Monday, March 13, 2006
Another Night without Stew
On Tuesday, I was invited to a colleague's place for dinner (which consisted of tortellini with a sauce of Philadelphia cheese, Asian vegetables and tomato paste, so I'll spare you the recipe). We went straight there from work, so there was no time to cook for Lofty. He was really supposed to reheat Monday's stew, but when I got home I found that he had stuck to eating his favourite - 'stuff'.This meant that dinner
on Wednesday was already set: Finally get on and eat that stew. So, I did as I had been told in the recipe. Stick the stew in a hot oven and leave it to bake, uncovered, until the potatoes are brown. In the meantime, I fried up some of the sausages we had leftover from Lofty's stuff-munching. Arranged in a bowl with the stew, they looked very nice. Unfortunately, when it comes to food, looks are far less than half the ticket. The taste and texture have to be right as well, and in this case both were so far off the mark I began to wonder about my ability to cook. Instead of a rich, flavoursome stew, I had prepared an overly greasy, slightly gooey soup with little flavour besides that of the bay leaves I had used to make the stock and totally overcooked vegetables floating around like tired divers in an oil spill. It was an entirely unpleasant experience. We each managed to eat about three spoonfuls before we gave up.So, the stew had left us with another dinner-less night. Again, I went through the series of emotions I had experienced two days before:
First I panicked, then I despaired, then I got angry, and then I got on with it. We had the sausages, which was definitely a good start. The fridge further revealed a handful of sprouting broccoli and some spinach leaves. Perfect for steaming with some chopped garlic. All we needed now was some gravy and dinner was perfect. I decided that we needed something with strong flavours and bright colours to make up for the shock of blandness and dullness we had just experienced. Brown sausages, green vegetables... how about red wine gravy? Looks all right, doesn't it? And here's how you get there:For the sausages:
enough sausages for 2 people (any sort will work here, the wine sauce goes equally well with poultry, pork, beef or game)
2 to 3 tbsp oil for frying
For the vegetables:
1½ handfuls of sprouting broccoli, washed, trimmed and any woody bits of stem removed (alternatively, use broccoli florets)
2 handfuls of baby spinach, washed and picked over
1 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 large clove of garlic (or 2 small ones), finely chopped
salt to taste
For the gravy:
1 red onion, sliced into fine rings (yellow onions will do, but obviously the colour of the gravy is nicer if you use the red variety)
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour (if you like thick gravy; if you prefer it runny, leave out the flour)
100 ml full-bodied red wine (make sure not to go for anything too dry, unless you want to risk that your gravy might turn out sour)
100 ml water
enough chicken stock granules for 200 ml liquid
if you want, you can add a bit of thyme, but I preferred clean, crisp flavours that night
salt and pepper to taste
For the gravy, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Do this over medium low heat if you have all the time in the world. If you are in a hurry, as I was, use medium heat, but make sure not to burn the butter. When it begins bubbling, add the onions and fry until tender. Over low heat this will take 10 to 15 minutes, over high heat you will be done in 8 to 10 minutes. If you take your time, don't stir too often to let the onions caramelise gently. If the heat is on, stirring is essential to prevent burning.
If you like a thick gravy, once the onions are soft, add the flour and continue frying over for another minute or two. Then add the liquids. Bring to the boil, then add the stock granules and thyme, if you are using any. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer gently for 2 to 5 minutes if you are in a hurry, 5 to 10 if not. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
While the onions for the gravy are cooking, heat the oil for the sausages in a shallow frying pan over medium low heat. Fry the sausages until brown on the outside and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes for the small variety (pictured) and 15 to 20 minutes for thicker ones.
For the vegetables, heat the oil/butter in a wok or deep pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Do not allow to brown. Add the broccoli and continue frying for a minute. Then turn the heat down to medium low and add a few spoonfuls of water. Leave the broccoli to steam for 4 to 5 minutes. Now add the spinach and cook alongside the broccoli until it has collapsed and is beginning to go tender. Stir well and season to taste with salt.
Well, that's another evening that I only just saved. But believe you me, I will not let the stew win. I will tackle it tomorrow.
Christine at 7:23 pm
