January comfort food

When you're ready to go beyond rice dishes, here are a few hearty thoughts for the dark days of January.  I posted more hearty comfort food earlier in December --hamburger mashed potato pinwheels, lemony kale pasta plus lots of souperbowls that make a whole meal-- so you have a lot to choose from. That's good because this will be my last post for a few weeks while I go traveling around without Big Mac which holds this blog. You won't be starved for ideas. 

Watch for a fresh batch of recipes and February wisdom--celebrating Chinese New Year-- at the end of January.  If you need a special Chinese New Year Dish on January 25, please see Buddha's Delight in my book Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. It's the most traditional, widespread and beloved dish for the occasion.

Castilian chicken with apples and prunes
This is Spanish comfort food worth a re-post..

not my photo

serves 4

6 lg chicken thighs with skin on, bone in
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 med yellow onions, thinly sliced then sliced again into crescents
1/2 med red bell pepper, diced
2 lg garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 med carrots, peeled and diced
Salt to your taste
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 bay leaf
3 cooking apples (Macs, Cortland, Macoun, Gala), cored and quartered
8 pitted prunes
Salt the chicken thighs. Heat the oil in a large frying pan/skillet and fry the chicken over medium heat, turning with tongs until golden on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate. in the same pan and oil, put the onions, red pepper, garlic and carrots. Raise heat to medium just until they start to soften, maybe 2 minutes, then lower heat until they are soft. Add salt to your taste. Return the chicken to the pan. Sauté 3 minutes, then add the vinegar. It will bubble. In 2 minutes add 2/3 c water and the bay leaf. Cover the pan and simmer on low/simmer 30 minutes to cook the chicken.

Add the apples and prunes, arranging them between the chicken pieces if you can. Cover the pan again and simmer 20 more minutes until the fruits are soft. Serve hot garnished if you like with minced fresh cilantro, although the Spanish tend not to do that.

Italian beef stew with lots of black pepper

The really good news here is you can make this a day ahead. If you don't want  to serve it with mashed potatoes, you can make buttery egg noodles. Anything to sop up the sauce. Just add a green salad and you have an elegant dinner.

Serves 4
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 ¼ lbs stewing or braising beef – chuck, flank or neck, cut into large chunks
3 garlic cloves, peeled but whole
1 bottle red wine, ideally chianti
Salt
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper, plus a bit extra just in case,

To serve
Buttery mashed potatoes

 In a heavy gauge lidded casserole or stockpot, warm the olive oil. Over medium heat, brown the meat-- in batches if necessary so every piece hits the bottom of the pan. Return all the meat to the pan, add the whole garlic cloves, red wine and a pinch of salt. Add the ground peppercorns.

Bring the pan to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is very tender but still holding its shape. If you like, remove the lid for the last 45 minutes to reduce the sauce. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Ideally allow to rest for a few hours – better still, overnight – then reheat gently.

Pasta with walnut sauce

This is ideal for vegetarian moments and also for those seeking a boost in their energy/health. In Chinese medicine, walnuts are thought to help the kidney restore lost chi.  Of course, some people are deathly allergic to walnuts so check first among guests. I like serving this with carrot salad to get color and crunch on the table.

Serves 4

½ c walnuts, shelled
2 pieces day-old crustless bread

¼ c whole milk
1 garlic clove

¼ c flat leaf parsley leaves
½ c extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp heavy cream or crème fraiche

¼ c parmesan cheese grated

salt and freshly ground black pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes
¾ lb cavatelli (thin twisted 2” long) pasta

Soak the walnuts in boiling water about 15 minutes. Drain and remove as much of the skins as you can. It’s a pain but this will keep the sauce from being too bitter.

Preheat the oven to 225º.

Break the bread into small pieces, put it in a bowl and pour the milk over it. Let it sit 5 minutes, then squeeze out the milk. In a food processer, combine the bread with the walnuts, garlic and parsley leaves. Blitz while pouring in the oil to make a smooth sauce. Transfer the mixture to an over proof serving bowl. Mix in the cream, cheese and pinch of red pepper flakes. Season with salt and a bit of freshly ground pepper. Place the bowl in the warm oven while the pasta cooks.

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain, reserving some of the water.  Stir in into the warm bowl of walnut sauce, add 2-3 tbsp of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce. Serve at once with an extra bowl of grated parmesan.

Moroccan carrot and pistachio salad

not my photo

This is a great alternative to the spicy Korean carrot salad I am so fond of I've posted it several times. For extra color use a variety of carrot hues.

 

1½ lb carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
2 oranges, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
½ small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
 2 oz pistachio nuts, toasted and chopped

1 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves

1 tbsp mint leaves

For the dressing
3 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp orange blossom water
2 tsp honey
1½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk the dressing ingredients in a bowl with half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Add the salad ingredients, toss to coat and serve.

Bhutanese pork with bok choy and cauliflower

This recipe is from my Himalayan collection and wants to be served with rice, red rice if you want to be very Bhutanese. Add citrus salad. 

Serves 4

1 medium sized cauliflower, cut into florets

1 c water

2 tbsp corn, mustard or canola oil

1 med/lg onion, peeled and quartered

2” fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips

1 large jalapeno or small Serrano chili pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

3 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced into thin strips

1 lb pork filet cut into thin strips (use shoulder, country rib or boneless chops)

1 tsp crushed chili flakes

¼ tsp ground star anise or ½ star crushed

2 teaspoons salt

3 large bokchoy, cut into strips

2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

for garnish: 1 bunch cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

In a medium saucepan, combine the cauliflower florets and 1 cup water with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook 3-4 minutes until florets just start to soften. Remove from heat.

Break the onion layers apart. Heat the oil in a large wok or sauté pan over medium/high flame. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilies and stir-fry 2-3 minutes until they soften slightly. Add the pork, crushed chilies, star anise and stir-fry another 3 minutes to brown the pork. Add salt and continue to stir-fry until pork is cooked through and not pink anywhere. Add bokchoy. Drain the cauliflower keeping the water, and add along with up to 1 cup of that water. Blend everything and continue to cook 5 minutes until everything is soft and cooked through. Squeeze in the orange juice. Taste to adjust salt and crushed chili flakes to your liking. Add the cilantro leaves, stir to blend and serve.
 

Root vegetable pot pie

This is one of my personal old favorites. I made it up years ago and everybody liked it so much I keep making it every fall and winter. I included the recipe in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. Just add green salad and you have a very colorful, nutritious vegetarian meal.

Serves 6

1 lg onion, peeled

1 small rutabaga, peeled and coarsely chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 white turnip, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces

3 carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1” pieces

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into ½” disks

1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced into thin disks

1 leek, washed and cut into ½” disks

1 sm daikon, peeled and cut into thin disks

1 small celeriac bulb, peeled and coarsely chopped

6 purple or red round potatoes, washed and quartered

1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced

2” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

4 lg garlic cloves, peeled and minced

½ tsp ground turmeric (this is a rhizome)

3 tbsp olive or peanut (a ground nut) oil

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp ground chipotle powder or smoked paprika

2 tsp dried marjoram leaves

1 tsp ground coriander (this is the root of the plant)

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 ½ cups vegetable broth or water

½ cup chopped tomatoes

½ cup fresh parsley sprigs, chopped

1 cup dried polenta meal

½ cup buttermilk

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp plus 1 tsp butter

¼ cup grated parmesan, romano or asiago cheese

4 cups water

pinch of nutmeg

Slice the onion into thin disks, slice each disk in half and then in half again.

Heat the oil in a large casserole or small soup pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic, ginger, black pepper and turmeric and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add the shallot slices, the onion and the leek. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until they are soft. (They will be colored by the turmeric.) Stir in the ground coriander, chipotle or smoked paprika and marjoram. Put the remaining root vegetables in the pot. Add the salt and broth or water. Raise heat to a boil. Cover, lower heat to simmer and cook 20 minutes.

 Preheat an oven to 350º.  Get out a large ovenproof casserole or deep-dish pie pan.

In a large saucepan, boil the 4 cups of water and salt. Stir in the polenta and 2 tbsp of butter and stir rapidly to blend, so the polenta doesn’t lump up.  Continue stirring and cooking the polenta for 4-5 minutes, until it starts to release large bubbles.  Remove from heat and stir in the buttermilk.

Stir the tomatoes and chopped parsley into the vegetables.

Fill the casserole or pie dish with the vegetables and their juice, leaving about ¼” at the top. Using a large kitchen spoon, spoon the polenta over the top to create a crust, up to ½” thick is okay. Be sure to cover the edges and smooth the top. Cut the tsp of butter into tiny pieces and scatter on top of the cooked polenta. Sprinkle on the cheese and the pinch of nutmeg.

Put the potpie in the center of the oven and put a large cookie sheet on the rack below it to catch any spills.  Cook for 20-30 minutes, until the top vaguely starts to brown and crisp.  Remove and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serve with a raw kale salad.