fbpx
Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

It’s Cold Outside. Let’s Cook

What are you going to make this wintry weekend?
8077877407_48c1429333_z

Well, fall has finally arrived, and then some. We had our first freeze last night, and it’s going to be cold all weekend. This is my favorite time of the year to cook, because I like nothing more than stews and braises.

I made a terrific stew the other night, one of the best I’ve ever done. It’s from a simple recipe Chef Daniel Boulud gave to Corby Kummer for his book The Pleasures of Slow Food.  Boulud uses lamb, but that’s hard to find where I live, and more expensive than beef. So I adapted the recipe for beef:

BARBATON DE BOEUF

Ingredients

3 lbs beef shoulder, cut into two-inch pieces

flour for dusting

salt and pepper to taste

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large onions (1 lb total), cut into 1/2 inch wedges

2 leeks, including white and green parts only, rinsed and cut into 1/2 in slices

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry white wine

3 lbs Yukon Gold or other yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and quartered of cut into 1-inch cubes, reserved in cold water

6 to 8 cups of unsalted chicken stock, or water [stock makes it more flavorful]

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs winter savory

1 bay leaf

leaves from 2 springs flat-leaf parsley, minced

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350F. Place oven rack in center of oven.

Lightly dust the beef with the flour and season with salt and black pepper. In an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven or a heavy ovenproof casserole [or black iron pot], melt two tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown for 6 to 10 minutes. Add the remaining butter and sweat the onions, leeks, and garlic, along with the browned meat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Make sure that they do not brown.

Add the wine and cook to reduce the liquid by three-fourths. Add the potatoes and stock or water, making sure that the meat and the vegetables are covered by one to two inches of liquid. Add the thyme, savory, and bay leaf and stir well to incorporate. Cover the pot loosely with a lid or with an oiled or buttered round of parchment paper pricked with a tiny hold in the center. Return to a boil, then transfer pot to the oven.

Bake the stew until meat is very tender and the potatoes are soft and have begun to break up, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours (but go longer if necessary). Ladle the stew into bowls, and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

I don’t have winter savory, so I just doubled up on the thyme. I also found I didn’t need nearly as much chicken broth as Boulud forecast. We didn’t have any flat-leaf parsley, either, but it doesn’t really matter. This stew was so easy to make, and so incredibly delicious. I took some to my father, and he said it was the best stew he has ever eaten (and I don’t think he was joking).

I would love to know what you’re cooking on this cold weekend across the country. Recipes appreciated.

Advertisement

Comments

Want to join the conversation?

Subscribe for as little as $5/mo to start commenting on Rod’s blog.

Join Now