Spiced Chickpea Stew With Coconut and Turmeric

Spiced chickpeas are crisped in olive oil, then simmered in a garlicky coconut milk for an insanely creamy, basically-good-for-you stew. While the chickpeas would be good as a side dish, they are further simmered with stock, bolstered with dark, leafy greens of your choosing and finished with a handful of fresh mint. When shopping, be sure to avoid low-fat coconut milk, coconut milk meant for drinking or cream of coconut: All are very different and would not be suitable here.

Serves: 4 to 6

Cook time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for serving

4 garlic cloves

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 2-inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

kosher salt

black pepper

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric, plus more for serving

1 tsp red pepper flakes, plus more for serving

2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 15-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 bunch Swiss chard, kale, or collard greens, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 cup mint leaves, for serving

yogurt, for serving

toasted pita, lavash, or other flatbread, for serving

Directions

1.   Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent and starts to brown a little around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes.

2.   Add turmeric, red-pepper flakes and chickpeas, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, so the chickpeas sizzle and fry a bit in the spices and oil, until they’ve started to break down and get a little browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove about a cup of chickpeas and set aside for garnish.

3.   Using a wooden spoon or spatula, further crush the remaining chickpeas slightly to release their starchy insides (this will help thicken the stew). Add coconut milk and stock to the pot, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any bits that have formed on the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until stew has thickened and flavors have started to come together, 30 to 35 minutes. (Taste a chickpea or two, not just the liquid, to make sure they have simmered long enough to taste as delicious as possible.) If after 30 to 35 minutes you want the stew a bit thicker, keep simmering until you've reached your desired consistency. Determining perfect stew thickness is a personal journey!

4.   Add greens and stir, making sure they’re submerged in the liquid. Cook a few minutes so they wilt and soften, 3 to 7 minutes, depending on what you’re using. (Swiss chard and spinach will wilt and soften much faster than kale or collard greens.) Season again with salt and pepper.

5.   Divide among bowls and top with mint, reserved chickpeas, a sprinkle of red-pepper flakes and a good drizzle of olive oil. Serve alongside yogurt and toasted pita if using; dust the yogurt with turmeric if you'd like.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Serves: 4 to 6 
Prep time: 20 min 
Cook time: 50 min

Ingredients

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups (or 2 cans) cooked black beans, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 pinch black pepper or red pepper flakes, to taste

2/3 cup quick oats or breadcrumbs, plus extra as needed

3/4 cup fresh (or frozen and thawed) corn or peas

Directions

1.   Sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil for eight to ten minutes, or until golden, soft, and fragrant.

2.   Add 2 cups of the beans, the cumin, the paprika, the chili powder, the sea salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in the sauté pan everything is heated through.

3.   Preheat your oven to 350° F.

4.   Add the oats or breadcrumbs to the bowl of a food processor and pulse them a few times. Add the onion, garlic, and bean mixture. Process everything together until it's well combined but still has texture.

5.   Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Add the last cup of black beans and the corn and mix well with your hands. Check for seasoning and season to taste. If the mixture is too mushy to form into patties, add a little more oats or bread crumbs.

6.   Shape mixture into four large or six smaller patties. Transfer burgers to a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes (or until golden), flipping once through. Alternately, you can chill them for twenty minutes before transferring them to a grill and cooking through. You can also pan fry them in olive oil until golden on each side.

Ma po tofu [ 麻婆豆腐 ]

Ma po tofu [ 麻婆豆腐 ]

Ingredients

1 block soft tofu

12 scallions

2 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp sichuan peppercorns

9 whole cloves garlic

1/3 cup broadbean [fava bean] chili paste

3-inch piece ginger, sliced into coins

1 tbsp fermented black beans

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp sichuan chili powder [Korean chili powder can be substituted]

8 oz ground beef or pork

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp water

 1 tbsp corn starch

Firm the tofu

Cube soft tofu and place in a bowl. Add 2 cups chicken broth. Crush and slice 12 scallions and add them to the bowl. Cover and microwave for 5-7 minutes until steamed and hot and the tofu has firmed slightly. Let rest.

Make the spice paste

Toast sichuan peppercorns in microwave for 30 seconds, then grind. Next add garlic, chili paste, ginger, and black beans to food processor and pulse into a coarse paste, about 2 minutes. Add vegetable oil, sichuan chili powder, and 1 tsp of the ground sichuan peppercorns. Process until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl. 

Brown the meat and paste

Add a little vegetable oil to a pan on medium heat. Add the ground beef or pork and cook, breaking it up, until it starts to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Remove meat to a bowl, leaving any accumulated fond in the pan. Add another tablespoon oil to the pan along with the spice paste. Bloom for 2-3 minutes, stirring to incorporate the fond, until paste turns darker and oil has separated out. 

Put it all together

Add the tofu, along with the chicken broth and scallions, back into the pan. Add hoisin, sesame oil, and the browned meat. Stir gently to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes. Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl and mix to form a slurry. Stir the slurry into the tofu. Mixture will thicken in 2-3 minutes. 

Serve in bowls with rice. Sprinkle over remaining ground sichuan peppercorns and enjoy.


from America's Test Kitchen™

French Meat Vocabulary

Les Mots      Terms

boucher      butcher
viande      meat
balance      scale
couteau      knife
saucisse     sausage

veau      veal

morceaux de viande       cuts

tranche       slice

jambon     ham

couenne     rind

hachée     minced or ground meat

joues      cheeks

gras      fat

os      bone

gigot      joint

peau      skin

foie      liver

cœur     heart

langue     tongue

cou      neck

tête      head

queue      tail

abats     offal

giber      game

venison      venison

lapin      rabbit

salé     salted

fumé       smoked

de ferme       free range

bio, naturel     organic

viande blanche       white meat

viande rouge     red meat

viande maigre      lean meat

viande cuite       cooked meat

viande crue / pas cuite     raw meat

Porc      Pork

poitrine     thinly-sliced bacon

lardons     thick-sliced bacon

tranche de lard       rasher

echine       shoulder [encompasses the blade bone and spare ribs]

côtes     rack of pork [loin chops]

côtelette     pork chop

filet     hind loin area

jambon     ham

avec la couenne     joint with crackling

Volaille      Poultry / Fowl

poulet     chicken

poulette     young chicken

dinde     turkey

coq     cockerel

pintade       guinea fowl

faisan     pheasant

canard     duck

oie     goose

caille       quail

cuisses     thighs

magret     breast

carcasse     carcass

blanc       breast / white meat

cuisse     thigh / leg / dark meat

Agneau     Lamb

gigot d’agneau     leg of lamb

echine     shoulder

côtes     rack of lamb [lamb chops]

collet       scrag [end]

poitrine / poitrail     breast

côtelette     lamb chop

jarret       shank, shin

selle      d’agneau saddle

Bœuf     Beef

bifsteck, steak     steak
bavette     flank steak

filet     fillet

faux-filet, bifsteck d'aloyau     sirloin; New York strip steak

osseline, onglet       hanger steak

bourgignon       cubed beef for braising

paleron, macreuse     shoulder cuts for braising

pot au feu, plat de côte     rib or brisket for braising

basses-côtes     chuck steak

rosbeef       rump roast

rumsteak, tende de tranche     rump steak

tranche grasse     rump steak [particular French cut]

steak à hacher     high-quality steak tartare

entrecôte     ribeye

tournedos, filet mignon     thick-cut tenderloin steak

gîte à la noix     thick flank steak [round]

rond de gîte     part topside steak / part thick flank steak [round]

queue     oxtail

filet, longue, aloyau     loin

côte première     loin chop

Freshly-Ground Hamburgers

From "Master of the Grill" by America's Test Kitchen

Makes 4 hamburgers



Why This Recipe Works

 Patties made of preground chuck are easy, but we were after a charred crust, rich beefy taste, and juicy interior that are hard to get from supermarket ground beef. This is because the way ground beef is handled during processing draws out sticky proteins that create a dense texture in the burger. To avoid this, we ground our own meat and switched from chuck to sirloin steak tips, which contain less connective tissue and just the right amount of fat.

We froze the meat to make grinding easier and added butter for flavor and richness. We also froze the patties after forming them to ensure that by the time they’d thawed at their centers, they had developed a perfect outer crust.

This recipe requires freezing the meat twice, for a total of 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, before grilling. When stirring the salt and pepper into the ground meat and shaping the patties, take care not to overwork the meat or the burgers will become dense. Sirloin steak tips are also sold as flap meat. Serve the burgers with your favorite toppings.


Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak tips, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Kosher salt and pepper
1 (13x9-inch) disposable aluminum pan (if using charcoal)
4 hamburger buns


Directions

Place beef chunks and butter on large plate in single layer. Freeze until meat is very firm and starting to harden around edges but still pliable, about 35 minutes.

Place one-quarter of meat and one-quarter of butter cubes in food processor and pulse until finely ground into pieces size of rice grains (about 1/32 inch), 15 to 20 pulses, stopping and redistributing meat around bowl as necessary to ensure beef is evenly ground. Transfer meat to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat grinding in three batches with remaining meat and butter. Spread mixture over sheet and inspect carefully, discarding any long strands of gristle or large chunks of hard meat, fat, or butter.

Sprinkle 3/4 teaspoon salt and one teaspoon pepper and over meat and gently toss with fork to combine. Divide meat into four portions. Working with one portion at a time, lightly toss from hand to hand to form ball, then gently flatten into 3/4-inch-thick patty. Press center of patties down with your fingertips to create 1/4-inch-deep depression. Transfer patties to platter and freeze for 30 to 45 minutes.

Instant Pot™ Mushroom Chicken Stew

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 6-8 hours


Ingredients

One cup sliced aroma mushrooms (brown crimini mushrooms)
One cup sour cream
Two cups chicken broth
Two chicken breasts, cut into pieces
One garlic clove, chopped
Two large potatoes, diced
One yellow onion, chopped


Directions

Place all of the ingredients in the instant pot.
Cook on the slow cook setting for 6-8 hours.
Serve with good bread and salad

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
4 cups chicken broth, divided into 2 cups for cooking, 2 cups for roux
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
8 oz andouille sausage [precooked], cut into 1/4-inch pieces
6 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp white vinegar
Salt to taste
Tabasco™ to taste
rice


Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 425. Put 1 cup of all purpose flour in an oven-safe pan, and cook it 45–55 minutes, or until it's the colour of cinnamon or brown sugar. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately transfer the flour to a bowl to keep it from continuing to cook.

2.     Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium until shimmering. Add the onion, pepper, and celery. Cook 5–7 minutes until softened.

3.     Add the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Bloom the spices for 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant.

4.     Add half the chicken broth, scraping up the fond at the bottom of the pot. Then add the chicken in an even layer. Bring the pot to a simmer, then back the heat down to medium-low. Cover and cook for 15–20 minutes, until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool.

5.     Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth to the bowl of toasted flour, whisking to make a smooth roux.

6.     Uncover the pot, turn the heat back up to medium, and whisk in the roux. Then add the andouille and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the chicken on the plate.

7.     Remove the bay leaves from the pot and add the scallions and shredded chicken back in. Mix thoroughly.

8.     Add vinegar, and season to taste. Serve over rice with Tabasco™ sauce.