SOUP, STEW and Other Bits OH MY...
Beef Stew with an Italian Twist- Plus Butternut Squash soup with some adaptations for vegetarians.. Hello to 2024 friends..
Hey Dear Friend,
It may be taboo to say this, I know we are well into 2024, but Happy New Year to you! I chose to take a real break at the end of the year, but as the season closed out I realized I needed even more time to hit pause. Instead of boring you with lots of heavy things today, I want to say thank you for being here, thank you for the support in 2023, and I have even more things coming your way via 2024.
For the newsletter here.. It will be filled with Lots of Recipes, some things not recipes, real life moments parenting teens/ juggling career and some photo projects I've been working on, which instead of having 20 different accounts, I'm going to play with keeping it all in one space.
As an extra thank you, I have extended my subscription discount, and added two new recipes to kick off this year with. One is filled with All the MEAT, and the other is A veg heavy butternut squash Soup adapted from my amazing cook + neighbor Janet. I put my own twist on hers, and well had some inspiration from Ina Garten.
Mr Pongo my help for the day..
Moving forward with recipes my goal is just to keep it simple, to get a meal on the table, your table in fact, and sometimes make it feel like you've been wrapped in a warm hug. Especially after being in the cold all day in the dead of winter, or maybe just comforted after emotionally tough stuff, or heck hoping your kids finally eat a vegetable again?!
So below are some recipes, please let me know if you make them, or need help with any of it! Send a message and I'm here for you during the cooking process.
Now, Let's EaT!
xo
Nicole
Beef Stew with an Italian Twist
serves 6-9
Cooks notes: The night before cooking this, be sure to marinate your beef. This dish may feel time consuming at first, so I highly recommend cooking this on a weekend. The bonus is the flavors get better as it sits, which makes dinner a breeze for your week ahead, all you have to do is reheat and add a little stock to loosen.
Trader Joe's also has fabulous prices on stew and sirloin meat- if you want to splurge whole foods it is really high quality.
If you don't have young kiddos and busy schedules then give yourself the afternoon to make this and it will be done by dinner time.
xo Happy cooking
PS: You can chop your veg a little rough and big here, no need for perfection. Just do your best to keep all the veg roughly the same size, except the carrots - they are more forgiving.
INGREDIENTS:
4 ounces small diced pancetta
3 lbs boneless Sirloin, or Stew meat ( if can't find) ,
cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
5 celery stalks roughly chopped
4-5 carrots chopped
2 medium yellow onions roughly chopped
1 bunch creamer potatoes ( any will work really) ,
scrubbed, 1-inch diced
1 bottle of dry red wine ( I used montepulciano or Chianti- 5.99$ at TJ's)
6 whole smashed garlic cloves ( peeled)
11- 14 oz crushed tomatoes
EVOO
1 STICK butter as needed
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh parsley
bay leaf (optional)
Beef Stock as needed
For beef : Herbs de Provence, 1 tablespoon,( use dried THYME if can't access)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, kosher salt to coat, fresh ground pepper , and 1 teaspoon crushed whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon of GF ( or regular) flour
TOOLS: DUTCH OVEN, sharp knife and cutting board, large bowl to marinate the meat, plastic wrap.Paper towels, and large clean bowl for the braised meats.Parchment paper.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
The night before. Or if in a pinch a few hours before. Season your meat with the above herbs. minus the flour. Let marinate overnight if possible.
1 hour before cooking, take out your beef and let it get to room temperature, this will help with the browning process. Add the tablespoon of GF flour or Regular flour works if you aren't GF.
And I promise you won't get sick.
In your dutch oven place the pancetta, the pan can start cold, and put to medium heat. Brown the pancetta for 5-10 min. You don't need to add oil because the pancetta will release fat. If for some reason this doesn't happen, add a little EVOO to the pan.
After it's browned, put on a plate lined with a paper towel, set aside.
Keep the oil. - either set aside, or use to brown your beef in.
In batches braise your beef. Heat your dutch oven to medium heat, add without crowding the meat, add it to the pot, turning occasionally browning on all sides for 5-7 min. Once each batch finishes, put onto a large clean bowl, then repeat this step until all the meat is finished braising. Set aside and cook your veg.
tip: if the meat is sticking you can add splashes of wine to deglaze the pan, simply scrape the bottom, let it reduce, add more EVOO and repeat the process of braising.
In the same dutch oven, put on medium heat, coat the bottom with EVOO and 2 large tablespoons of butter, once the butter is almost melted add in all your chopped veg. Cook until the onions are almost clear, add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until fragrant. Turn up the heat, add 2-3 cups of wine, the tomatoes, ( bay leaf optional), all the meat including pancetta, and give it a good toss. Bring to a boil, if you feel like it needs more liquid add splashes of wine.
Take your parchment paper and measure it over the dutch oven, cut the piece that fits, and crumple it up a bit and gently place over the top of it. Place it in the preheated oven and cook for 1 ½ hours, to 2 hours, checking mid way, giving a good stir and if need more liquid add in more wine or beef stock.
While that is cooking, boil your potatoes in salted water, rinse and set aside. When the stew is finished cooking, stir in the potatoes. If you want more liquid, you can keep the potatoes on the side and serve in bowls at the end adding the potatoes to each individual bowl. Serve with chopped parsley, and lots of garlic bread.
Butternut squash recipe-
serves about 6-10
INGREDIENTS:
2 large butternut squash's or 4 smaller ones-, half, de seed, coat in EVOO
Roughly chop the following;
2 small leeks, whites only (save the green) cleaned ,
1 yellow onion
1 honey crisp apple or gala, Fuji work
2 celery stalks
three cloves of garlic, sliced
Finely Grate 1 thumb of ginger
32oz / 1 qt of chicken or VEG stock ( HM or store bought works )
1 -2 cups whipping cream ( coconut cream could work here as an alternative)
1 stick unsalted butter
EVOO as needed
Spices:
1-2 teaspoons turmeric
1 -2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher Salt
Fresh ground pepper at end
Tools needed:
Roasting pan, large stockpot or Dutch oven, a blender / food processor