This is a very rich stew served in a buttery mustard gravy. The beer in question was meant to be a porter, but I used stout. I also used ~250mL less liquid than the recipe called for. I also used less chicken than called for and a mix of drumsticks and thighs rather than just thighs. I doubled the onions and added a bit of garlic as well.

The resulting stew was excellent! That said, I think it could've used more vegetables. I think I'd put more carrots and potatoes next time and/or add a bit of turnip/swede or something.

Beer-Braised Chicken Stew

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1.2-1.5kg chicken pieces
• salt and pepper
• 6 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 400-500g carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
• 500-600g potatoes, cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 kumara, peeled and cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 rutabaga/swede, peeled and cut into 3cm pieces (optional)
• 500mL stout
• 500mL chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon or Roman mustard
• 2-3 tsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 c. hot water

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear for a few minutes on each side.
3. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
4. Melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter in the pot.
5. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened and beginning to brown.
6. Add the bay leaf, carrots, potatoes, kumara, and rutabaga (if using).
7. Add the stout, chicken broth, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, and thyme.
8. Return chicken to pot and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
10. Mash the remaining 5 Tbsp. of butter with the flour to form a paste.
11. Slowly add 2 c. of the cooking liquid to the flour paste while stirring until smooth.
12. Pour gravy back into pot.
13. Rinse out measuring cup the gravy was mixed in with the hot water and pour that into the pot as well.
14. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
15. Check to make sure chicken is cooked through, season to taste, and serve.

It's been a bit over a month since I made this, so I'm hoping that I can remember all the changes I made. The base recipe was fine, but the flavour was a bit flat, so I did end up tweaking it a bit just to punch things up a notch.

Slow Cooker Bolognese

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1-2 carrots, grated
• 1-2 onions, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 1/2 c. red wine
• 1kg lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 c. whole milk
• 1 large (800mL) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 Parmesan rind (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. dark soy
• 2 tsp. light soy
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add celery, carrots, and onions and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until softened (~10 minutes).
3. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant (3-4 minutes).
4. Add the red wine and cook until mostly evaporated.¹
5. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, cook the ground beef and season with salt and pepper.
6. Stir the milk into the beef and cook until mostly absorbed.
7. Add the beef to the slow cooker along with the tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme, pepper flakes, and parmesan rind (if using).
8. Cover and cook on low for 6-12 hours.
9. Taste and add sugar, soy sauces, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar if needed.

¹ If you have an InstantPot, then these steps can be done on the sauté setting. Otherwise, transfer veggie mixture to slow cooker once this step is complete. ^Back

Sauerbraten (German Sweet and Sour Beef)

When I was in NZ last year, I found an excellent deal on beef brisket and came home with a nice piece. It went in the freezer to be cooked later... But then I never quite got to it before I left. So it was still waiting for me in the freezer when I returned this year.

Another time I might've tried to smoke and/or barbecue it. But we're kind of out of grilling season in this hemisphere now and, after a year in the freezer, it was a bit freezer-burnt, so I decided to go for a slow cooker option instead.

After giving it a bit of thought and tossing around a few different ideas, I settled on taking a crack at turning it into sauerbraten. I have fond memories of the sauerbraten that my dad made. And, while I don't have his recipe, I figured I could at least ask the internet and try to come up with something similar. And it seemed like the ideal thing to do with a big chunk of slightly freezer-burnt beef.

The recipe that I used recommends using a bottom round or rump roast for this, but I figured the brisket would also work quite well. And it did! I really enjoyed how it came out. That said, I'm sure it would be good with other cuts too.

Sauerbraten

Slightly adapted from Daring Gourmet

Ingredients

• 2 onions, chopped
• 2-3 carrots, cut into large chunks
• 1 leek, white parts only, thoroughly rinsed and chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 juniper berries
• 6 whole cloves
• 10-12 black peppercorns
• 2 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 1/2 c. red wine
• 1 c. red wine vinegar¹
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1.5-2kg beef roast (brisket, bottom round, rump, etc.)
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil or lard
• 4 slices bacon, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 75-85g gingersnaps/gingernuts (6-7 gingernuts), crushed
• 1 Tbsp. honey

Directions

1. Combine the onion, carrot, leek, garlic, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, juniper berries, cloves, peppercorns, salt, sugar, wine, vinegar, and water and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
4. Nestle the roast into the marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 4-7 days, turning each day if the marinade does not completely cover the meat.
5. When ready to cook, remove the meat from the marinade and set aside.
6. Strain the marinade and reserve both the solids and the liquids.
7. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
8. Add the beef and sear on all sides. Set aside.
9. Add the bacon (if using) to the now-empty pot and cook.
10. Add the vegetables and sauté for ~5 minutes.
11. Add the flour and cook until no longer raw (3-4 minutes).
12. Pour in the reserved marinade, raisins, gingersnaps/gingernuts, and honey and bring to a boil.
13. Add beef, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2-4 hours if cooking on the stovetop. Otherwise, transfer everything to a slow cooker and cook on "high" for ~6 hours. (Or use an InstantPot-style multi-cooker to do the whole thing in place.)
14. Once beef is cooked through and tender, remove from the pot and set aside.
15. If desired, remove the bay leaves, juniper berries, and cloves from the liquid and purée the veggies into it to make a thick gravy. Otherwise, adjust consistency by mixing in a cornstarch or flour slurry and boiling until gravy thickens to desired consistency.
16. Adjust seasoning to taste.
17. Slice beef and serve with the gravy (and veggies if you chose not to purée them).
18. Serve with a starch (potatoes, bread, etc.) and rotkohl (sweet-and-sour red cabbage) or another vegetable dish of your choice.

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¹ I couldn't find any red wine vinegar, so I just used white wine vinegar. Either is fine. I think that cider vinegar would also be good in a pinch. ^Back

Here's another one out of my NZ backlog. It was pretty good, but it makes a lot. Possibly best when you have a bunch of other people to share it with.

Creamy Coleslaw with Green Apple and Parsley

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 900g cabbage, shredded
• 2-3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 1 Granny Smith apple, grated
• 1 onion, grated
• 2 small carrots, grated
• 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley
• ~1 c. mayonnaise
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine the cabbage, celery, apple, onion, and carrots.
2. Drizzle with vinegar and toss to coat.
3. Stir in the parsley and mayonnaise.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add an extra few Tbsp. if needed to achieve desired consistency.
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
6. Taste again and adjust seasonings as needed.

Kaddu Dhansaak (Pumpkin Dhansaak)

Dhansaaks are often made with meat, but this one uses pumpkin (and a variety of root vegetables) for a satisfying legume-and-vegetable stew.

Red pumpkin is the recommended squash for this. But Iyer suggests that other pumpkins -- or even sweet potatoes -- can be used as well. I initially considered using the pie pumpkin I'd picked up here. But then I remembered that we had some sweet potatoes that had been languishing on the counter for weeks. And this seemed like as good a use of them as any. I also decided to toss in a parsnip, just for fun.

I can't say that this was my favourite curry. But it was pretty good. And I definitely liked it better than the chicken dhansaak that I tried a few years ago!

Kaddu Dhansaak

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. skinned split pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1/4 c. yellow split peas (chana dal)
• 1/4 c. skinned split mung beans (yellow lentils/moong dal)
• 3 c. water
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies (or 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne + 3/4 tsp. sweet paprika)
• 2 onions, one coarsely chopped, one halved and sliced
• 2 c. cubed pumpkin or sweet potato (2cm dice)
• 1 large potato, cut into 1cm dice
• 1-2 carrots, cut into 1cm thick coins
• 1 parsnip, cut into 1cm pieces (optional)
• 1/4 c. ghee, divided
• 4-6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. Madras curry powder
• 1 tsp. sambhar masala
• 1 tsp. Maharashtrian garam masala
• 200g spinach or kale, chopped
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine the pigeon peas, split peas, and mung beans and rinse and drain thoroughly.
2. In a pressure cooker, add the water, turmeric, ground chilies, chopped onion, pumpkin/sweet potato, potato, carrots, and parsnip (if using).
3. Pressure cook on "high" for 15 minutes with a 15-minute natural release.
4. Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp. of the ghee over medium heat.
5. Add the sliced onion and garlic and cook until browned (10-15 minutes).
6. Add the tomatoes, salt, curry powder, sambhar masala, and garam masala and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
7. Once the legumes and vegetables are done, release the remaining pressure and add the tomato mixture to the pot. Stir to combine.
8. Stir in the spinach.
9. Cook until the spinach wilts and flavours meld (10-15 minutes).
10. Drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp. of ghee.
11. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

This is a nice refreshing stir-fry with a generous amount of vegetables in it. The original recipe was somewhat more fiddly about how the vegetables are cut; I've simplified it (here and as cooked) with no ill effects.

Beef & Basil Stir-Fry with Summer Vegetables

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 165)

Ingredients

• ¼ C soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp shaoxing wine
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1+1 Tbsp canola oil
• 500g thinly sliced steak, cut into ~3cm pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp ginger paste
• 2 zucchini or 1 yellow squash, cut into 1cm matchsticks or half-moons
• 2 carrots, cut into 5mm discs
• 125g sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved
• ¼ C fresh Thai basil leaves

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, shaoxing wine, honey, and cornstarch. Buffer.
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the first tablespoon of oil in a wok over high heat.
4. Add the steak and stir-fry until seared on all sides but still rare inside, ~3 minutes. Remove and buffer.
5. Add the remaining oil, the ginger, and the garlic, and stir-fry until fragrant, 30-60s.
6. Add the zucchini, carrots, and peas and stir-fry for 4 minutes.
7. Add the steak and the sauce and continue stir-frying until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.
8. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil leaves.

This is meant to be made with fresh Chinese-style egg noodles. I didn't feel like making a special trip out to the shop though, so we just used dry spaghettini. It worked just fine and was delicious.

I also didn't bother trying to cook the chicken in a grill pan like the recipe called for. I just cooked it in a normal frying pan. No pretty grill marks on it that way. But it seemed just fine otherwise.

For the vegetables... It was meant to use edamame and carrots. I don't particularly like edamame, so I used frozen green peas instead. Honestly, I think it would've been good with even more veg. It was good as-is. But I might be tempted to add some thinly sliced bell pepper next time.

Sesame Noodles with Chicken

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 c. light soy sauce
• 1/4 c. rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. Sriracha
• 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• pepper, to taste
• 1 c. frozen peas
• 300g dry spaghettini (or similar)
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
• 2-3 carrots, grated
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Combine the oils, soy sauce, vinegar, juice, sugar, garlic, and Sriracha and mix well.
2. Season the chicken breasts with pepper and brush with 2 Tbsp. of the sauce.
3. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the chicken. Cook until no longer pink inside (5-6 minutes per side).
4. Remove from pan and slice.
5. Meanwhile, place the frozen peas in a colander.
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt lightly, and add the pasta, cooking until al dente.
7. Drain the pasta by pouring it into the colander with the peas.
8. Toss the noodles and peas with the bell pepper (if using), carrots, chicken, remaining sauce, and green onions.
9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

陕西臊子面 (Shaanxi Saozi Mian)

The name of this dish literally translates as "Shaanxi sauce noodles". The final product is a delicious lightly spicy, savoury, and sour noodle soup. Full of pork belly, fried tofu puffs, carrots, potatoes, wood ear fungus, and lily blossoms. But the first step is making the intensely flavourful meat sauce. Once the concoction is complete, you make the rest of the soup and then add the sauce, which then gets ladelled over freshly cooked noodles and topped with thin ribbons of omelette and a mix of garlic chives and green onions. The finished product is incredibly delicious and satisfying. This one is definitely a keeper!

Hanzi: 陕西臊子面
Pinyin: Shǎnxī sàozǐ miàn
English: Shaanxi sauce noodles

陕西臊子面

Slightly adapted from The Woks of Life

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 star anise
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp. minced ginger or ginger paste
• 450g pork belly, cut into 5mm dice
• 2 Tbsp. 老干妈 (Laoganma)¹
• 1/4 c. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)
• 1/2 c. black vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp. five-spice powder
• 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar

Soup

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 Tbsp. minced ginger or ginger paste
• 1/2-3/4 c. diced carrots
• ~1 c. diced potatoes
• 20g dried wood ear fungus, rehydrated
• 5-6g dried lily blossoms, rehydrated
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 6-8 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 8 fried soy puffs, quartered

Toppings

• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 4 tsp. water
• 2 large eggs
• 1-2 tsp. oil
• 450g dried spaghettini or other thin wheat noodles
• 1/3-1/2 c. chopped garlic chives
• 1-2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-low heat.
2. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, and bay leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, until oil is infused (2-3 minutes).
3. Add the ginger and pork belly, increase heat to medium, and cook until meat is opaque.
4. Add the Laoganma (or chiles and salt, if using) and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the Shaoxing wine, vinegar, five-spice powder, soy sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil.
6. Lower heat slightly and cook until sauce is slightly reduced (6-8 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
7. Heat the oil for the soup over medium heat.
8. Add the ginger and stir-fry for 30-60 seconds.
9. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Drain and chop the wood ear fungus and the lily blossoms and add them to the pot with the vegetables.
11. Add the oyster sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes.
12. Add the stock, soy puffs, and the meat sauce prepared earlier and bring to a boil.
13. Simmer for 10 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with the water and then beat in the eggs.
15. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat.
16. Pour in the egg mixture and cook until eggs have set.
17. Carefully flip and cook for ~30 seconds on the other side.
18. Remove omelette from pan and cut into ribbons. Set aside.
19. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. Pasta should be fairly al dente and not too soft.
20. Drain noodles and portion out into bowls.
21. Ladel a generous quantity of the soup over the noodles.
22. Top soup with some omelette ribbons, garlic chives, and green onions and serve immediately.

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¹ The original recipe called for 1/4 c. of oil (rather than just 2 Tbsp.) here + 2 Tbsp. Sichuan chile flakes and 1 tsp. of salt. I didn't have any Sichuan chile flakes and didn't want to try to go out and get yet another variety of chiles, so I reduced the oil, omitted the salt, and swapped out the chile flakes for the same amount of 老干妈. This gave me the heat, salt, and extra oil all in one. And, I must say, I'm quite happy with the results. Would definitely be happy to go that route again! ^Back

Yachaejeon (Korean Vegetable Pancakes)

I think I was a bit too skimpy with the oil when frying these pancakes. They were good, but came out a little gummy. I think a bit more oil, a slightly higher temperature on the pan, and going to the trouble of properly julienne-ing the potato (rather than grating it) probably would've made the difference. But I was still feeling a bit tired and decided to try to save some time and simplify my life by grating the carrot and potato rather than exercising my knife skills. And I had hoped that I could get away with just a light coating of oil on the pan to make these somewhat healthier. But, sadly, this lead to somewhat lacklustre results. Not bad. Just not great either.

On the bright side, this did make for a very low-effort vegetable side to go with the leftover stir-fry from the night before. And it let me clear some things out of the fridge that needed to be used anyway. I didn't have quite as many garlic chives as I would have liked, but everything else was lovely. Although I might consider adding some thinly sliced yellow onion along with the green onion next time. Can't go wrong with more alliums!

Also, given that the batter is basically just a lightly seasoned mix of flour and water, I'd be tempted to try making these with sourdough starter at some point. The hydration of the batter is much higher than what I usually keep my starter at. But that could be easily remedied by simply watering it down a bit. A 2:1 ratio of starter to water by mass should produce the right proportions. The flavour would be a bit different, to be sure, but I think it'd still be good! Something to try for next time...

Yachaejeon

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1 cheongyang or jalapeño chile, thinly sliced
• 1 mild red chile, thinly sliced
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c. light soy sauce
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 1/8 tsp. sugar

Pancakes

• 180g flour
• 1/2 tsp. dasida (or salt)
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 360g water
• ~150g (or more) garlic chives, cut into 5-cm pieces
• 1 small Yukon Gold (or similar) potato, julienned
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 cheongyang or jalapeño chile, thinly sliced
• 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the chiles, green onion, yellow onion, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar for the dipping sauce. Mix well and set aside.
2. Combine the flour, dasida, and pepper and stir to mix.
3. Pour in the water and mix.
4. Add the garlic chives, potato, carrot, bell pepper, chile, green onions, and yellow onion (if using) and mix well.
5. Heat a pan, skillet, or tawa over medium-high heat.
6. Pour in ~1 Tbsp. of oil.
7. Spoon some batter onto the tawa and spread thin.
8. Cook until golden-brown on underside, then flip and cook until second side is also nicely browned.
9. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil as necessary.
10. Serve pancakes with the chunky dipping sauce.

Aaron & Claire describe this as "easy" and "so simple", and as a "15-minute" recipe. I submit that this is only the case if you don't count any of the time needed to prep the sauces and the ingredients; once the mise-en-place is done, yes, it comes together very quickly and easily, but the mise-en-place is a lot! I can't argue with the results, though; it's delicious.

Compared to the original recipe, this uses more carrot, and consistently chooses shaoxing wine over mirin where the choice is given, but is otherwise unaltered.

Beef & Onion Stir-Fry

Aaron and Claire

Ingredients

• Marinade
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp white pepper, ground
• Sauce
• 5 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp chicken stock powder
• ½ tsp dark soy sauce
• Stir-Fry
• 500g chuck flap tail, steak, or similar beef, cut into thin strips
• 1+1 tbsp neutral oil, divided
• 2 large yellow onions, sliced
• 4 green onions, sliced, whites and greens divided
• 3 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Directions

1. Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Add the beef and toss thoroughly to coat. Marinate in the fridge for at least ten minutes.
3. Whisk together all sauce ingredients and set aside.
4. Do all mise-en-place before proceeding.
5. Heat the wok and add 1 tbsp of oil.
6. Add the beef in its marinade and stir-fry until comfortably seared all over. Remove and buffer.
7. Add the other tbsp of oil.
8. Add the onions and let them sit for 1-2 minutes until they start to char and soften.
9. Add garlic, ginger, and green onion whites. Stir-fry until fragrant, <1 minute.
10. Add beef, carrots, and sauce. Stir-fry until slightly thickened and heated through, 1-2 minutes.
11. Remove from heat and toss with sesame oil and green onion greens.
12. Serve over rice.

We had some lovely home-smoked trout left over from Reiver's birthday and he suggested that it might go well in a soup.

I've made fish chowder plenty of times before, but never with smoked fish. So I went looking for something that was tailored to smoked fish specifically. I found this one on the Food & Wine website. I will admit that I tweaked it slightly, but only slightly. I omitted the water called for. Used a regular commercial chicken broth (rather than low-sodium), but then omitted the salt. Halved the thyme. And, after tasting it at the end of cooking, decided to add in some corn and grated carrot as it seemed like it needed some more veg to balance it out and I usually put those in my chowders anyway.

Photo goes here.

Smoked Trout Chowder

Slightly adapted from Food & Wine

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 3-6 green onions, greens and whites kept separate and chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 450g potatoes, cut into 1cm dice
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 c. frozen corn kernels
• 1-2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 c. half-and-half (10% MF)
• 2 fillets smoked trout, skin removed and flesh flaked

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium-low heat.
2. Add the celery, white parts of the green onions, and garlic and cook until softened (5-10 minutes).
3. Add the potatoes, wine, chicken stock, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper.
4. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and cook until potatoes are just tender (~15 minutes).
5. Stir in the corn and carrots.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the cream.
7. Cook for a few minutes, then stir in the trout.
8. Serve with crusty bread.

I don't normally cook with a lot of chard because neither TF nor I are big fans of it. I don't hate it, but I like kale and spinach better. And TF is strongly averse to it, so I usually just swap in kale anywhere that chard is called for.

I'm not cooking for TF right now though. I'm cooking for Reiver. And he has a whole garden full of chard (silverbeet), so I've been taking advantage of the fresh garden vegetables.

He also had some duck breast confit in convenient, ready-to-eat packages. So I figured they would work just as well as legs for this soup and make good use of ingredients on hand.

Lentil & Chard Soup

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 123)

Ingredients

• 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, peeled and minced
• 2 cups Puy (French) lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 8-10 c. water
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt (or vegetable stock powder/concentrate), divided
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 6 large chard leaves, chopped, including ribs
• 2 duck legs confit
• 8 baguette slices¹, cut on the diagonal

Directions

1. Warm 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent (~2 minutes).
3. Add the garlic and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in the lentils and water² and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
5. Add the bay leaf, thyme, 1 tsp. salt (or stock powder), and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Add the chard and duck legs and cook until the lentils are almost tender (20–25 minutes).
7. Transfer the duck legs to a cutting board and, when they are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin.
8. Cut off the meat, discarding the bones. Coarsely chop the meat and stir all but about 1⁄4 cup into the soup.
9. Cook until the lentils are tender but not mushy (~10 minutes longer).
10. Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and stir in 1⁄2 tsp. salt.
11. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, warm the 2 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat.
12. Add half of the baguette slices and fry until golden (~3 minutes). Turn and fry until golden on the other side (~2 minutes). Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.
13. Repeat with the remaining baguette slices.
14. Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish each with a fried crouton topped with a bit of the reserved duck meat.

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¹ I just made a bunch of smaller croutons out of some sale bread we had on hand: Cut into cubes, toss with a bit of oil, roast in oven until nicely crispy. ^Back
2 Add more or less water depending on how thick you like your soup. I like mine quite thick and stew-like, so I just used 8 c. of water. Use up to 10 c. for a soupier soup. ^Back

This was meant to be done with lamb shanks, but I found some bone-in "lamb pieces" and shoulder chops on sale, so I opted to use those instead. The shanks would have been lovely (and probably resulted in everyone getting a bit more meat), but these were tasty too. And a lot cheaper!

Citrus-Braised Lamb Shanks

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 123)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 lamb shanks, about 1 lb (450 g) each
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 3 small sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 1 c. chicken broth
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat (preferably in a Dutch oven).
2. Season the shanks with salt and pepper.
3. Working in batches, sear the shanks, turning as needed, until browned on all sides, 6–8 minutes. Set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F).
5. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil to the pot and place over medium-low heat.
6. Add the carrot, onion, and celery and sauté until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the thyme, bay leaf, garlic, and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the wine, broth, and lemon and lime zests and juices.
9. Return the shanks to the pot and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
10. Cover and cook in the oven, turning the shanks every hour, until the meat is completely tender (2-3 hours).
11. Transfer the shanks to a platter and keep warm in the oven.
12. Pour the juices from the pot into a large, heatproof measuring pitcher and let stand for 1 minute. The fat will rise to the top. Use a bulb baster to transfer the juices underneath the fat to a small saucepan.
13. Simmer to reduce slightly. Stir in the orange zest and juice.
14. Drizzle the reduced juices over the lamb shanks and serve.

These potatoes were a big hit. Such a big hit that we actually polished off the whole batch the first night and I had to make some more the second night!

Julienne-ing everything is a bit of a pain, but it's a very simple and easy dish otherwise. I was really pleased with how it came out (both times).

Korean Stir-Fried Potatoes

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 2 russet potatoes, julienned
• 1 carrot (~80g), julienned
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. dasida¹
• pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 1 green onion, chopped

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Add 1/2 tsp. of the salt along with the potatoes and carrots and boil for 2-3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile heat oil over medium heat.
4. Add the onion to the hot oil.
5. Once the potatoes and carrots are done, drain them and add them to the pan with the onion.
6. Add the remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt, dasida, and pepper to taste and stir-fry for 3-5 minutes.
7. Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle the sesame seeds and green onion on top.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp. "chicken stock or chicken bouillon powder". Personally, I think dasida would go great here. Sadly, I didn't have either when I was making this, so I ended up just putting in a somewhat larger amount of fresh chicken stock. I think I used ~1 Tbsp. ¹

I've had a bit of trouble finding butternut squash over here, so I actually made this with buttercup squash (which is apparently considered a pumpkin in NZ). It made for a fine substitute. As did the kumara in place of the sweet potato.

I wasn't blown away by this dish overall. But it was tasty enough and made for a perfectly serviceable side dish next to our lamb chops.

Butternut Squash Tagine

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 8 saffron threads
• 1 Tbsp. warm water
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric¹
• 600g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 large carrot, cut into 1cm thick pieces
• 1 small (~400mL) tin diced tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp. dried currants
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 3/4 c. water
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 250g sweet potato, cubed

Directions

1. Add the saffron to the water and set asdie for at least 10 minutes.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
4. Add the ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
5. Add the squash, carrot, tomatoes, currants, honey, water, and saffron along with its soaking liquid.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Add the sweet potato and continue cooking, covered, until vegetables are tender (~25 minutes longer).
10. Serve with harissa sauce or condiment of your choice.

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¹ There wasn't any turmeric in the kitchen when I was making this -- socking, I know! -- but there was a surplus of commercial curry powder (which tends to be half turmeric anyway), so I just used that instead. I figured the extra bit of cumin, coriander, and miscellaneous other spices wouldn't hurt the flavour any. ^Back

This is a nice vegetable side. It's fast, easy, and surprisingly tasty. I quite liked it!

Honey-Lemon Carrot Salad

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 Tbsp. white wine or sherry vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 500g carrots, grated
• 1/3 c. sultanas or golden raisins
• 1/4 c. sliced almonds¹
• 1 Tbps. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Combine the honey, vinegar, and lemon juice and mix well.
2. Whisk in the olive oil and salt.
3. Add the carrots, sultanas, almonds, and parsley and toss to combine.

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¹ I was all out of sliced almonds, so I used sliced hazelnuts for my salad instead. ^Back

We got some surprise Brussels sprouts in our produce basket this week. And while I have a bunch of sprout recipes still waiting to be tried, this one looked particularly well-suited to breakfast. And since that's the meal that I tend to have the most trouble planning for, I figured this would be the best way to use them up.

The original recipe just called for onion, Brussels sprouts, and potato. I only had about half the quantity of sprouts called for though, so I upped the amount of potato somewhat and added a carrot to balance things out. I think next time I'd add a bell pepper as well. But it was still very good as-is.

Brussels Sprouts and Potato Hash

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 450g potatoes, diced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 250g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced
• 1-2 carrots, grated
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme (or 2 tsp. fresh)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 4-6 large eggs

Directions

1. Melt the butter with the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook until softened (4-5 minutes).
3. Add the potato and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown (~15 minutes).
4. Add Brussels sprouts, carrots, and thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables caramelize (~15 minutes longer).
6. Add stock and cook until liquid is absorbed and vegetables are tender (~5 minutes).
7. Meanwhile, fry eggs in a little butter until desired doneness is reached and season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Serve hash topped with eggs.

These were alright. They weren't bad. They just weren't amazing either.

The lentils cooked much faster than suggested by the recipe. I gave them five minutes less than called for. But possibly I should have taken them off the heat even sooner. By the time I was trying to "drain" them, they had absorbed pretty much all of the water and were barely holding together. Which made for a very wet burger mix. I ended up having to add an extra 1/4 c. of panko just to get something workable.

Having done that, they did make perfectly reasonable patties. And they were reasonably filling. I just felt that they were a little bland. I think next time I'd cook the lentils in vegetable stock rather than salted water, swap out half of the cumin for dhania-jeera masala, and maybe add a little ras el hanout or 7 baharat.

It would probably also have helped if I had noticed that the sauce called for lemon juice and lemon zest. (I seem to be having some sort of strange lemon juice blindness lately. I missed where it was called for in the poached quince recipe as well!)

I also feel like a little chile, either in the patties or the sauce, would be a welcome addition. I might consider adding a pinch of aleppo pepper flakes to the patties next time. Hopefully that would help round out the flavours a bit.

Red Lentil Burgers with Yogurt Sauce

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Burgers

• 1 c. skinned split brown lentils (red lentils/Egyptian lentils/masoor dal)
• 3 c. vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. dhania-jeera masala
• 1 tsp. 7 baharat
• 1/4 tsp. aleppo pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs (preferably whole wheat)
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 large egg
• 170g salad greens
• 8 small buns (optional)
• 3 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses (optional)

Sauce

• 1 lemon
• 3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Rinse the lentils and place in a small pot with the stock.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim any foam that forms.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until lentils are tender (10-15 minutes).
4. Drain lentils very well and set aside.
5. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat.
6. Add onion, carrot, and garlic and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add cumin, masala, 7 baharat, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Transfer vegetable mixture to bowl with lentils.
9. Add panko and cilantro and mix well.
10. Once mixture has cooled enough not to cook egg, add egg and mix well.
11. Shape into 8 small patties and chill for 30 minutes.
12. Meanwhile, juice and zest the lemon.
13. Combine the yogurt, cilantro, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix well. Set aside.
14. Heat a bit more oil over medium heat.
15. Add three or four patties to the pan and cook, flipping as needed, until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through.
16. Burgers may be served on a bed of salad greens or on buns.
17. If serving on buns, split the buns and spread both sides with some of the sauce. Add some greens and a patty to each bun. Drizzle with a little pomegranate molasses (if desired).
18. If serving on greens, add a large handful of greens to each plate, top with a patty (or two), top each patty with a large dollop of sauce, and drizzle with pomegranate molasses (if desired).

I have very fond memories of my mom's chicken stew with dumplings, but it's been a long time since I've had it. I don't really tend to make chicken stew. If I'm making stew, it's usually beef. And for chicken, I'm much more likely to do soup than stew these days.

This isn't my mom's recipe. But it still filled me with nostalgia. And I do really enjoy a good stew with dumplings.

Chicken Stew with Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Stew

• 1 chicken (~1kg), skinned and broken down into parts
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 peppercorns
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 2 leeks, halved and chopped (white parts only)
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 ribs celery, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1 russet (or other floury) potato, cut into 1cm cubes
• 2 Tbsp. heavy (35%) cream

Dumplings

• 200g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
• 1/8 tsp. ground cayenne
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. buttermilk

Directions

1. Put chicken pieces in a pot with bay leaf, peppercorns, and 1/4 tsp. of salt and add enough water to cover by a couple of cm.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Simmer until chicken is cooked through (~20 minutes).
4. Remove chicken, shred meat. Reserve 2 c. of poaching liquid. Set aside.
5. Melt butter over medium-high heat.
6. Add leeks, carrots, and celery and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the flour and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes.
8. Add the chicken stock and reserved poaching liquid and bring to a boil.
9. Add potato, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the potato begins to soften (~10 minutes).
10. Add the chicken and cream and cook until broth thickens and potatoes are tender (~5 minutes).
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
12. Meanwhile, sift together the flour and baking soda.
13. Add the salt, chives, and cayenne and cut in the butter.
14. Add the buttermilk and stir to combine.
15. Shape the dough into small dumplings and drop them into the soup.
16. Cover and steam for 20 minutes.

This was an excellent salad! Like, really unreasonably good for how simple it was!

We'd already eaten all of the bell peppers that I'd cooked yesterday, so we needed a new side dish to go with the leftover pasta. I didn't feel up for putting much effort in, but this salad didn't take much, so that was convenient. And it punches way above its weight flavour-wise. I'm very pleased with this one.

Shaved Carrots with Olives and Almonds

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g carrots
• 1/4 c. green olives, minced
• 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1-2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, toasted
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 c. almonds, toasted

Directions

1. Thinly slice the carrots on a mandoline or a box grater. (Alternatively, use a vegetable peeler to make long, thin ribbons.)
2. Combine the olives, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and pepper and mix well.
3. Add the carrots and toss to combine.
4. Coarsely grind or crush the almonds and sprinkle them over the salad.