a salad or lubieh (recipe also on this blog) on the side.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup broken vermicelli, orzo, or other very small pasta

1 cup basmati rice

1/4 cup butter

2 Tbs EVOO

1 medium onion, minced

2 cups water or broth

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp allspice (or more, up to 1 tsp)

1 tsp salt

Pinch pepper

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, chunked (will be shredded later)

1/2 cup pistachios, almonds or pine nuts sauteed till golden in butter (optional)

METHOD:

In a heavy bottomed 3 qt pot with a tight-fitting lid, melt butter with EVOO over medium low. Sauté the pasta till golden, add rice and continue sautéing till golden, stirring constantly and watching carefully so nothing burns. Add the onions and allspice, stirring constantly till translucent. Pour in the water. Add bay leaf, salt and pepper, stir well and taste for salt. Stir in the chicken, bring to a boil, reduce to low, and cook for 20 minutes. 

When done, let it rest, covered, for a few minutes, then fluff with a fork, shredding the chicken as you go. If you are using browned nuts, and I highly suggest you do, stir them in with their butter, while fluffing and shredding.

Sahtein!

Minestra

 

Minestra is true peasant food, my favorite kind of food! In its purest form, its beans and greens in a simple, garlicky broth. In the US, where I live, Italian Americans tend to add a flavorful meat, like sausage or prosciutto. Either way is yummy.

I grew up with this stuff, and the variations are endless. What type of bean, what type of greens, what type of meat? I've had it with green cabbage, lima beans (butter beans for you Southerners) and chunks of really excellent pepperoni, which is almist impossible to find in the deep South where I live. Then there is the savoy cabbage, cannellini beans and hot Italian sausage. What about my mother's and my favorite of mustard greens, Christmas limas, and sweet Italian sausage. On the rare occasions that I find mustard greens  at the market, this is what I make.

It's a southern tradition to eat black eyed peas on January 1st, and the popularity of various types of greens here made minestra a no-brainer. I have never used a recipe for this; I just throw the basic components in the pot and keep tasting till my grandmother speaks to me from the grave saying, "That's good, Honey", and then I serve it. However, the beateous Laura asked for a recipe, so I'm memorializing what I did.

I normally cook dried beans myself, usually in my Instant Pot, so this recipe begins with looking up how long  black eyed peas take in the Instant pot, which is 10 - 12 minutes with a 15 minute natural release. I had some kale, and that takes 2 minutes in the instant pot. I decided to cook everything together.

INGREDIENTS 

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil (Evoo)

1 med yellow onion, chopped 

5-6 garlic cloves, minced

12 oz Italian sausage, sliced into 1/3" rounds (I used 2 hot and 2 sweet)

1 lb, or more, kale, cleaned, deveined, and chopped (I used bagged kale)

8 oz dried black eyed peas

4 cups chicken stock (taste for saltiness and chickeny flavor if its not homemade and add 1-2 tsp chicken bouillion or Vegeta if needed)

2 cups water.

Salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes (or cayenne) if desired

Shave some parmesan into your bowl for a real taste treat.

Serve with crusty bread to sop up the juices. 

INSTANT POT METHOD

Turn it on to sauté and let it come to temperature. Sauté the sausage till golden around the edges, stirring often, adding Evoo if necessary, about 5 minutes. Add in the onions and garlic to sauté, till translucent and fragrant.

Add in the black eyed peas and broth (reserve the water till later), bouillion powder if using, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir well. Pile in the greens, place the cover and cook on high for 15 minutes with 15 minutes natural release. 

Kale can take the extended cooking time - it will be very soft, but not mushy. Stir well, taste the peas, they should be buttery soft, but still retain their shape. Taste the broth for salt and flavor. My broth was a little bland to begin with, so I didn’t add any salt, but I did add the bouillion. When cooked, it was a little salty, so I added 3 cups water.  

We loved it!

STOVE TOP METHOD

Use 2 cans or 3 cups precooked beans.

In a 5-6 qt dutch oven, sauté the sausage, onions, and garlic in Evoo as above. Follow all directions, but cover the pot and gently simmer for half an hour. Taste for flavor and how tender the beans and greens are. Depending on the greens you use, it might take more or less time.