Game Day Cassoulet

I have a friend who makes cassoulet (pronounced cass-oo-lay) at least once every winter. I love it and always look forward to it. Native to the southwest part of France, there are many versions. It’s a wonderful dish but very labor intensive, and for a rustic dish, pretty expensive.

It requires duck confit, leg quarters cooked in duck fat for a long time on very low heat. In addition, lamb shanks and French garlic sausages are included in most recipes.

And it’s a lot of work. Anthony Bourdain’s recipe in the “Les Halles Cookbook” gives directions broken down into “Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3” segments.

Well, when I recently wanted to do a similar dish for a brunch with neighbors, Anthony Bourdain wasn’t there (more’s the pity!) and I came up with a much less labor intensive version of my own. If not at all authentic, it sure was good!

I used chicken thighs with the bone in and the skin on. Even if you don’t like to eat the skin, I advise that you leave it on during cooking to keep the meat from drying out. For the sausage I used smoked sausage from the supermarket. A good lamb sausage would make a felicitous substitute; if it isn’t precooked, broil or roast it first, then cut into slices.

This would make a wonderful dish for you NCAA tournament game-watching friends. You can make everything the day before, then assemble in the morning, and bake when you’re ready for it. I made a salad with sliced winter fruit: oranges, pears and apples, with toasted walnuts on a bed of butter lettuce with a black currant vinaigrette dressing. It was the perfect companion to the cassoulet.

 

GAME DAY CASSOULET

1 lb great northern beans

2 tbsp olive oil

8 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on (about 2 lbs)

12 oz smoked sausage, cut into 1/2" slices

1 large onion, chopped

4 large cloves garlic, minced

3 medium carrots, sliced

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup red wine

5 or 6 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

6 cups chicken broth

Salt to taste

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs from firm bread

In a large bowl or pan, soak the beans overnight (or at least 8 hours) in water to cover by 2".

In a heavy Dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down and brown on both sides in two batches. You want them a nice dark golden brown. Remove to a plate. Add the sliced sausage and brown on both sides. Remove and add to the plate with the chicken. Reserve.

Add the onion, garlic and carrot to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to soften and is translucent. Add the tomato paste and stir until all the vegetables are coated with it. Add the wine, thyme and bay leaf and simmer until reduced by about half.

Drain the beans, discarding the soaking liquid. Add them to the vegetable mixture, along with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook at a low simmer until the beans are just tender, about 45 minutes. After 30 minutes, taste the stock and salt if you think it needs it. If you are preparing it in advance, cover and refrigerate the beans in the pot, and the plate with the chicken and sausage.

Preheat the oven to 350. Drain the cooking liquid from the beans and reserve. Pick the thyme stems and bay leaf out of the beans. Put half the beans in a large casserole. Top with the sausage, then the rest of the beans. Nestle the thighs down in the beans, skin side up and exposed. Pour enough of the reserved cooking broth to just cover the beans.

Place the casserole in the oven and lightly rest a sheet of foil on the top. Bake for an hour, adding more of the cooking broth as needed to keep the beans just covered. Remove the foil. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the beans and chicken. Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Serves 8 very generously.

Spanish Tortilla al Chorizo

I’ve had several folks ask for “hands-on” classes at the shop, giving each participant a chance to master a skill that might not be easily demonstrated to a group.

The first class I did was a sausage-making class. We made three sausages, stuffed casings, cooked them and had an accompaniment to each. It was a lot of work, but the results were well worth it.

One of the sausages we made was a Spanish style chorizo. For this one, since a coarse grind was important, we ground the meat ourselves with our handy Kitchen-Aid attachment. The seasonings are very different from the Mexican style hot and spicy chorizo. One important ingredient is Pimentón de la Vera, a sort of paprika from central Spain. The peppers used in making it are not dried in the traditional way, in the sun, but smoked slowly for several weeks over an oak fire. It is a wonderful seasoning. Just a touch gives great flavors to leafy greens, beans, rice dishes, fish and pork.

At any rate, the sausage we made using the Pimentón was a huge hit, and we had some left over. I stuck it in the freezer, thinking I would stuff it into casings another time. But I bet you know me well enough by now to know that just didn’t happen!

I had neighbors coming for a Sunday evening supper. There wasn’t enough of the chorizo to serve as sausage but just enough to make a sort of Spanish tortilla. (“Tortilla” is the Spanish word for omelet, as opposed to the Mexican flour tortilla.) Served with a green salad, it was declared quite tasty by all. This would be a perfect brunch dish, too. It can be baked, not done on top of the stove and can be served either hot from the oven, or at room temperature; or you can make it ahead and reheat it.

So, first I am going to give you the recipe for the sausage. You might not want to grind your own pork, but if you do, use something with plenty of fat, like shoulder or Boston butt. Otherwise, call ahead and ask your butcher to grind it for you in “chili grind,” that is, coarsely, and only once through the grinder. And I bet you’re not going to stuff it in casings, either, but you can use it as sausage patties or meatballs. Then use the rest for the Tortilla al Chorizo.

SPANISH CHORIZO SAUSAGE

2 lb coarsely ground pork, with some fat
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 or 3 cloves garlic, very finely minced
¾ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2 tbsp sweet Pimentón de la Vera (available in specialty markets)
1 good pinch hot pepper flakes (optional, if you’d like a little heat)

Combine all ingredients. Place in a non-reactive bowl, and refrigerate overnight, covered tightly.
NOTE: Casings are available in small packages from Charlie’s Meat Market. They will also do the pork in the appropriate grind with advance notice.

TORTILLA DE CHORIZO

½ lb chorizo (or Italian sausage)
2 tbsp olive oil, as needed
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, with some of the green
¼ cup finely minced white onion
6 oz spinach, coarsely chopped
7 eggs
1 cup finely shredded mozzarella
1 tsp Italian spices or basil, dried, crumbled
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350o. In a skillet, cook and crumble the sausage just until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. If there isn’t enough fat left to sauté the onions, add enough olive oil to just film the bottom of the pan. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for a few minutes, or until wilted. Add the spinach and stir and toss until the spinach is wilted.

Meanwhile, spray a 10” pie or quiche pan with cooking spray. The sausage will have given off a bit more liquid. Transfer the sausage to the quiche pan with a slotted spoon. Add the liquid remaining in the sausage bowl to the onion-spinach mixture and cook for another minute. Then spread the onion-spinach mixture evenly over the sausage.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs with a splash of cold water. Add the cheese and seasonings and whisk until well blended. Pour evenly over the contents of the quiche pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the center is set. Cut into six wedges and serve immediately, or reserve and serve at warm room temperature.

Technorati Tags:spanish, chorizo, sausage, tortilla, omelet
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator

Butternut Squash Risotto

I've had several folks e-mail to ask for a good risotto recipe. It brings to mind a dish I made back in the fall. I've become quite a fan of several online "blogs." One of my favorite ones is "Stephen Cooks." Its author, Stephen Smith, cooks the way I wish I had time to, and I've tried many of his recipes. This one was adapted from one of them, and I know you’ll like it.

Risotto is an Italian rice dish, almost always served there in small quantities, as a first course. Cooked over a low flame, constantly stirred, with the liquid added gradually, it turns into a creamy, not-quite-soupy dish. It is imperative to use the right variety of rice; Uncle Ben's won't work! It must be a short grain rice, such as arborio, vialone nano, or my favorite for risotto, carnaroli. These are imported from Italy and have a firm core, but with a softer outside that dissolves in the cooking process to give just the right creamy consistency. It is true Italian comfort food, and perfect for this time of year.

I made it as a main course, and accompanied it with a salad of slivered fresh fennel and red bell pepper with a red wine-oregano vinaigrette. The flavor of the fresh fennel nicely echoed the fennel seed in the recipe, and I used the feathery fronds to garnish the dish.

One of the drawbacks for many is that it should be eaten as soon as it is finished. But you know how I love to have my friends gather in the kitchen, nibbling on an assortment of appetizers, as I finish dinner. I know your friends won’t mind, either, when they have their first taste!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH-ITALIAN SAUSAGE RISOTTO

1 butternut squash, about 2 lbs.
Olive oil
3 slices pancetta, about 1/4” thick, cut into strips (see notes)
1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup red wine
2 large leeks, white and pale green parts
2 cups (1 lb) rice for risotto
5 to 6 cups chickens stock
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (see notes)
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp fennel seed, crushed

Wash and dry the squash, rub it with oil and bake on a sheet pan in a preheated 400o oven for about an hour, or until easily pierced with the tip of a knife. When cool enough to handle, cut open. Scoop out and discard the seeds and dark orange membrane from the center. The hollow body of the squash will be softer than the solid neck; scoop it into a bowl. Dice the firmer portion from the neck and reserve separately. (You can do this ahead and refrigerate for up to a couple of days.)
In a large heavy pot, cook the pancetta and the sausage, breaking up large clumps with a wooden spoon, until browned and crispy. Add the red wine and simmer until absorbed. Remove about a fourth of the mixture and reserve for garnish.
Meanwhile, cut the leeks in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/4” half rounds. Rinse well and place on a paper towel to drain. Bring the stock to a simmer in a separate pot.
When the wine is absorbed, add the leeks and cook, stirring, until soft. Add the rice and fennel and stir constantly until the rice turns milky white. Stir in the reserved softer part of the squash. Add a couple of ladles of the simmering stock and continue to stir as it cooks. Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, just enough to keep it fairly soupy. After 15 minutes, begin to taste the rice. It should be soft on the outside but still firm, but not hard, in the middle. It will probably take no more than 20 minutes total to reach the right texture. When done, add the grated parmesan, butter and fennel seed. Ladle into flat soup bowls and top with reserved squash cubes and meat mixture. Pass a chunk of cheese and a grater at the table. Serves 4 to 6 as a main course.

NOTES: Pancetta is a sort of un-smoked Italian bacon, available at specialty markets. If unavailable, just leave it out. For the grated cheese, I prefer either imported parmigiano reggiano, or the more affordable but still very flavorful grana padano.