One neat thing to do with an everyday, basic, all-time-favorite recipe is to put spins on it, adding to or tinkering with it so itap not only different, itap exciting again.
I call this “hen and chicks” — the hen being the main recipe, the chicks its many variations.
For instance, you can take a classic hummus — plain ol’ garbanzo beans mushed up with garlic, lemon juice, tahini and olive oil — and vary it several ways. Mash ripe avocado and herbs into it; whip in some beet juice and ricotta cheese; or some puréed sweet potato and curry powder. Or, perhaps some mashed cooked carrot and pumpkin spice (a good turn for this fall.)
Today’s recipe is famed in the history of the Denver Post food section: Five Hour Stew from former food editor Helen Dollaghan. Itap today’s “hen.”
One chick, beef “burgundy”: Omit one potato; add a sprinkling of rendered pork lardons or bacon, 1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence, and 1 1/2 cups button mushrooms.
Two chick, sweet and savory: Add 1 cup dried, pitted prunes and 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh plucked thyme leaves.
Three chick, Thai: Drop the potatoes; at the halfway mark, add 1 seeded and chopped serrano (or small hot red pepper), or more to taste, 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, a few leaves of Asian basil and 3 tablespoons lime juice.
Four chick, Indian: Substitute for the beef the same weight in cut-up, skinned chicken thighs; add 1 tablespoon garam masala and 1 teaspoon curry powder (or more of both to taste); swirl in 3/4 cup plain yogurt to finish.
Five chick, Middle Eastern: Substitute for the beef the same weight in cut-up, lean lamb; add 6 minced cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
To pull off “hen and chicks” in your kitchen, consider variations that add sweet (such as dried fruit), or savory that add aromatics and flavor notes (such as herbs or grated cheese), or that capture cooking from other cultures (Greek? Lemon juice and oregano. Asian? Lime juice, chilis, green herbs. South American? Corn, chilis, lime juice).
Five-Hour Stew
From “Helen Dollaghan’s Best Main Dishes,” recipe first published in The Denver Post, spring 1967
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless round steak, trimmed of fat and cut in 1-inch cubes
- 2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- Pepper to taste
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut in eighths
- 6 medium carrots, peeled and cut in 2-inch pieces
- 1 cup coarsely chopped celery
- 1/2 medium green pepper, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 slice white bread with crusts, torn into small pieces
Directions
Mix together steak, tomato sauce, water, salt and pepper in a Dutch oven. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. (Meat need not be browned first for this recipe.) Bake, tightly covered, in preheated 250-degree oven for 5 hours or until meat is tender and vegetables are done. Stir once or twice. Serves 6 or more.
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