Now that the first wave of kitchen craziness has subsided, time to take a breather and slow down with the stockpot or casserole for a stew or braise that is assembled, cooked and eaten.
Time for some “Slow-Cooked Comfort” (HarperCollins, $24.95). Lydie Marshall is as well known for her cooking school in France as for books based on her Franco-American love of good food. Now she has bestowed 120 recipes bound to make taste buds happy, while letting the home cook assemble a one-dish meal. In this, Marshall’s fifth book, stick-to-the-
ribs comfort foods like cassoulet, monkfish with tagliatelle and braised pork with onions are great for guests when you aren’t up to a three- or four-course meal with meat and three sides on one plate.
In coursing through the ideas for pork, lamb, beef, chicken and fish, I could smell aromas drifting from the kitchen – ones only long, slow cooking can generate. This is a book you’ll return to even after the holidays, especially for as long as the weather outside is frightful.
For dinner, leave some nuts and olives around for people to nosh on, then launch the meal with a salad, followed by a hearty stew and finished with a pretty display of fresh fruit. Heaven on a plate.
– Ellen Sweets
Slow-cooked comfort: Soul-satisfying stews, casseroles, and braises for every season from “Slow-Cooked Comfort” (Harper Collins, $24.95)by Lydie Marshall.
Oxtail Stew
This is my very favorite stew. As with all stews, it is better made in advance and eaten reheated. Oxtails are not always easy to find in supermarkets, so be sure to order them several days ahead of time. A cheddar cheese spoon bread is a fine accompaniment to this stew.
INGREDIENTS
For the spoon bread:
DIRECTIONS
Pat the meat dry with paper towels. Season the flour, on a plate, with salt and freshly ground pepper. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Dip a few pieces of oxtail at a time into the flour, shake off the excess, and brown on all sides. Transfer the meat to a 7 1/4-quart Dutch oven. Add the carrots, celery root, and onion to the meat, and sprinkle with salt, freshly ground pepper, and the crushed hot pepper flakes. Add 1/4 cup water and cover tightly. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching at the bottom of the pan.
Uncover the pan and add the tomato sauce and stock. Raise the heat and bring the stew to a gentle boil. Cover the meat with greased parchment paper, put the lid on, and lower the heat. Cook at a low simmer for 3 hours. Now and then, peek under the paper and stir the meat. Be sure to let the steam under the lid fall back into the pot.
Transfer the meat to a heated dish, cover and set aside. Degrease the cooking juices by moving the pot off-centeron the burner and raise the heat to a gentle boil. Now and then, skim off any fat that rises on the side of the pot not firectly over the heat. When degreasing is done, ladle some of the sauce over the stew and serve with the spoon bread. Pass the remaining sauce in a sauceboat.
To make the spoon bread, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a 3-quart saucepan, bring the milk to a low boil. In a fine, steady stream, whisk the cornmeal into the milk; continue whisking until the mixture thickens. Off the heat, add the salt, pepper, baking powder, butter and cheese. Set aside to cool for a moment.
Stir the egg yolks 1 at a time into the cornmeal mixture.
Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and fold them into the cornmeal.
Pour the batter into a buttered 2-quart ovenproof baking dish.
Bake the spoon bread for 30 minutes before the oxtail stew is ready.
If the oxtail stew is prepared ahead of time, refrigerate the meat and sauce separately. Bring back to room temperature before reheating.
Braise of Pork Roast with Onions
In the fall and winter, I prepare this dish at least twice a month for friends who come to dinner unexpectedly. After a quick dash to the supermarket to buy a rib end of pork, onions, and potatoes, I am back in business in no time, cooking a delicious dinner with simple ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a 5 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium heat and brown the meat on all sides without burning, adjusting the heat accordingly. It will take about 30 minutes to brown the meat evenly. Halfway through the browning process, surround the roast with onions and garlic and stir. When the onions start to color, add 2 tablespoons water to keep them from burning. Season with salt and pepper; add the thyme. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, checking the meat once in a while, and letting the steam on the underside of the lid fall back into the pot. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cover them with cold water in a large bowl. Reserve. After about 1 hour, put the potatoes into the pot and mix them with the onions around the meat for the last 40 minutes of cooking.
Bone the meat the best you can and cut into large chunks. Serve with the potatoes and the onions. Degrease the sauce if necessary. Pass the cooking juices in a sauceboat.
Note: If this braise is prepared ahead of time, reheat slowly for dinner.
Monkfish with Tagliatelle
Monkfish is perfect fish to braise, as its flesh does not become mushy from long cooking. I serve the monkfish on a bed of lemony tagliatelle. It’s a grand dish. Some of the work can be done 1 hour before finishing the dish for dinner.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
With the point of a sharp knife, make incisions in the monkfish and bury the slivers of garlic. Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Pour it over the tomatoes and wait 15 seconds before peeling them. Slice the tomatoes in half horizontally, and with your thumb discard the seeds. Chop the tomatoes – you should have about 1 1/3 cups. Reserve. These steps can be done the morning of the day you plan on serving.
In a 4-quart Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the monkfish and cook for 5 minutes, turning the fish over several times and adjusting the heat to avoid burning the butter.
Scatter the carrots and shallots around the fish. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place the tied herbs on top of the fish. Cover tightly and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add the wine and continue braising for another 15 minutes, turning the fish over once or twice and basting it at the same time.
Meanwhile, bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until just under al dente (about 8 minutes).
While the pasta is cooking, transfer the fish with the carrots and shallots to a heated platter, cover with foil, and reserve in a warm oven. Discard the thyme, celery, and bay leaf. Add cream, saffron, and chopped tomatoes to the braising liquid in the pot and bring to a boil over very high heat. Boil the sauce down until it starts to thicken just slightly.
Drain the pasta and toss it in a heated bowl with the oil, lemon juice, and rind. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve: Bone the fish, cutting alongside the central bone, and cut it into 4 pieces.
Divide the pasta among 4 plates, and place a piece of monkfish on top with several carrot sticks and shallots. Ladle the sauce over the fish and serve immediately.
