Monday, March 13, 2006
Finally: Stew
The end of the week is near, I'm tired and the fridge is looking
decidedly empty - apart from the big pot of stew/casserole sitting on the bottom shelf that is. I really didn't fancy doing anything with that, so, for the first half of the evening, I tried to ignore it and just focus on the poker, read a few recipes, write some e-mails... But then, by about 7 p.m. reality caught up with me. We had to eat something tonight. I suppose, it had to be the stew. I added some fried onions, red wine, chopped tomatoes and a few more herbs and spices, fried up some bacon and grated some gruyère cheese over the top. It still was less than perfect, especially from the point of view of aesthetics, but it was certainly sufficient for a weekday night. And I would now see the dish's potential. We could have had a pretty nice dinner on Monday if I had paid attention to what I was doing. If you still trust me with casseroles, this is how I would have done it from scratch had I been in charge of the recipe:50 g pearl barley, washed and cooked for about 30 minutes until almost tender (do not overcook)Hmm... this actually sounds quite good. I'm going to have to try it next time the weather is cold and bad.
2 tbsp olive oil
4 slices of pancetta or rashers of good quality streaky bacon, chopped
2 onions, halved and sliced into fine rings
2 large cloves garlic, halved lengthways and finely sliced
1 large carrot, diced (not too finely, but don't leave the chunks as big as in the picture above)
1 small leek, washed and sliced into rings
½ celery stick, finely chopped
100 ml full bodied red wine
150 ml good quality chicken stock
1 can chopped tomatoes (should you be preparing this dish in the summer, substitute for 3 large or 4 small fresh tomatoes, skinned (if you want) and chopped and increase the amount of stock to 200 ml)
possibly 1 to 2 tbsp light brown sugar
2 springs of thyme, chopped
1 spring of rosemary, chopped
a few sage leaves, chopped
1 spring of tarragon, chopped
2 bay leaves
a good dash of Worcestershire sauce
3 medium potatoes, cooked and thickly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley and grated Parmesan to serve
Heat the oil in a large, ovenproof saucepan over medium heat. Fry the bacon until crispy. Set aside leaving the fat behind in the pan.
Now add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until they are a deep golden brown. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to burn them; reduce the heat if necessary. Remove the onions and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Turn the heat back up to medium and add the garlic, carrots, leek and celery and fry until they are starting to colour, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the herbs and return the onions to the pan. Stir well, then add the wine. Bring to the boil and add the tomatoes and stock. Heat to a slow boil and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes to allow the flavours to mix. Add the barley, bacon and Worcester sauce. Add the brown sugar if the dish seems too sour. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
Lay the potato slices across the top and bake in the middle of the oven until the potatoes are brown and crispy, about 20 minutes. Baste with a bit of olive oil if they appear dry.
To serve, put the casserole/stew in a bowl and sprinkle liberally with chopped parsley and freshly grated Parmesan.
Christine at 10:26 pm
