New: May 2013

Ingredients:
1.5 to 2 lb. boneless veal stewing cut (shank shoulder or round) cut into 2-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 leeks, white and pale green portions, halved, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 lb. asparagus, tough ends removed and spears coarsely chopped
8 oz. button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb. frozen peas
1/2 cup crème fraîche
3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Directions:
Brown the veal
Season the veal cubes with salt and pepper. In dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Working in batches if needed to avoid crowding, add the veal and cook until golden brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes total. Add the leeks and sauté until they start to soften, about 3 minutes more. Remove veal and leeks from dutch oven and transfer to a bowl.

Cook the stew
Preheat oven to 325 ˚F. Return the dutch oven to medium-high heat, add the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Bring the wine to a boil and add veal and leeks. Add the thyme sprigs,and enough chicken broth to just cover the meat. Cover and cook in 325 ˚F oven for 1.5 hours.

Add the vegetables
Add the asparagus, mushrooms and peas to the dutch oven and stir to combine. Cover and continue cooking until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Can keep warm on stove top for a couple hours now if needed. Remove the thyme sprigs and discard. Stir in the crème fraîche until it is blended with the cooking juices. Season the stew with salt and pepper.

Spoon the stew into shallow bowls over cooked gnocchi garnish with the parsley and serve immediately. Serves 4.


Also works well with beef.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Slow Cooker, by Norman Kolpas (Oxmoor House, 2007).

Marcella Hazan’s Eggplant Sauce with Tomato and Red Chili Pepper
serves 4 for Italian-style primi portions

1 large eggplant (about 1 pound)
salt
vegetable oil for frying

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves chopped garlic
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
~18 oz  good quality canned tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
large pinch dried chili flakes
1 pound spaghetti

Trim ends off eggplant and peel it. Slice into 1/2-inch slices, lengthwise.

Set a colander on a plate. Stand one layer of eggplant slices upright against the inside of the colander and sprinkle both sides with salt. Stand another layer of slices against the first layer, sprinkle that layer with salt, and continue until all eggplant has been salted. Let salted eggplant stand for at least 30 minutes then blot eggplant slices thoroughly with paper or cloth towels.

Used large dutch oven and put in about 1/2 inch canola oil on high heat.

Test the oil by dipping one slice of dried eggplant into the oil. If it sizzles, the oil is ready for frying. Slip as many slices of eggplant into the pan as will fit in a single layer. Cook undisturbed to a golden brown on one side, then turn them and cook the second side. Don't flip more than once. When both sides are golden, use tongs to transfer them to the towel-lined plate. Repeat until all eggplant is done. If the oil becomes so hot that the eggplant starts to burn, reduce the heat slightly.

In a large cold frying pan, add olive oil and garlic, and turn heat to medium. Cook and stir the garlic until it colors lightly. Add parsley, tomatoes, chili (start with a little, add to taste) and stir thoroughly. Adjust heat so that the sauce simmers gently, and cook about 25 minutes, until oil separates from sauce and floats free.

Boil water and make pasta (~12 min)

Cut eggplant into strips about 1/2 an inch wide. Add to the sauce, cook another 2-3 minutes, and stir once or twice to incorporate. Taste and correct for salt and heat.

Advance prep: Sauce and eggplant can be made up to 4 days in advance. Keep eggplant separate from sauce. Reheat sauce while pasta cooks, and add eggplant just before combining sauce and pasta.

This is adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, but I replaced with Julia Child béchamel because I can never get it to thicken properly the per Marcella's instructions

2 oz dried porcini
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
3-4 whole Italian tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 -3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
1.5 lbs large white or cremini mushrooms, washed and thinly sliced
11 De Cecco Lasagna noodles

2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk, almost at a boil
salt and pepper

.75 lbs ham, thinly sliced into strips (just used sliced ham "off the bone" and subsequently julienned)

Add dried mushrooms to 2 cups of warm water. Allow to soak for at least 30 minutes. Carefully remove mushrooms and squeeze out excess water and grit. Pour soaking water through a cheesecloth or paper towel lined wire strainer and set aside. Roughly chop mushrooms.

In a large sautee pan, melt butter and oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, stirring regularly. Add chopped reconstituted mushrooms, tomatoes, parsley and mushroom soaking water. I boiled down rapidly because I'm inpatient, but you're supposed to gently simmer off liquid. Add fresh mushrooms and pepper turn up the heat to medium high and stir regularly. The mushrooms will release liquid. Cook until liquid is absorbed again and mixture is generally dry. Taste and correct for seasoning. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook lasagna noodles for 4 minutes leaving slightly al dente. Drain and set aside on cloth towels to prevent sticking.

Preheat oven to 400F. Make the béchamel. In a sauce pan melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, bring heat to low and whisk in flour with no coloring. Pour in almost boiling milk all at once and whisk rapidly. Turn up heat, let boil, all while whisking, then turn back to simmer. Add salt.

Assembly lasagne in an 8x8 dish. Cover bottom with a thin layer of béchamel, then add layer of noodles, scatter with a layer of mushrooms, using about 1/4 of the mushrooms. Top with a quarter of the ham, then 1/5 of the béchamel. Top with another layer of noodles. Do 3 more layers like this. The last layer should end with three noodles, then the last of the bechamel.

Bake for 15 minutes covered with lid, remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Shown with Grilled Red Snapper.

Adapted from Julia Child.

Chop thick ends of asparagus. Peel with vegetable peeler (sometimes going over the same location several times until all the thick skin is gone. Tie all sprigs together with two pieces of twine, place in boiling, salted water in pot large enough to accommodate sprigs horizontally. Bring back up to boil, turn down heat to slowly boil for 12-15 min. Remove from water and dry a bit on cutting board with paper towels. Grill for ~7 min, flipping once on high heat with melted butter in frying pan.

1. In large bowl combine:

• 1 small white onion (chopped)
• 5 stalks of celery (chopped)
• 1 green pepper (chopped)
• 1 red pepper (chopped)
• 1 yellow pepper (chopped)

2. In sauce pan, boil for 2 min:

• 3/4 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste

3. Pour liquid over veggies/beans. Cover and marinate in refrigerator overnight.

To make as a meal, leave out majority of sugar, add in some spices (red pepper flakes, thyme, etc) and toss with pasta.

Adapted from Julia Child.