Garden Vegetable Stew

 

This is one vegetarian dish that even the die-hard meat eaters will enjoy! The quality of your veggies will turn this from ordinary to amazing and full of flavor. Its filling and incredible versatile based on the vegetables and herbs you use. This veg stew is perfect over a boiled potato or polenta. With the eggs from our hens, we love poaching an egg and placing it atop this gorgeous garden stew, adding a little protein and making it into more of a meal. Plus, eggs are hot right now!! Which just cracks us up (who comes up with these things?! By the way kale is out and cauliflower is in!) 

Remember with simple dishes like this its important to use the best quality ingredients. This is just the base for the veggies - use what you've got /like/grow. Add in potatoes if you want, etc.

Garden Vegetable Stew
serves about 6

This is just the base for the veggies - use what you've got/like/grow. Add in potatoes if you want, etc.

1 long eggplant
1 onion
1 pepper
1 zucchini
1 bulb of fennel
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt & pepper
a couple of large tomatoes, diced or 1 jar of whole crushed tomatoes
herbs of your choice (rosemary, thyme, bay leaf etc)
optional: capers, olives

Dice all your vegetables in a large dice, keeping them separate. Since its a stew the sizing isn’t exact. But don’t mix all the veggies together in a bowl.

In a large heavy pot, with a little bit of olive oil on medium high heat, sauté the onion for a few minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Then remove from the pot. We are just looking to start the onions cooking.

Repeat the same process, a little bit of olive oil, salt & pepper, sauté for 2 minutes or so and then remove, with each of the remaining vegetable except the tomatoes.

Keep an eye on your pan heat - you don’t want it too hot or too cool: too hot and they will burn your vegetables, too cool and you’ll sweat instead of sauté the vegetables.

Then return all the vegetables to the pot, together, along with the tomatoes and your herbs (and capers/olives if you like). Bring the pot up to a simmer and let slowly simmer until all the vegetables are tender. OR I like to pop it in a 375 F/190 C degrees oven, uncovered for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has reduced some.

Check your seasoning, remove the herb stems and finish with good extra virgin olive oil on top.

If you like, poach an egg and place atop or serve with boiled potatoes or grilled polenta. Makes a great hearty vegetarian dish. It will get better as it sits in the fridge. Change up the vegetables as you like or play with the spices.

Peposo: Peppered Lamb Stew in Red Wine, Slow Cooked in a Wood Oven

A proper Sunday night stew, rich peppery Peposo. An Italian dish, peposo translates to "peppered" and can be made with any type of tough-cut meat with a bone. In this recipe we use leg of lamb cut into thick steaks but you could also use pork shoulder, beef or venison.  It's really all about low and slow. Jason says "I like to cook this dish the night after pizza night (or when the wood burning oven has been used). I wait until the oven cools down putting the pot in and piling all the ash up and around it. It will softly cook all night long and the next morning it's ready to go!" 

You don't need a wood burning oven to make this dish. Simply put it in a slow oven at about 225 F or 105 C for about 8 hours or so - until the meat falls off the bone.

  Perfect served piled high on a buschetta or over soft polenta or mashed potates on a cold winters night - really stick to your ribs!!

Peposo
Peppered Lamb Stew

2 kilo/4.5 lb leg of lamb, cut into thick steaks with bone-in
20 garlic cloves, peeled
4 heaping tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 bottle of red wine
2 bay leaves
3-4 juniper berries, crushed
drizzle of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 225 F or 105 C  degrees.

In a heavy pot (just big enough to hold all the ingredients), drizzle olive oil and place a layer of the sliced meat at the bottom of the pan. Cover with a few cloves of garlic, sprinkle with pepper & salt and rosemary. Repeat starting with the meat & keep layering until they are all used up & the pot is almost full.

Pour wine over the top and add bay leaves & juniper. Top off with a touch of water if necessary to cover everything.

Slowly bring to just to boil, cover tightly with lid & place in the preheated oven for about 8 hours or until tender & falling apart. [If you want to cook the stew faster, raise the temp to about 300 degrees and cook for 4-6 hours. However it will be richer the slower you cook it. ]

Once the stew is done, skim off fat from the surface & remove the bones, the bay leaves & rosemary twigs.  The meat should be super soft & juicy with a rich & powerful flavor. Taste & season if it needs it. Breakup the pieces of meat. Serve a ladleful of stew on toasted bruschetta & a drizzle of olive oil or serve with polenta or mashed potatoes.

Peposo - Slow Cooked, Peppery Veal Stew

Originally from Tuscany, Peposo is a meaty, peppery, spicy stew that is slow food at its best.

 As with most recipes in Italy, the ingredients vary town to town. In our area of Le Marche we use wine & juniper berries creating a rich bold flavor without using tomatoes. Serve as a stew or pile-on the tender meat onto toasty bruschetta.

Peposo

5 1/2 lbs. of shank on the bone (veal, lamb or pork)
20 garlic cloves, peeled
4 heaping tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
couple of juniper berries
2 bottles of Chianti or other red wine
2 bay leaves

Slice your meat into chunky slabs & get it all off the bone (save the bone for later).  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a large pan, big enough to hold all the ingredients, place a layer of the sliced meat at the bottom of the pan, cover with a few cloves of garlic, sprinkle with pepper & salt and rosemary. Repeat starting with the meat & keep layering until the pot is almost full.

Pour wine over the top to cover, add the bone & the bay leaves.

Bring to a boil, cover tightly with a layer of foil & the pot lid, place in the preheated oven for 6 hours or until tender.  If you want to cook the stew overnight (as many Italians do), lower the temp to 275F and cook for 8 hours or more, until the meat is moist & tender, falling apart.  Make sure the foil is well sealed to keep all the moisture in.

Once the stew is done, remove the foil, skim off fat from the surface and remove the bone, the bay leaves & rosemary twigs.  The meat should be super soft & juicy with a rich & powerful flavor. Taste & season if it needs it. Breakup the pieces of meat. Serve a ladleful of stew on toasted bruschetta & a drizzle of olive oil or serve with potatoes or kale.

Spezzatino (Stewed Pork)

There is nothing better on a cool autumn Sunday evening than walking into the kitchen, welcomed by the glow of the fireplace and the rich smells of meaty goodness: a pot slowly simmering on the back burner with stewed meat, falling apart ready to top thick golden polenta. This is a "stick to your ribs" hearty dinner perfect for the fall & winter.

photo: iocomesono-pippi.blogspot.com

Spezzatino

Stewed Pork

1 lb of beef or pork for stew (or a mix of both)
1 carrot, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
handful of olives
2-3 spoonfuls of capers, drained
1/2 glass of white wine
salt & pepper
flour for dusting
olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice
aromatics/herbs - thyme, sage, rosemary
stock, enough to cover the meat
optional: mushrooms

Dredge meat in flour.
In a heavy bottomed pot on medium/high heat, brown meat on all sides.
Remove meat from the pan.
Reduce heat to low, add in vegetables and sauté for 10 minutes.
Add meat back to the pot (as well as the optional mushrooms) with your aromatics.
Deglaze with white wine and lemon juice.
Cover meat with stock.
Toss in capers & olives.
Simmer very slowly for 1.5 - 2 hours until meat is very tender.

Serve over polenta or boiled potatoes.