A Snowy Day Requires a Good Meat Fix: Braised Veal

I’m having such a great time trying out braised meats these days, the only thing stopping me from making more is the fact that I like to eat fish about 3 times a week! I like meat a lot but I usually like it when it’s almost raw, not cooked for hours. I’ve always believed that meat cooked for longer than 3 minutes ends up hard to chew and tasteless once put in the mouth. For some weird reason, it took me about 3 decades to discover that meat cooked for more than 3 minutes (more like 3 hours!) could actually be a melt in your mouth and super tasty experience.

I’m only at the beginning of my experiments but I’ve actually tried to braise spare ribs, veal roast, duck breasts and beef cubes. Not all of my experiments turn out great. Yes, there are some nights where we concentrate on eating the rice rather than the meat (that braised duck breast was a total disaster!). But hey, you’ve got to miss a few to figure out some amazing recipes!!

My veal was a case of, well, can I say it? Pure genius! It’s a melt in your mouth meal with tasty smoky veal and soft potatoes as a bonus. On a day like today, when it’s snowing outside and all you feel like is staying in with your loved ones, this is a perfect dinner treat.

BRAISED VEAL ROAST

Makes about 6 servings

 

INGREDIENTS

1 Veal roast, about 1kg

½ cup flour

Salt & pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped in diced

1 cup smoked lard cubes

1 ½ cups mushrooms, chopped

2 cups dry white wine

2 cups chicken broth

3 potatoes, peeled and diced

PREPARATION

Preheat your oven at 300˚F.

Put the flour on a plate and roll the roast in it. Cover the roast with salt & pepper. Keep the leftover flour on the side.

In a skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Sear the roast on each side so they become nice and brown. Take the roast out of the skillet and keep on the side.

Bring the heat to medium-high and add the onions and lard cubes. Cook for a few minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 more minutes. Poor the wine and let reduce of about ¼. Finally, slowly add the leftover flour to thicken the sauce.

In a large ovenproof pot, put the roast. Poor the onions and lard mixture on top and add the chicken broth.

Put in the middle of the oven, covered, and cook for 1-hour ½. Add the potatoes and cook for another 1 ½ hour.

When ready to serve, undo the roast in filaments and serve with nice colorful vegetables.

 

Note: You can make your roast up to 3 days in advance. Reduce your cooking time to 2 hours. When about to serve, heat in the oven for about 1 hour at 300˚F.  

Gratin Dauphinois When The Cold Hits The City

I’ve never been a huge potato fan. I’m not sure why but I think it’s because of a teenager’s misconception that potatoes make you fat. The thought has always stuck in my mind and I never got around to appreciating the starchy plant. The only way I absolutely love my potatoes is when I eat fries… but then it’s a given that fries can make you fat (not because of the potato itself but because of the oil it’s cooked in!) so I tend to eat them only on really special occasions (treat time!)

Potatoes can actually quite good for you. They mainly contain vitamin C and potassium but also contain a bunch of other nutriments. They have similar physiological effects and health benefits as fiber. Still, a potato is a carbohydrate so it’s better you don’t eat some everyday!

A Gratin Dauphinois is a French way of preparing potatoes, which mainly means they are cooked in milk and then finish in the oven. You can make your gratin a bunch of different ways but I like mine with a little bit of melted cheese on top. If you don’t like cheese, skip the ingredient; your potatoes will still taste great.

GRATIN DAUPHINOIS

Makes 4 servings

 

INGREDIENTS

3 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

¼ cup butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup 35% cream

About 2 cups milk

Salt & pepper

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

Pinch nutmeg (optional)

PREPARATION

Preheat your oven at 360˚F.

Clean and peel the potatoes. Slice them very thinly (no more than 3mm) and don’t put them under the water (or else you’ll lose the starch).

Put the potatoes in a small pot and cover them with milk. Add the garlic, salt & pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook for about 10 minutes.

Take out of the milk a place in an ovenproof plate. Poor the cream on top of the potatoes and place small butter cubes on top. Cover with cheese.

Place in the oven and cook for about 1 hour.

Note: I put my ovenproof dish on a baking dish to avoid spillage.

Cool Brunch With a Spanish Potato Tortilla

Ok, I feel really bad and my conscience is having a hard time sleeping at night. I realize I haven’t written in the past two weeks… at least. The worst part is that I haven’t really been cooking either. That’s a horrible, horrible thought! But I have great excuses (of course!): sick kids, the end of a construction site and, no free time. But things are back on track and I have some new recipes to share, plus stuff that I’m planning to try out in the next few weeks. So to you, my awesome readers, I apologize if I’ve let you down a little and I promise I’ll try to make it up to you. Do you forgive me?

This weekend we had a great big brunch with friends and we all had to bring a little something. With little time on my hands, I really had a rough time deciding on what to bring. I almost went to the market to buy a ready-made quiche; but that’s just not me. And to be honest, I sometimes find it harder to go out and find a great ready-made meal than to take the time to make it on my own (I know, that sounds weird!). So I looked in my fridge, only to find that it was almost empty… except for a bunch of eggs and some leftover cooked potatoes. What to do with so little ingredients?

That’s when it hit me. Why not make a really nice Spanish tortilla? They’re simple to make yet super tasty and it’s the perfect thing to eat around noon! Lucky me, I have a small Spanish cooking book at home so I took a look at it to make sure my version of the tortilla was made according to pure traditional Spanish style. And it was! I believe it was a success with everyone and it sure relieved me to know I was bringing something great and up to everyone’s expectation for an amazing brunch!

SPANISH POTATO TORTILLA

Makes about 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 onions, finely sliced

3 potatoes, diced

2 garlic cloves

7 eggs

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper

PREPARATION

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Over medium-high heat cook the onions until they are transparent. Take them out of the skillet and put them on a separate plate, leaving the leftover oil in the skillet.

Add the potatoes and the garlic and cook them. When they are ready, add the onions. Blend well and take off the heat. Let cool.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and add salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and onions to the mixture and let sit for about half an hour.

Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the egg mixture and cook. When the eggs are cooked to your taste (some like them a little juicy!), take off the heat and place a plate on top of the pan. Delicately flip the tortilla on the plate.

Serve hot with a nice salad or cold, diced in small bite size.

Note: I had some leftover potatoes from a previous dinner. So I used them instead of arranging some fresh ones. They were already seasoned so I took it easy on the salt and pepper.  

Lamb Tajine Isn’t That Hard To Make

These days, it feels like I have writers block. You know, the feeling of being in front of a blank page and not knowing what to write about. Only my problem isn’t writers block, it’s cooker’s block! I don’t know if it’s because its summer but I don’t feel like cooking these days and when I do, I like to make easy stuff I know how to make; stuff not interesting enough to add to this blog.

What do you do when such a thing happens? I’m thinking time will make the feeling go away. And maybe that winter will bring me back to life. Isn’t that sad? I don’t want summer to end so it’s like saying I don’t want to revive!

Ok so enough of the depressing stuff! I still make a few interesting things in a week and this is a great recipe I made for a friend. Super tasty and tender, this lamb dish takes quite a bit of time to cook but is super easy to make. On a beautiful summer night it felt like the perfect summer dish!

LAMB TAJINE WITH POTATOES

Makes 4 servings

 

INGREDIENTS

1kg boneless lamb shoulder, cut in dices

3 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, finely diced

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp powdered ginger

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

3 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

3 tbsp fresh flat parsley, chopped

¾ cup green olives, pitiless

3 cups potatoes, cut in dices

2 pinches saffron

1 tbsp extra olive oil

PREPARATION

In a large cooking pot, heat the olive oil over high heat and add the lamb cubes. Cook until they are evenly roasted (about 5 minutes). Take the lamb out into a bowl and keep on the side.

Reduce the heat and add the remaining olive oil. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions are tender. Add the garlic, cumin and ginger, cook for another minute. Cover with 375ml of water. Scrape the bottom of the pot to keep the meat juices. Add the lamb and incorporate the paprika, salt and pepper. Add the coriander and parsley, cover and simmer over low heat for another 1 hour to 1h15 minutes, until the meat is tender.

Add the olives and cook for another 15 to 30 minutes.

Peel the potatoes and dice. Cook in slightly salted water with the saffron for about 10 minutes. Take out of the water and add the extra olive oil.

Transfer the lamb in a serving plate and spread the potatoes around the meat. Serve immediately.