A Wonderful, Any-Night Supper

Beef Ragout

Beef Stews are so comforting, and especially on these cold nights. There are so many possible ways to combine ingredients to make a stew, and this is just one more. I made this last week some time, and am just getting around to posting it. Looking at the recipe makes me want to go back and make it again.I called this Beef Ragout. Ragout is just a spiced stew of meat and vegetables. That description leaves a whole lot of leeway, and would fit most any beef stew. This one is nothing fancy, and just plain good. It has just the right amount of meat and vegetables, and a lovely flavor. It is hearty and warming and all that one wants from a dish such as this. Because the meat is marinated and then cooked in wine, the resultant sauce is very purple. This is perfectly acceptable for a stew made with wine, but to adjust the color, I used Kitchen Bouquet.

Beef Ragout

Beef Ragout

1.5 pounds beef stew meat, or chuck, in 1 – 2-inch cubes

MARINADE:
1 cup dry red wine
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 – 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 whole cloves
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1 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet meat coloring
1 large can (13.25 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
½ - 1 cup water or stock
1 cup frozen peas
4 medium-small potatoes, peeled, cooked in salted water

Early in the day or the evening before, combine all the marinade ingredients in a container with a lid or a zip-top bag. Place the meat into the marinade and toss to coat well. If marinating and cooking the same day, the meat can be left on the counter.

Peas added to the cooked stew to heat through

When ready to prepare the stew, remove the meat from the marinade and place on layers of paper toweling to dry. Reserve the marinade. Preheat oven to 300, or whatever temperature will just maintain a simmer.

Have ready a large stew pot or braising pan with tight fitting lid. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the butter and olive oil with the onions. Sauté the onions, stirring until golden but not browned. Remove the onions to the stew pot, reserving any oils in the skillet.

Cooked potatoes added in

Add in half the meat cubes and brown them quickly, raising heat if necessary; remove them to the stew pot when done. Repeat with remaining meat cubes. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and onions and toss until the flour disappears. Add in the reserved marinade, Worcestershire, Kitchen Bouquet, mushrooms and water or stock to just reach about half to ⅔ up the meat. Cover the pot and set the pan in the oven for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the meat is tender.
When the stew is done, remove from oven, add in the peas and cover, allowing the peas to heat through. Add in the cooked, cubed potatoes and stir to combine.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest. 

Thai Green Curry Paste in a Recipe

lines showing how to slice across the grain

Yesterday I finally got around to trying a recipe with my recently made (and frozen) Thai Green Curry Paste. I got chicken breasts to use for my recipe, though boneless chicken thighs or pork tenderloins would work well also. In order to slice meat thinly, it is best to start with it still partially frozen. For the chicken breast, or for any meat used, it is also good to slice it across the grain of the meat. When the meat is cooked in the dish with the cut across the grain, it allows very easy cutting and eating with a fork. 

julienned carrots

The vegetables for a Thai Green Curry recipe are usually things like green or red bell pepper and hot green chiles, more garlic and lemongrass (there is garlic and lemongrass in the Thai Green Curry Paste used in the recipe). I also used julienned carrot. Coconut milk is generally the liquid. My favorite brand of coconut milk is Thai Kitchen; it just tastes like fresh coconut, to me. I did not use extra hot chiles, as my husband would not tolerate them, but feel free to use as many as you can stand! 

My Dried Keffir Lime Leaves

Many recipes call for Keffir lime leaves (sometimes spelled Kaffir Lime). I have never yet had the fortune of having a real, fresh Keffir Lime. I hope someday to have that experience and really know the difference between those and Persian limes. Meanwhile, the best I could do with my Thai curry was to use dried Keffir lime leaves. The only place I found them (at the time I was looking, a couple of years back) was Savory Spice Shop, in Colorado. I am sure they are available elsewhere, but this was where I found mine. Keffir limes are indigenous to Southeast Asia and now grow in Hawaii as well. The leaves often have a double leaf, looking like two leaves growing end to end. The fruit's skin is extremely puckery; far moreso than a Persian Lime. Wikipedia has an excellent photo of both the fruit and the double leaves. 

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

The recipe turned out very well, overall. The flavors were great and everything cooked just as I wanted, meaning nothing was too overcooked. I believe that Thai flavors are not really my preferred flavors. While the meal was truly delicious, had it been an Indian Curry, I would have loved it far more. I just love some of the warm Indian spices more than Thai flavors. Regardless, I may be in a great minority on that, so do not let that stop anyone from trying this dish. It really was wonderful. 

Thai Green Curried Chicken

Serves 4 to 6

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast (about 4), partially frozen

Thai Green Curried Chicken

3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 dried Shiitake mushrooms
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 onion, in wedges or cubes
4 - 8 tablespoons Thai Green Curry Paste
1 can coconut milk (not sweetened)
2 carrots, peeled, julienned
1 green or red bell pepper, cut in cubes
2 - 4 Thai chilies, optional
3 cloves garlic, minced finely
3 - 4 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced finely
2 Keffir lime leaves, or 1 - 2 teaspoons lime zest
fresh cilantro leaves, as garnish
roasted cashews for garnish

Slice the chicken across the grain of the meat, into thin slices. Set them into a bowl and toss with the soy sauce. Set the Shiitake mushrooms to soak in about 1 1/2 cups boiled water. Cover and allow them to reconstitute for at least 20 minutes. Heat the coconut oil in a very large skillet or wok and cook the chicken, about half the pieces at a time. They need only be partially cooked. Removed them to a plate when done. Add the onions to the skillet and saute them for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add in the Thai Green Curry Paste and stir until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add in the coconut milk and stir to combine. Add in the vegetables, garlic and ginger with the lime leaves and return the chicken to the skillet. Stir together carefully and allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with cilantro leaves and cashews. Best served over white rice.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Mom and Dad's Bean Soup is a Delight

My Bean Soup, last evening

Long, long ago, when I was quite young, my Dad brought home a recipe for Bean Soup. They didn't often really cook together. Dad worked long hours and didn't always have time. He was inventive through, and loved to try new things, so I think that must be where I got my gene for trying new things! They made the bean soup though, and it didn't quite suit. So they tinkered with it, tweaked it, and over time, this is what they came up with; a delicious, stick-to-your-ribs kind of soup that is just heaven on a cold day. The photo below left is one my Dad took with his Sony Mavica camera. He was so proud to be able to take photos and immediately email them to all of us children. Dad passed on later that year, and Mom some years later, but their recipes live on.

Mom & Dad's Bean Soup, 2001

ham bone and beans in the pot with water - note the line

To make this soup, it is best to have a leftover ham bone from whatever occasion you have eaten a ham. It is also good to leave a bit of ham on the bone so you get some nice meaty bites in the finished soup. Whenever the occasion arises and a ham bone is left, freeze it, well wrapped until needed. If you really do not have a ham bone, it is possible to make this soup with smoked ham hocks. There was a time when ham hocks had a bit more meat to them, but these days, there is almost none. Still, the flavor will be there and that is the most important part. If you use ham hocks, you might consider adding in 1/2 to 1 pound of cubed ham. Other than the ham bone, the soup is really very simple. Nothing out of the ordinary goes in but beans, barley, onion, carrots, potatoes bay leaves and ketchup.

I don't recall Mom ever soaking the beans for the soup, and I never have when I make my own. Great Northern beans are best, though Navy Beans are fine. When Mom and Dad made the soup in later years, they started playing with the recipe a bit, using celery, which they never did when I was young, and sometimes substituting a bag of baby carrots for regular carrots, sliced. The soup will thicken as the beans are cooked for more than 2 hours. If you stop the cooking when the beans are just tender, the soup will not be as thick, though just as tasty. My preference is that the soup be so nice and thick you can almost stand your spoon up in it, but that is my choice.

Another thing my Dad always did, and I follow suit, is to add a little vinegar to the soup in his bowl. It really enhances the flavor of the soup. I know some may thing this is odd, but I love it, so give it a try. Anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon per bowl, to taste. This soup is heavenly good on its own, but a nice slice of bread with butter is a wonderful addition to the meal.

Bean Soup

The finished soup

1 leftover ham bone, with up to 1 pound meat left on
1 pound Great Northern Beans, picked over and rinsed
1 large onion, diced
1 - 2 bay leaves
1 cup barley, preferably the long-cooking kind
3 - 4 large carrots, scrubbed, sliced in coins
2 - 4 potatoes, depending on size, peeled, cubed
3/4 - 1 cup ketchup

Put first five ingredients into a very large soup pot and add water. The ham bone should stick out by about 1/3 (note the line I made on the photo above to show where the water line was). Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for about an hour or so. Add the carrots, potatoes and ketchup, cover and continue to cook for at least another hour or two, until soup is slightly thickened and beans are falling-apart tender. Remove the ham bone from the pot and set it on a plate. When cool enough to handle, break off all the meat and break it up into shreds. Discard the bone and any fat. Return the meat to the pot and stir in. Remove bay leaves and pass the vinegar!



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Wonderful, Warming Winter Stew

Carbonnades Beef Stew with Beer

I read about this stew a very long time ago. The book, no longer in print, was called Glorious Stew, by Dorothy Ivens, copyright 1969. It has been one of my favorite cookbooks since I got it as a soon-to-be new wife, way back then. The stew is supposedly Flemish in origin, and according to Ms. Ivens, the meat was meant to be cut in thin, flat pieces. Two things that made this stew stand out was the amount of onions and that it used beer as some of the cooking liquid.

I tried making the stew as Ms. Ivens suggests, but over time, some things just seemed easier to do a slightly different way. I liked the idea that the onions should be equal in weight to the meat. Onions are very sweet when cooked, and these just seem to melt down to nothing during the stewing period. I like beer, and learned to drink heartier beer while living in Guatemala, so a heartier beer is what I have always used. Ideally, a Belgian Ale would be the right beer for this stew. In Guatemala, I only had Guatemalan beer to choose from. Since living in the US again, I have used German beer over the years. Now, beers from anywhere in the world are available, so finding a Belgian Ale is not such a difficult thing to find anymore. Still, as with wine; if it is good enough to drink, then it is good enough to use for cooking.

Ingredients for Carbonnades

This recipe is found all over the internet, and is made in widely varying manners. The only thing that is consistent is the use of beer as some or all of the cooking liquid. There are enough beers available singly that even if beer is not your drink of choice, a bottle can still be acquired to use for the stew. The alcohol is cooked out completely with the long stewing process, but the flavor is just wonderful. My husband absolutely dislikes anything bitter, and never, ever drinks beer. That does not stop him from loving this stew! I generally use one normal sized bottle of beer. If needed, I may open a second and use a little more (then I drink the remainder!).

Steps 1: Bacon and Beef in Pot

For me, a stew is a one-pot meal. I might, on a rare occasion, serve a salad first, but generally, if I make a stew; that is dinner. My husband will eat bread with it, but I find a stew filling enough on its own. The stew has potatoes in it. I put the potatoes in at the beginning of the cooking period, as I do not like extra pots to clean afterwards. If you prefer potatoes that still taste and look like potatoes, peel them and cut in chunks near the time the stew is finished. Cook them in salted water until just tender and then drain and add them to the stew as it is served. If tarragon vinegar is not available, use cider vinegar and add in a half teaspoon of dried tarragon or 1 to 1½ teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon.

Carbonnades Beef Stew with Beer

Makes about 4 servings

2 pounds beef rump or chuck

Step 2: Onions and seasonings in the pot

2 - 4 slices bacon, cut across into 1/4-inch pieces
2 pounds white onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 teaspoons salt
a few grinds of pepper
1 - 2 cups beer; Belgian Ale preferred
4 medium potatoes, peeled, cut in chunks
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
Extra parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to about 300 degrees. The stew should be able to maintain a simmer; adjust the temperature later, accordingly.
Cut the meat into 1 to 1½-inch cubes. Set the cubes of meat on paper toweling to dry; this ensures it will brown in the pan. Have a large stew pot or braising pan with a lid ready.

Step 3; adding the beer to the pot

In a skillet, brown the bacon. Remove the bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon and add to the stew pot. Retain the bacon grease in the skillet and add in the onions. Saute the onions until they are limp and golden colored, but not browned. Remove them to the stew pot with the slotted spoon. A few pieces at a time, brown the meat cubes. Do not crowd the pan or they will steam. Remove them to the stew pot as they are browned.


To the ingredients in the stew pot, add the

Step 4: Potatoes into the pot

sugar, 2 tablespoons parsley, bay leaf, fresh thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour in the beer and stir all the ingredients to combine. Set the stew pot on a burner and gently bring up to a simmer. Cover with the lid and set the pot in the preheated oven. Check the pot after about 45 minutes to see if it is at a simmer. If it is boiling, lower the heat; if it is not simmering, raise the heat slightly. Check again about halfway through the cooking time to make sure there is still enough cooking liquid. If it is dry, add either more beer, or supplement with beef stock or water. Cook for 2 to 2½ hours in all, or until the meat is tender.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and vinegar. Set the stew pot on top of the stove, remove the lid and set the burner on medium low. Gently stir in the tarragon and cornstarch mixture, stirring until the stew has thickened slightly. Allow the stew to continue at a simmer for about 5 minutes more, to ensure the cornstarch is completely cooked through. Garnish with more parsley before serving.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.