In my effort to add some more vegetables to my diet, I’ve been going through my numerous cookbooks on the cuisines of the Mediterranean region and I’ve come across many wonderful recipes for vegetable “stews.” While many of these countries have numerous vegetarian dishes and stews I am most intrigued by the vegetable tagines of North Africa. I think it it because of the heavy use of spices in these dishes that I am so attracted to them. I have found that I, personally, am less apt to miss a meat component in a dish if it is heavily spiced.

To truly be called a tagine, the stew should be cooked in a dish of the same name, a large, shallow earthenware dish topped with a very distinct, conical lid. The food is placed in the bottom bowl and allowed to simmer slowly until all the ingredients are tender and flavorful. Well, I don’t have a tagine to make my tagine in, but other than that this dish stays pretty true to the flavors and ingredients of North Africa. Placed on a bed of couscous, this meal easily satisfies even a die hard meat eater like me.

Vegetable Tagine

1 cup garbanzo beans, dried (chickpeas)
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium butternut squash (or other winter squash) peeled and cut into 1″ chunks
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 can (14.5oz) stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup prunes, chopped
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (more if you like the heat)
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
salt
pepper
olive oil

Soak the dried garbanzo beans in 3 cups of water for 8-10 hours. Drain, place in a pot with fresh water, to cover, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes, until tender but not mushy. Drain. In another pot, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until onion turns translucent. Add carrots and squash. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, then add the cinnamon, cumin and red pepper flakes. Saute for 1 minute then add the tomatoes, prunes, water and garbanzo beans.

Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender and the squash is just starting to fall apart. Adjust seasoning, stir in the cilantro and serve.

I am amazed by many of my blogger friends out there. Where do you find the time to post so often? I try to post regularly but I often find life interfering with those plans. I try to get out 2-3 posts a week, usually, but, like this past week, I didn’t have time to get anything done. Between work, family and other writing assignments I just couldn’t fit it in. I know, I need to make it more of a priority, but sometimes other things just have to take precedence, especially family time. And, well, I felt that I needed a little break. I am constantly surprised by how much time is taken up trying to keep a blog fresh. Yes, I know, I’ve said that before, but its true. From recipe development, to cooking, to photographing, to photo touch up and writing, a post can easily take up a few hours.

But enough of my excuses for not writing. That’s not what you came here for; to listen to me whine. I’m back to cooking after a short break and surprise, surprise, this post is again inspired by Latin cuisines. I love the cuisines of Latin America, especially that of Mexico. Like so many foods from rural and less prosperous areas, much of the cuisine is simple and straight forward. That in no means implies that it is bland or boring. Quite the contrary, in fact. Foods from such areas are usually robust and full of flavor. They also have that comforting quality, that speaks of home, that often haute cuisine lacks. Not that all dishes are simplistic. Mexican mole is a great example. Ask any chef and they will tell you that moles can be some of the most time consuming and complex sauces out there. There are some mole recipes that contain upwards of 30 ingredients and require numerous steps in its completion.

The dish I offer up today is of the simplier variety though. Carnitas are one of my favorite dishes. Simple yet flavorful, it simply diced pork that has been braised then allowed to fry in the fat that has rendered out of the meat. Plenty of fat is what makes this dish so tasty so look for pork shoulder (butt) that hasn’t been trimmed of too much of its fat. Served simply with corn tortillas, a little pico de gallo and lime. It doesn’t get much better!

Carnitas

5 pounds pork shoulder (butt) bonless
water
salt
1 lime

Dice the pork into 1″ cubes, leaving most of the fat intact but removing any really thick silver skin that remains. Place into a pot and just barely cover with water. Season with salt and the juice from 1 lime.

Turn the heat on to medium and allow to cook for about 1 1/2 hours. At this point most of the water should have evaporated. Turn the heat to medium high. Allow the rest of the water to evaporate. At this point the only liquid left in the pot should be the fat that rendered out during the braising. Allow the pork to fry, in its fat, until it has browned and crisped up slightly.

Plate immediately and serve with pico de gallo, lime wedges and tortillas. That is plenty of a meal for me, but if you like accompany it with refried beans and rice, or maybe a few fried plantains.

It’s hard to believe that something so simple can taste so fantastic, but then again, pork fat can work wonders on just about anything!!!!

I can’t believe that this is my first stew recipe here on “Once a Chef…” I love stews and usually make them often during the cold, winter months, but I’ve been slacking in that department this year, it seems. There’s just something so comforting about a big pot of stew cooking away on the stove top when the wind is howling, the snow is blowing and the temperatures plummet. While I like all types of stews, I have to admit that I am partial to simple beef stews chock full of hunks of meat, carrots, onions, potatoes and other root vegetables.

Like so many of the recipes I offer up here, stews can easily be modified to suit your tastes. Add a little red wine, or mushrooms. Vary the herbs, or add a whole variety of root vegetables. Finish the stew with sour cream, yogurt, or a little fortified wine, or leave it plain. The possibilities are endless and you can build it to suit your own tastes and cravings.

I’ve kept this one rather simple, but have added a bit of flair by using Guinness in the dish. The maltiness of the beer helps to elevate the sweetness of the rutabage, while the caramel tones compliment the well browned meat. The bitterness just kind of fades into the background, but be careful how much you use or that bitterness can ruin the dish.

Beef & Guinness Stew
serves 4 with a few leftovers

1 1/2 pounds beef (I usually look for chuck or round) cut into 1 1/2″ cubes (fat and sinew removed)
4 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 medium onions, peeled, large dice
2 ribs celery, large dice
3 each carrots, peeled, large dice
1 1/2 bottles Guinness (that leaves 1/2 a bottle for drinking while cooking because it would be a shame to waste good Guinness!)
2 cups water
1 medium rutabaga peeled, large dice
3-4 potatoes peeled, large dice
1 each bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
salt
pepper

Season the flour with salt and pepper, and toss with beef to coat. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy bottomed pot heat the oil over high heat. Add half the floured beef to the pot and cook until deep brown on all sides (people have a tendency to want to stir meat too often as it is browning-once added to the pan let it cook for 3-4 minutes before stirring, then only stir enough to mix it around so that other sides brown, allow to cook a few minutes before stirring again). Once meat is sufficiently browned remove from pot and cook remaining beef. Remove that also and add onions, carrots and celery. Add a little more oil if necessary and cook until lightly browned. Deglaze pan with the beer, stirring to scrape up all the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 5 minutes then add the beef, along with any juices that have accumulated, the water, bay leaf, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a hard simmer, reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer, slowly, for 1 1/2 hours. Add the rutabaga and potato, cover, and cook until meat and vegetables are tender, about another 30 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary. If the stew is a little thin for your tastes (I like my stew pretty thick) mix a couple of tablespoons of flour with just enough water to make a thin paste. Add to stew and bring back to a brief boil to thicken. Serve with homemade biscuits.

In the last few years I’ve become a convert of Crock Pots and slow cookers. In my younger days, as a chef, the mere mention of a slow cooker would elicit derisive chuckles out of me and my cohorts. Slow cookers were tools for those who didn’t know how to cook properly, or for the “happy homemaker” who couldn’t master the art of braising. These were my younger, food snob days. I’ve since then changed my tune quite dramatically. Admittedly, I still prefer to create a braised dish on the stove top or in the oven, but those require that I be home for a considerable amount of time to watch over them. Sorry, but I would never leave my house for hours with the oven or stove on, but a Crock Pot is a different story. Plug it in, turn it on, go to work, and come back hours later to a warm, hearty meal.

Slow cookers aren’t the end all for braising though. There are too many dishes that require a more subtle touch than a slow cooker can achieve, or need a better mix of dry and moist heat that the humid environment of a Crock Pot just can’t achieve, but many dishes, such as stews, soups, pot roasts, etc. are perfectly suited for a slow cooker.

There are a couple of tips that I will offer up though to help you make your Crock Pot meal come closer to restaurant quality. The most important is browning your meat before you add it to the slow cooker. Most slow cooker recipes are created to be “dump and go,” but I beg you to take the time to brown your meat first. This is what really helps develop that deep flavor that is found in slow cooked meats. Take the time to brown all sides of the meat to a deep brown before adding it to your slow cooker. After browning the meat deglaze the hot pan with some kind of liquid, preferably a little wine or other alcohol and add this to the slow cooker also, making sure you scrape up any little cooked bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. The other tip I offer up, is forget that “high” setting on your Crock Pot. If you are putting something in the cooker before work and won’t be home until dinner time “low” will be plenty to cook just about anything. I don’t care what the recipe says, use the low setting or risk coming home to overly cooked, dry meat. Of course that high setting can be used for shorter cooked items or to reduce the braising liquid after the meat is done, but for any cooking of over 4 hours stay away from that setting.

Today, I created a great Crock Pot Sauerbraten dinner. It was based on a couple of traditional sauerbraten recipes I have. Traditionally the beef is marinated for 2-3 days before cooking. This helps to create a dish with lots of depth of flavor and it also helps to tenderize tougher cuts of meat. In this version I skip the days of marinating. The end product might not have quite the depth of the original but is so flavorful I don’t think you will notice.

Crock Pot Sauerbraten
3-5 pound Chuck Roast
2 each Carrots, peeled and sliced
2 ribs Celery, chopped
2 each Yellow Onions, peeled and chopped
1 cup Red Wine
2/3 cup Cider or Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
12 each Cloves, whole
12 each Allspice, whole
20 each Peppercorns, whole
2 each Bay Leaves
8 each Juniper Berries, crushed slightly (optional)
1 cup Water
10 each Gingersnap cookies

Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown both sides of the chuck roast in a hot skillet, until a deep brown. Place meat in a slow cooker. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of water, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan. Add to the slow cooker. Add vegetables, wine, vinegar and sugar to slow cooker. Place the spices in a coffee filter (for easy removal) and tie shut. Add to the slow cooker, cover, turn to low and allow to cook for at least 5 hours and up to 8. The meat should be fork tender when done. When meat is done crush up the gingersnaps and add to slow cooker along with the remaining 1/2 cup of water. Replace cover and cook 30 minutes longer. Gingersnaps will dissolve into the sauce thickening it. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

**Note** I use the term slow cooker and Crock Pot interchangeably. Crock Pot is a proprietary name for slow cookers though it has become a generic term referring to all slow cookers, in every day usage.

I’ve been on a bit of a Latin kick recently and the other other day I decided to try my hand at making Pupusas. Pupusas are a snack popular in El Salvador and Honduras, that can best be described as a stuffed tortilla, though that description doesn’t quite do the dish justice. Traditionally, the pupusas are stuffed with either cheese or chicharron, or a combination of the 2, though it can be filled with many different things. I chose to fill my pupusas with cheese and shredded pork that I had braised in beer and salsa.

Making pupusas is easy, perfecting them is difficult and takes lots of practice. It’s fun to watch them being made by someone who really knows what they are doing, and it’s mind blowing that they can do it so quickly without allowing any of the filling to poke through. While mine turned out well, they could have been a bit thinner, bigger and rounder, but these issues didn’t affect the taste one bit.

Pupusas are usually served with curtido, a type of cabbage slaw that adds a wonderful, fresh crunch to the dish and a nice hit of acidity to liven it up. I didn’t make any this time and was sorry I didn’t as it really adds to the dish.

Finally, if you are not familiar with Latin foods, you must seek out Masa Harina, a type of corn flour, for this dish. It has become pretty common in most supermarkets nowadays as our Latino population continues to grow. Regular corn flour or corn meal is not an acceptable substitute as it doesn’t have the same flavor and doesn’t seem to hold together the way masa harina.

Pupusas

Filling:
1 pound Pork Stew meat, cubed
1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
6 oz. Beer
1/4 cup Salsa (homemade is preferable)
1/4 cup Ketchup

Dough:
2 cups Masa Harina
1 cup Water

Cheese (A good Queso Blanco if you can find it, if not then use Monterey Jack)

Heat a skillet over high heat and add oil. When oil is hot add pork, season with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Add beer, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes. Add salsa and ketchup. Cover again and cook until pork is tender, approximately 20 minutes more. Uncover, and mash the pork with a spoon or whip to shred it. Continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Allow to cool to room temperature. Once pork is cool make the dough by combining the water and the masa harina. Allow to sit for 8-10 minutes to allow the dough to fully hydrate. Divide into 8 portions. Pat each portion into a circle approximately 6 inches in diameter. Take 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the filling and 1 Tbsp. of the cheese and place it in the center of the dough circle. Bring the dough up around the filling, completely encasing the filling and sealing any cracks. Using your hands press the filled ball into a 6 inch circle again. It should be just under 1/4 inch thick. This takes practice to get them perfect, but is pretty easy to make a passable product. Heat a skillet (cast iron works the best) over medium high heat and cook, without adding any oil, for approximately 4-5 minutes minutes on each side. Serve immediately as these are best when hot and still crispy on the outside. Garnish with curtido or with a salsa of your choice.

Curtido

1 medium head cabbage, shredded
4 cups Water, boiling
2 small carrots, grated
1 small onion, sliced
1 each Jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water

Pour boiling water over cabbage and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Drain off water and squeeze most of the water out of the cabbage. Combine with all the other ingredients and stir to combine. Place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours before serving.