Radio Kitchen

Because Al is such a huge fan of Spanish wines, he has started going through his cookbooks looking for ideas for Spanish dinners.  One of the classics is "cocido," the famous stew of Madrid.   This is a complicated dinner in terms of process, and simple in terms of actual technique.   Cocido is one of Spain's signature dishes, practiced at the family level across the country.   It's one of those dishes like chili con carne or bouillabaisse that has as many variations as practitioners.   But here are the essentials:  it's a meat and vegetable stew that ends up being deconstructed into its elements, and it features chickpeas, cabbage, pork and chicken.   This is a time intensive meal, and requires a lot of pots and platters to complete.

What we are going to do is boil a lot of meat with accompanying vegetables in one pot, some cabbage and chorizo sausage in another, then drain, strain, separate and recombine into three courses:  soup with noodles, vegetables, and cut up meat.

Stage one:  Cook the meats in a big stock pot - they would usually include:  a beef brisket, veal or lamb shanks, cured ham, slabs of bacon or pork belly, a pig's knuckle with meat on in, beef bones with marrow, meatballs, and a stewing chicken.   Cover with water and bring to a boil and then simmer, covered.  vWhile simmering, add salt and a bouquet garni of bay leaves, peppercorns, a garlic bulb, and thyme sprigs.   At the same time, place your chickpeas in a cheesecloth bag, so you can remove them easily later, and drop into the pot.   Add a couple large peeled carrots, and a large onion studded with cloves.   Simmer, covered, for at least two hours.

Stage 2:  In a separate, smaller kettle, simmer in water cut up cabbage, with a pair of chorizo sausages.   Simmer until the cabbage is tender, then drain and sautee the cabbage in a skillet with olive oil.   The chorizo will render out its fat, and cook through.   When it is done, add the chorizo to the big pot, and keep the cabbage in a warm bowl.

Stage 3:  Remove the chicken from the big pot and keep warm.   Add half a dozen cut up potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes until tender.   You can then remove the chickpeas, carrots, potatoes and any other vegetables from the main pot, and combine them on a platter with the cabbage.   Keep it warm. 

Stage 4:   After a minimum of two and a half hours, remove all the meats from the main pot, leaving  a rich broth behind.   Keep the meats warm on a platter.   Strain the broth through cheese cloth, and return to the pot.   Add skinny noodles and simmer.

Stage 5:  Serve the soup and noodles first, followed by the vegetable platter, and finally serve the meats, which you have cut up into serving pieces.   Reserve a little of the broth to sprinkle over everything to moisten it.   Traditionally, cocido is served with a tomato sauce on the side.   Open and serve multiple bottles of good Spanish wine.

Winter is a good time to enjoy cured meats, particularly if you have a source for good local product.   Don't happen to know anyone practicing charcuterie?   No problem; do it yourself.   Pates, terrines and mousses of various kinds are actually very easy to make, and even easier to enjoy.   And, it's a good way to use up left over scraps of this, that and the other.

First of all some clarification:  pate is usually coarse, meaty, can be sliced;  mousse is quite  smooth, creamy, meaty, and usually will be spread;  and a terrine is also smooth, creamy but vegetable based, without meat, and it also will be spread.

There are some elements common to all pates and mousses:  liver of some sort, seasonings, a food processor, a loaf pan, and a "bain marie" for long slow, moist cooking in the oven.  

Most of the mousse recipes call for poultry livers, almost always chicken, but duck livers are a treat.   The livers are ordinarily sauteed in a skillet with butter, seasonings, and often a little alcohol such as brandy or sherry.   The cooked livers are then put into a processor, along with a few other chosen ingredients for seasoning, and then pureed at length until they are smooth.   It's often good to force them through a relatively fine sieve, to remove any troublesome fibers.   The entire mixture is poured into a loaf pan, or a ceramic ovenproof terrine (the classic ones have rounded ends).   You then place the loaf pan in a deep pan filled with enough boiling water to come about halfway up  the sides.   Bake in a 300 degree oven, replenishing the water, for about 2 hours. 

The coarser Country Pates, or Pate de Campagne, are more pork oriented.   In addition to pork liver, you will also often use several other meats, such as lean veal, cooked ham and pork belly.   These ingredients are either pushed through a meat grinder, or processed in small batches very quickly and coarsely in the Cuisinart.   The country pates usually have some kind of animal fat , or an egg to act as a binder.   After mincing, it is also common to add ingredients like pistachio nuts, dried cherries, or currants.   Sage and thyme also frequently make their way into recipes.

Finally, in both cases you will often see that strips of raw bacon are used to either line the loaf pan, or wrap the pate in some manner.  This helps keep the pate moist, and easy to remove from the pan.   Pates are usually removed from their molds, while the mousses appear in the mold or ceramic dish itself.

If you can, make your pate several days before serving, and let it set up in your refrigerator.   Don't forget the crusty bread, the tangy mustard, and most importantly, the gherkins.

Wintertime is that portion of the year when our dedication to eating locally can clash with our need for fresh, nutritious produce.   I for one have no qualms about buying fresh, out-of-state vegetables during the winter, but I don't intend to abandon our local growers entirely.   Although much of our farmland is non-productive during the winter, there is still a surprising flow of salad greens. This is made possible by the use of old fashioned greenhouses (translucent surface with artificial heat), high tunnels (translucent surface, passive heat) and hoop houses (translucent plastic surface draped over big semicircular "hoops").

We have a large number of farms growing this way including Gardners Gourmet, Chesepeake Greenhouse,  Cottingham Farm, Hummingbird Farm, and Jerry's favorite, Big City Farms, to name a few.   During winter months, the naturally cooler air is very congenial for salad greens:  arugula, escarole, radicchio, mustard greens, beets and beet greens, fennel, spinach, mache and rocket all do well.   Because the water economy of the plants are different in winter, the flavors are more intense and less diluted.   And this is the backbone of the winter salad:  darker, more pungent greens; more cooked vegetables included; and stronger flavored dressings.

Such things as baby beets are in great supply, along with onions and root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips.   It's also a great time to use pickled vegetables:  asparagus, peppers, shallots, cucumbers, and gherkins.   Nuts are a good component:  walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts in particular.   Grated cheese, or crumbled cheese is wonderful, with the hard Italian cheeses, and blue cheeses being particularly good for winter salads.   Finally, don't forget that cured meats can also be used:  prosciutto, salami, and pates.  Here is a recipe inspried by our friends down at the Tilghman Island Inn.

                Tiglhman Island Inn Winter Salad

assorted winter salad greens
4 pears, peeled, seeded and quartered
1 dozen baby beets, peeled, cut in half lengthwise
2 ounces prosciutto ham
crumbled goat cheese
candied pecan halves

For the dressing:
4 ounces virgin olive oil
4 ounces red wine vinegar
2 ounces orange juice
1 tsp brown mustard
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Wash the salad greens, and dry thoroughly.   Keep in a cool place.

2.  Place the pear and beet section on a cookie sheet, and drizzle a little olive oil on them.   Bake in a 350 oven.  After about 10 minutes, cover the pears with slices of prosciutto, and continue baking for another 5 minutes.

3.  Make the dressing by whisking the ingredients together in a bowl.  Set aside.

4.  Assemble the salad by piling a serving of greens in the middle of the plate, and arrange 4 prosciutto wrapped pear slices around the compass points, interspersed with the beet sections.   Drizzle the dressing on the salad and garnish with the crumbled goat cheese and pecans.

Two things about the month of January:  we're all more or less broke after the holidays, and it's just a tad nippy outside.   So it's natural to turn our attention to big satisfyingly hot dishes that are easy on the wallet.   And few items fit the bill like a good old fashioned pot roast.

So, which cuts are best?   Well, look for cheap, gristly, fatty chunks of beef such as chuck roast, brisket, rump roast, arm or shoulder roast.   The connective tissue will melt down during cooking, and give you better flavor, and improve the texture as the collagens break down and give a lip-smacking substance to the sauce.   Prepare the roast by flouring it, and then searing gently in a cast iron skillet.   This is vital.   Once you start braising it, it will not brown, so do it at the top.   For cooking, use a deep bottomed heavy skillet or Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid - cast iron is best.   A sheet of tinfoil placed under the lid can help with a tight seal.   Prepare a braising broth:  mix a mirepoix and sautee it in the bottom of the skillet.   Add beef broth, beer, or wine.   Do not add too much!   You are not stewing the meat, you are cooking with flavored steam, essentially.   A cup or cup and a half is good to start.   Have more standing by to top it up.

Consider preparing a bouquet garni, a mixture of herbs in a cheesecloth bag that can be dropped into the broth for added flavor.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.

This is classic slow cooking, so you can do it over low heat, even better in a low 325 degree oven.   Plan on letting it go for 3 hours or so.   No need to turn the meat.   The tight lid allows the steam to condense and fall back on the meat, in essence basting it.   Keep it closed for most of the time.

You can add vegetables like carrots and potatoes late in the process, if there is room in your skillet.   They'll take about 45 minutes to cook through.   Consider cutting things into uniform pieces to hasten cooking time, and to insure uniform doneness.
Here's nice recipe for Italian Pot Roast:


                    Italian Pot Roast Recipe

3 1/2 to 4 pound rump or chuck beef roast       
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, diced (about 1 cup)
1 large celery stalk, diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium red onion, diced (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
3 cups medium-bodied Italian red wine (we used a Barbera)   
8 Roma style plum tomatoes, seeded

1.  Trim some of the fat from the meat.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Season generously with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, shimmering but not smoking, add the roast and cook, turning it a few times, until it is nicely browned on all sides, 10-12 minutes.  Transfer the meat to a platter.

2.  Reduce the heat to medium.  Add the carrot, celery, and onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are golden brown and begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, 10-12 minutes.  Add the garlic, parsley, and sage, and stir until the herbs are lightly colored and fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add 1 cup of the wine and stir quickly, lifting up the richly browned caramelized vegetables that stick to the bottom of the pan.  When the wine is almost all evaporated and thickly coats the vegetables, return the meat to the pan and turn it over a few times to coat it with the savory base.

3.  Raise the heat to high, adding the remaining wine, the bay leaf,  and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid, using a layer of tinfoil to allow a truly tight seal,  reduce the heat to low and simmer, turning and basting the meat every half hour or so, until the meat is very tender and flakes away when pierced with a fork, 3-4 hours.  Add the tomatoes when there is about an hour left.  When the meat is done, turn off the heat and let the roast sit in its juices for an hour.   Remove it and set it aside, keeping it warm.  You'll have some first rate sauce in the bottom of the braising pan, which you will strain and then return to the pan to reduce over high heat.

4.  Cut the meat into thick slices (it will probably fall apart), and place on warm serving dishes. Spoon the sauce over the meat and serve hot. Serve with risotto, herbed mashed potatoes, or polenta.