Lentil Stew

Serves 4

I adapted this dish from a recipe I found in one of my Food & Wine magazines. I don’t know about you, but it seems like I’m finding more and more “quick & easy” recipes available in cooking magazines and cookbooks. I think more and more people are cooking but have less time so the periodicals and TV shows are featuring more recipes under an hour.

The recipe is from José Andrés, a celebrity chef from Spain often credited for bringing small plate dining to America. The article featuring this recipe is called Star Chefs’ Dream Recipes and features recipes from members of the Chefs Make Change coalition whose goal is to “support farmers, fight hunger, help at-risk kids and more.”

You can learn more about their cause at Chefs Make Change and make a donation if you feel so inclined.

Roast Chicken Thighs with Lentil Stew

Although the recipe is for roasted chicken thighs, I’m focusing on the lentil stew served with it because I think home cooks need more side dishes to add to their cooking repertoire.  Besides, roasting chicken thighs is easy:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°.
2. Coat the thighs with a little bit of oil.
3. Season with some salt, pepper and any other spices you may enjoy.
4. Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160° knowing that while resting it will reach its target temperature of 165°.

That’s it!

Lentil Stew

This is a great side dish you can prepare with lots of meals. I can see myself serving this with pork tenderloin, lamb or even duck breasts. Chef Andrés recipe calls for green lentils but I substituted red lentils because that’s what I had in my pantry and I thought it worked.

Because lentils cook more quickly than other dried legumes, there is no need to pre-soak them. This cuts down on the cooking time and makes them accessible for busy weeknight meals. However, it is important to wash them well and pick out any small stones that you tend to find in a bag of them.

Lentil Tip

Don’t add salt to the liquid you are cooking them in because it toughens the lentils. Season after they are cooked.

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 slices of bacon, diced finely
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 1 quart of chicken stock
• 8 cloves garlic plus 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 leek, white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise
• 1 medium carrot, halved lengthwise
• 1 large bell pepper, quartered
• 1 cup lentils ( I used red but the recipe calls for green)
• 1 thyme sprig
• Salt
• 1-teaspoon Pimentón de la Vera (smoked Paprika) – if you can’t find Pimentón, substitute sweet paprika.
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

How to Prepare Lentil Stew as a Side Dish

Heat up a large saucepan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. When hot, add the bacon and cook until it is brown but not crisp. Next, add the diced onion and cook for about 3 minutes until you can smell them release their aromatics.

Add the stock, garlic cloves, leek, carrot, bell pepper, lentils and thyme sprig. Bring this mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

When done cooking, remove the thyme spring from the lentils. You may find like I did that it breaks up into pieces and is hard to remove every bit of it. Don’t worry; it adds a little additional flavor to the stew.

Pick out the garlic, leek, carrot and bell pepper quarters and transfer to a blender.   Add about ¼ cup of the cooking liquid and puree the vegetables.

The recipe says to drain the lentils and return them to the pot. My experience was there was nothing to drain. I’m not sure if this was because I used red lentils rather than green lentils but I don’t think so. So if you experience the same, don’t worry about it.

Add the pureed vegetables to the lentils and give them a stir.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat, add the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil and then the garlic. Reduce the heat to low and cook the garlic for about a minute. Add the smoked Paprika, stir and transfer it to the lentils. Stir and simmer for a few minutes.

Add the sherry vinegar, taste and if needed, season with salt.

Serve it in a bowl and top with the chicken thighs but do try this with other meals as a side dish. Lot’s of flavor and easy to prepare. And don’t hesitate to create your own version using other ingredients you have on hand.

About this time of year, every year, you hear me start talking about Jersey tomatoes. In their short season during the summer, I don’t think you can find a tastier Beefsteak tomato and we enjoy them as often as possible. Usually with fresh mozzarella and basil topped with good olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar but now I’ve found another great way to serve them. (Insalata Caprese)

It’s still a little early for Jersey Beefsteak tomatoes. I think they peak in August but we’ve been getting some pretty good ones from the Pennsylvania farmer’s co op my wife Meg belongs to where she works. In fact, we have been getting a lot of them so I’ve been looking for new ways to prepare them.

And in my Aug/Sept edition of Fine Cooking, there is an article by Melissa Pellegrino called Tomatoes in 10 where she comes up with a bunch of great recipes you can make in 10 minutes with farm fresh tomatoes. I hope to try them all but started with the first one Gratinéed Tomatoes with Cheese and Fresh Herbs. I completely adapted it by switching ingredients I had on hand and the results were delicious. I’m sure her version is even better so I’ll offer you both her recipe and my adaptation then you can go out and come up with your own and let me know.

Gratinéed is the adjective for gratin and means “with a browned crust of bread crumbs and grated cheese.” You may have heard of Gratin Potatoes.

Broiled Tomatoes

When I read this recipe by Melissa, I immediately went back to my early teens when my dad had us working around the house on Saturdays mornings during the summer. Before we could go off and play with our friends, we were required to do chores like cut the grass, pull weeds, clean up the yard….stuff like that. If my father was working on a big project like building a patio, we had to be there to help but at lunch time we would stop and he would prepare a great meal.

Since he grew his own tomatoes, he often took a slice of bread, added a slice of cheese (I’m sure it was either American or Velveta in those days), topped that with a slice of fresh Jersey homegrown tomato and a sprinkle of dried oregano. He would then stick them into the oven under the broiler until the bread was toasted, the tomato cooked and the cheese melted. I think this was his version of homemade pizza but they were delicious and after a few hours of working in the yard, tasted delicious.

Gratinéed Tomatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Fresh Herbs

I didn’t have all the ingredients Melissa’s recipe called for so I adapted. Here is my version and then I will give you her version. Very similar but mine is better…..just kidding!

Ingredients

2 beefsteak tomatoes cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1teaspoon chopped fresh sage
incredible freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

How to Make at Home

Arrange the sliced tomatoes onto a baking pan. I used one of those Silpat liners to keep the tomatoes from sticking and make clean up a little easier.

Combine the bread crumbs and cheese in a bowl. I ended up with extra because I only used two tomatoes, but now I have more if I want to make some of these for lunch.

Top with a little olive oil and then season with salt and pepper.

Stick under the broiler about 6 inches away from the heat and broil for about 3 minutes until the bread crumbs are a deep golden brown but not burnt. Remove from oven and top with the fresh herbs and an extra little extra virgin olive oil and serve.

In Melissa’s recipe, she adds the fresh herbs to the breadcrumbs and cheese mixture. I’m sure this is a better way to make this dish, I just didn’t take the time to run upstairs to look at the recipe and forgot. I have to say, no one complained about my tomatoes.

I served the tomatoes with shredded chicken over rice with a homemade green mole sauce my friend Paula made for me and a recipe I must get from her to share with you. There was also some leftover corn off the cob and a little sauteed spinach. And then there was a little “last chance” chardonnay wine to go with it. What a great meal!

Gratinéed Tomatoes with Asiago Cheese and Fresh Herbs
Melissa Pellegrino’s version

Same cooking technique, but she used slightly different ingredients and I’m sure you can play around with what you have on hand or are most fond of.

Mix 1/4 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup finely grated Asiago cheese, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh thyme, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

She uses three sliced tomatoes and tops with the above mixture and broils and finishes the way I described above. I can’t wait to try hers and then experiment with some other ingredients like fresh garlic or even some pesto.

What’s Your Favorite Version of This Recipe?

I’d love to hear what ingredients you would use for this dish. Post your comments below.

A Recipe For Getting Into the Spirit of the Holidays

Every year we start the holiday season by watching as a family the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens starring Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart, the parents of June Lockart who played one of the daughters in the movie. Later on she starred in two of my favorite shows growing up: Lassie and Lost in Space.

I know there are newer versions of this classic and even watched a little of Jim Carey’s A Christmas Carol in 3D at my friends Jonathan and Abby’s house this weekend but as amazing as the 2009 version is technically, give me the 1938 version with Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim. If you need a dose of Christmas spirit, this film is the right recipe.

This post is from contributing writer and friend Chef Mark Vogel. I want to thank him for sharing it with us and describing eloquently a little Dicken’s history and his recipe for Colcannon.

A Dickens Christmas

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is indisputably one of the most renowned and beloved authors of Victorian Age England.   He virtually resurrected not only the celebration of Christmas, but the nature of that celebration.  Thanks to the Puritans and their anti-pagan paranoia, the commemoration of Christmas was suppressed.  It was a dour holiday, solely focused on the church, and devoid of any form of merriment.

Dickens’ 1935 short story “A Christmas Dinner,” and more importantly the landmark “A Christmas Carol” in 1843 generated a rebirth of Christmas.  Christmas, while not forgetting its Christian underpinnings, now embraced jubilation, music, joyous feasts, an emphasis on family, and good will toward men. Indeed, even the practice of wishing others “Merry Christmas” can be traced back to “A Christmas Carol.”

Christmas Dinner

Christmas dinner became a time honored tradition and epitomizes the secular meaning of Christmas, i.e., the richness of friends and family.  Christmas dinner is a time to exult with our loved ones and cherish their importance to our lives.  As I’ve said so often, food is so much more than physical nourishment.  It is a vehicle by which we celebrate the most meaningful things in life.  Every Christmas-observing culture on the planet has special Yuletide foods.

Catherine Thomson Hogarth, (1816–1879) was the Scottish wife of Dickens.  Apparently she was quite an accomplished cook for in 1851 she published a cookbook entitled “What should we have for dinner?”

Colcannon

One of the dishes made by Catherine for Christmas was colcannon.  Colcannon is a mixture of mashed potatoes, cabbage, (or sometimes kale), some type of onion, butter and milk.  Originally an Irish recipe, colcannon was an economical and provincial dish eaten throughout the fall and winter when fresh green vegetables were unavailable.

It saved many a peasant from hunger when money and other fair weather foods were scarce.  By the 18th century it found its way to Scotland and England, and eventually to the Christmas dinner table.  Despite its pedestrian roots, it is said to have been a favorite amongst the upper class in England as well.  Similar concoctions of potatoes and cabbage can be found in other European countries and Russia.

There are varying theories as to the etiology of its name.  One posits it arose from the Gaelic term “cal ceannann” which translates as white headed cabbage.  Another asserts it is derived from cole, an old word for cabbage (as in coleslaw), and cannon, the artillery weapon.  It is said that Irish peasants used cannonballs to pulverize their vegetables into a mash.

Although associated with Christmas, colcannon was traditionally enjoyed by the Irish on Halloween.  Some families would leave out a plate of it for the spirits.  According to the Oxford Companion to Food, (Oxford University Press, 1999), Colcannon was used for the purposes of marriage divination. Irish cooks would hide charms in the admixture.  If a girl was lucky enough to find a charm in her serving, it was interpreted as a portent of marriage.

Other accounts claim that specific charms with unique meanings were hidden in the dish.  For example, a button meant that you would remain a bachelor while a thimble destined you to be a spinster.  Coins naturally, foretold future wealth.

Colcannon is simply produced by making traditional mashed potatoes, sautéing the onion, chopping and boiling the cabbage and then combining everything.  I prefer to sauté the cabbage with the onion.  Sautéing will always add a greater depth of flavoring than boiling.

The type of cabbage you employ is not vital.  I’m also liberal in my use of butter but you can adjust accordingly.  Likewise, milk is too wimpy for my dissipational constitution so like straightforward mashed potatoes, I use cream.

photo credit

Colcannon

• 4 large Idaho or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 leeks, white parts only
• Half a medium head of cabbage, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 stick salted butter, divided
• 6 oz. heavy cream

How to Prepare at Home

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, mash them and set aside.  For extra fluffy potatoes run them through a ricer.

Meanwhile, cut the greens and root end off the leeks and discard.  Cut the white parts in half vertically.  Fan out the leaves and thoroughly rinse them under running water.  Slice the whites crosswise.

In a large skillet, sweat the leeks and cabbage with some salt and pepper in half of the butter until softened.  Watch the heat and cook them gently.  Avoid burning the butter or browning the vegetables.

With a spatula, scrape out the leek/cabbage combination and all of the butter from the skillet into the pot of mashed potatoes.  Add the remaining butter, cream and additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Mix everything with a spoon and return it to the stove to heat everything through.  Serve with an ample amount of Yuletide joy with family, friends and the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Chef Mark R. Vogel