Lamb and Tomatillo Stew

I invented this stew for my mother's birthday when I was an undergraduate. Since then, I have made a few variations on it: one involving tender cactus, another involving mixed beans. This time I decided to use potatoes and green tomatoes; I think it worked very nicely.

One thing to note is that it's very, very easy to heat the lamb too hot while stewing; if you do, it will end up tough. Bringing to a boil is the kiss of death. I haven't gotten this exactly right in quite a long time; if anyone has a trick, please do share.

This dish seems far and away best suited to the spring, when the early-season tomatoes are still green. But a close second is fall--cold enough at night to justify a soul-warming stew, but warm enough during the day that a cilantro-and-lemon combination would still be welcome.

An awful lot of chopping needs to go into this stew. Indeed, by the end, I broke down and used a mini-prep to prepare the herbs and the hot pepper.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 lbs green tomatoes, diced into 1/2" cubes
• 1 lb fresh tomatillos, husked and diced into 1/2" cubes
• 1 1/2 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 3/4" cubes
  
• 1 1/2 lbs lamb, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup cilantro, finely minced
• 1 bunch scallions, finely minced
• 1 Annaheim pepper (or other chili), minced
  
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
  
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
  
• Olive oil
• Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large soup pot, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add lamb and brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.
2. Remove lamb and set aside. Add more olive oil if necessary; reduce heat to medium-low. Sauté onions and garlic, stirring constantly until beginning to turn golden, about 5-6 minutes.
3. Add the minced pepper and sauté for 2 minutes more.
4. Add the tomatoes, tomatillos, lemon juice and herbs; increase the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a just under a simmer, then reduce heat to very low (just below a simmer) and let cook, covered, for 1 hour.

NOTE: if your stew should accidentally reach a boil, quickly shut off heat and uncover. You may find that the lamb is already cooked through (it will cook through after only a couple of minutes at a boil); in that case, shut off the heat and allow to rest, covered, for another 30 minutes. This will tenderize the lamb somewhat.

Serve with a slice of avocado. Makes excellent leftovers.

Kasha (Roasted buckwheat)

Kasha is a traditional preparation of buckwheat groats prepared in stock with mushrooms, onions and (sometimes) meat. I love kasha. I think the better the broth you use, the deeper the flavor is, and also the nutrients.

I love to cook a meat or dark poultry to go into the kasha. I make a really strong broth first. I make either a beef broth or a chicken broth. Then, the next day, or later that day, brown the meat you want to use: like flanken or chuck or turkey thighs or whatever you use, and then simmer it (poach) in the broth (strained) for a few hours till it is falling apart and wonderful. Strain the broth again (if necessary) . This recipe uses 4 cups. Put it aside for the kasha. It has to be BOILING
only at the point when you add it to the pan with the vegetables and the egg/kasha mixture.Cut the meat up and keep warm and save to add to the kasha in the end.

Kasha Varniskes is kasha with bow-tie noodles. I cook two cups dry noodles and drain and keep to add at the end with the meat.

NOTE (4/18/09): Do not wash the groats, or else they will absorb some of that water while cooking with the eggs and end up soggy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups kasha (medium or coarse granulation)
• 2 cups dry bow tie noodles, cooked and drained
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 4 cups broth, hot

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saute or frying pan with a cover, cook the onions and mushrooms in oil until they are very soft and fully cooked, and smell great. You can add salt and pepper to them.
2. Keep this mixture warm until you are ready to add the hot kasha/egg mixture and the boiling broth to it.
3. KASHA : Beat 2 large eggs in a bowl. Add 2 cups dry kasha and use a fork to stir together until the kasha groats are all coated with egg.
4. Into another HOT (NON STICK )skillet ( yes, there are a lot of pots and pans and bowls for this ) toss the coated kasha groats. Cook over high heat 2-3 minutes,stirring,until the egg has dried on the kasha , the groats are separate and hot to the back of your finger.
5. Now, make sure that the broth is boiling, or get it boiling. ( Don't let it sit there boiling because you will lose some and there will be less than 4 cups).
6. Add the kasha/egg mixture to the frying pan with the mushrooms and onions (which you have thoughtfully heated up again) . Pour in the hot broth. Let it come back to a little boil, and then cover and turn down the heat and simmer for 7-10 minutes until the kasha groats are tender and the liquid is absorbed. It may take a longer time depending upon the richness of the broth.
7. Add the meat , if using, and the noodles. Season.

Serve warm; very good left over.

Braised Rabbit in Wine Sauce

This dish makes me think of Spain: specifically, of Hemingway's elaborate descriptions of Spanish country food in For Whom The Bell Tolls. Maybe that's just me.

Anyways, I started with this hasenpfeffer recipe, sticking to it pretty closely, except with about twice the herbs and aromatics. It was delicious--seven people ate six pounds of rabbit, and no one saved room for dessert--but it was too tough, and I don't think the recipe did enough to tender up the meat.

So I've incorporated some steps from this coq au vin recipe, which uses the wine to soften the fibers of the meat overnight before braising. I have not yet tried it this way; expect updates.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5-6 lbs rabbit meat, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups flour, divided use
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
  
• 1 lb bacon, diced
• 2 medium Spanish onions (about 1 1/2 cups), finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bottle red wine (preferably Pinot Noir)
• 3 tbsp. black currant or blackberry preserves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place 1 cup of flour and the kosher salt into a zip-loc bag. Coat each piece of rabbit in this mixture and set aside.
   
2. In a deep metal skillet, sauté the bacon over medium-high heat until evenly browned, stirring often. Remove the bacon to a bowl but leave all the grease in the skillet.
3. Fry the rabbit pieces, browning them on each side, and then remove them to a covered casserole or dutch oven.
   
4. Sauté the onions and garlic over in what's left of the grease, adding a little butter or oil if needed. (It's OK if the pan's pretty gunked up at this point.)
5. Add 1 cup of wine to the skillet and gently scrape the sides with a plastic or wooden spatula. The cooked-on drippings should yield to your spatula as if by magic. (This is called deglazing the pot.)
   
6. Pour this into a bowl and combine with the rest of the wine, bacon, herbs, pepper, lemon juice, and preserves.
7. Pour liquid over the tabbit, cover and refrigerate overnight.
8. The next day, preheat the oven to 325.
9. Cook the rabbit in the dutch oven for about 2 hours, maintaining a very gentle simmer. You want the lowest heat you can get while still having the liquid bubble slightly.
10. Transfer the rabbit to a serving plate and cover it with foil to keep warm. Meanwhile, transfer the liquid to a saucepan.
11. Remove about a cup of the liquid and combine with 1/2 cup flour. Bring the rest of the liquid to a simmer and whisk in flour mixture gradually to avoid lumps.
    
12. Simmer the gravy for a few minutes, then transfer to a gravy bowl.

Serve immediately with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

PAIRINGS: Rabbit has an intense, almost spicy gaminess, so a robust red wine such as Pinot Noir is the obvious choice.

Greek lemon-chicken soup (κοτόσουπα αυγολέμονο)

This incredibly delicious, beautiful soup requires a bit of practice to make right. The trick is to put in the eggs when the broth is at a high enough temperature to custardize them, but not so high that they would congeal into little bits of egg in the soup. This recipe is not authentic; "real" avgolemono uses boiled chicken instead of sautéed, much less onion, no mushrooms, and is generally much lighter. I like the additional body that the vegetables provide, making this into a dinner éntree proper.

Serve with a salad of bitter greens and vinaigrette.

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 cups chicken broth (preferably fresh)
  
• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken
• Olive oil for sautéing
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 yellow onions
• 12 oz. sliced mushrooms
• lemon juice (how much? a lot, in my opinion)
• garlic (ditto)
• freshly ground black pepper
• salt to taste
  
• cooked rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown, but do not cook, the chicken in a bit of olive oil. (i.e., sauté it until the outside turns brown, and then stop.) Set the chicken aside.
2. In your soup pot, begin sautéing the mushrooms over high heat until they soften.
3. Add in the onions and sauté until the onions begin to soften.
4. Add in the garlic and continue to sauté until onion and garlic is golden.
   
5. Add in the chicken and broth; bring to a boil.
6. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for about 30 minutes or until chicken is very tender.
7. While you're waiting, beat the eggs thoroughly with the lemon juice.
8. Once the chicken is cooked, turn down the heat to extremely low. You want the soup to be hot enough to custardize an egg, but not hot enough to fully congeal it.
9. Take a small amount of the broth and slowly add it into the egg mixture, beating vigorously with a whisk. (This helps to equalize the temperatures.)
10. Here's the scary part: beating as fast as you can, slowly add the egg mixture to the soup. (It may be easier to remove the chicken first.) The egg will begin to custardize instantly due to the heat of the soup.
    
11. Stir in black pepper and salt to taste. Serve with the rice immediately.
    

PAIRINGS: Enjoy with an deeply chilled shot of ouzo or sambuca and a cup of hot mint tea.