Cooking

Welp…

So Very Small went on sale today.

I put a post last week that talked about the book (and its imminent arrival) in some detail, so I won’t repeat all that here. Instead, I’ll just say that the editor of my last four books thinks it’s my best work to date, and I believe–more with each passing day that RFK Jr. remains the top US health official–that it’s my most important.

What I do want to do here is make good on a promise I made in that earlier post: to provide a food/cooking interlude at some later date. (I’m much later than I’d suggested, but I’m hoping that the thought counts.)

So two recent cooking experiences/suggestions.

1: This (with a slight variation).

That’s a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe for spatchcocked chicken cooked with butter beans and shallots, recently published in The Guardian. My cousin, a former producer on the BBC 4 Food Programme (now there’s a gig!) made it for me a few weeks ago when I blew through London for a few days, and I really liked it.  I came home, tried it once; thought it was good but could be better, and just this weekend made it again, and nailed it.

My variations on Ottolenghi’s original:

First, I used a much smaller bird than he prescribes. I like 3.5 to 4 lb birds (~1.6 to 1.9 kg); my cousin had made her version with a chicken on the larger end of what Ottolenghi suggests and it was tasty, but the texture wasn’t right and I think it’s easier to control the doneness of the whole dish with the smaller options.

Then I cheated just a little downward on the amount of turmeric. It’s a very strong spice and I think going a little lighter made the dish a bit more graceful.

I used water as mentioned in the recipe the first time out but on the second I used a 50:50 combo of white wine and home made chicken stock and it was really good.

After the first by-the-book version, I tried slicing the lemon into thin rounds instead of two halves. That was better to my taste, though you give up squeezing the roasted lemon juice, which is fun.

Finally, I think one can play around with the variety of beans. I stuck with butter beans on the first iteration and really enjoyed them; they brown up well and play very nicely with everything else. Second time out, though, the local supermarket was out of them, so I substituted cannelloni beans (I’d been thinking about going this way) and they were great. They hold their shape and texture more than the others, and they tasted great.

2: I think I’ve already commended Yasmin Khan’s sumac-pomegranate chicken thighs to the Jackaltariat. If not, I should have. It’s grand, and I don’t do anything to the recipe. Just rock and roll and eat like a monarch.

What’s new (for me) is that last Friday I found myself with a small piece of boneless leg of lamb–a pound and a quarter, perhaps. I pounded that sucker into a more or less consistent depth, cut cross hatchings top and bottom, and then rubbed the marinade from that chicken recipe all over and into the meat. I let it sit for a little, then roasted it in a 375 degree oven to medium rare (a little closer to medium than I’d like, perhaps)–maybe 20 minutes, maybe a little less. It would have been good if I’d had time to marinate it for a bit, but it was damn fine as it was and was an unbelievably quick turnaround for supper for two.

This thread is open–but if you’ve got tales of fun variations on favorite recipes, well…as they say in kindergarten, bring enough for everyone.

Reading and EatingPost + Comments (34)

Like I said, I got some time on my hand, and I have been craving beef stew, so I thought I would cook up a big batch of beef stew to store in the freezer and have for dinner. As I was doing it, I thought “why not share my recipe since it is so easy.”

Now be foreworned, this may not be how you have had beef stew or how you make beef stew, and I am certain it will piss off the professional chefs and the recipe afficionado types, because I don’t really have measurements. I just eyeball it and go.

What you will need for this (other than a big pot, and stove, and a knife), is the following:

Big ole hunk of beef: You can use anything you like from the cheaper cuts of beef. I had a massive chuck roast in the freezer that I bought for pennies on the dollars months ago because I still shop like I lived through the depression, so that is what I used. But you can use round, sirloin, brisket (although who would do that it is so damned expensive these days), etc.

Veggies: I am sure there are official veggies for some types when it comes to stew, but my attitude is you are the one eating it, put in whatever you damned well please. Personally, I added carrots, potatoes, turnips, onions, celery, parsnips, mushrooms, and peas to this one.

Flour and seasonings: Any old flour will do, but I had some AP on hand and that is what I used. For herbs, I had some fresh parsely, rosemary, and thyme, a head of garlick, and some bay leaves.

Oil: Any old oil will do. Again, I am sure some people will bitch about using a specific type, but I just used olive oil because I only have avocado, olive, sesame, and chili oil on hand and olive made the most sense.

Misc: Tomato paste, red wine, lee & perrins, beef stock.

Directions:

Turn your sink on so it is cool, and give your beef a good wash and pat it dry with towels. Put it on the cutting board and ignore it. Fill your sink with cool water and half cup of salt, throw all your veg in it. This will serve to start the wash on your veg, firm up any loose celery or what not, get any bugs off it, etc.

Go back to your beef. Cut it up into cubes the size you want. Throw it all into a container (I just use a big cambro I have on hand). Give it a couple splashes lee & perrins, a little bit of salt, and grind some black pepper into it. Put the lid on, and vigorously shake it for a bit until the salt/pepper/wworcestershire sauce is evenly distributed it. Put it aside.

Wash your veg, drain the sink, pull the veg out and put in another container (or your stew pot). Clean your cutting board and dry it off. Begin chopping your veg.

Again, this is a personal thing as far as I am concerned. It’s stew. No one gives a shit about precision knife cuts. I personally want big hunks of veg because they all cook different. I cut all but the biggest mushrooms in half and quarter the others, and so on. Just user your own judgment this ain’t rocket surgery. Once all your veg is done, put it aside. Obviously you cut your garlic normally or use your press, etc.

Go back to your meat container, give it a shake, and throw in a quarter to half cup of ap. Shake the living shit out of it. While you are doing this, bring your skillet with the oil up to temperature. When done coating the beef with flour, start to brown it in the pot/skillet. Take your time you want it nice and browned on all sides. If you have more beef than you can do in one run, just make sure to add more oil and let it heat up. You can just go ahead and throw the browned pieces into your stew pot with your veg.

Once all the beef is done and in the stew point, deglaze your skillet with red wine. Get all that flavor out of there, add in some of your beef stock and the tomato paste, heat it up and stir until it is consistent, and then dump it into the stew pot.

At this point, everything should be in your stew pot. Throw in your beef stock. I use stock I made myself, but if you are buying it I would recommend the unsalted so you can salt to your liking. Throw in the rest of the wine, wrap your herbs in cheesecloth and chuck them in, and bring it up to temp.

And you are basically done. Once it is near a boil turn it down to a simmer, put a lid on it, and be like Elsa and Let it Go. Just fuck off for a few hours, checking every now and then to make sure you are not burning it and to give it a stir. If it seems to be too thick, add some more stock or water. Not think enough, make a roux and throw it in. If it needs salt, add salt.

When it is almost done I like to throw in a half stick of butter to give it a creamier mouth feel, but again, that is me.

Again, just have fun, this is something that is really hard to screw up.

Also, this is what mine looks right before I put the lid on it:

John Cole’s Amazing One of a Kind Beef StewPost + Comments (120)