THE ROAD TO RAGU

The Road to Ragú

            Let me confess at the outset that I took a wrong turn. It was meant to be a shortcut to fit in with my February resolution to spend less time in the kitchen, but like any shortcut guided by Murphy’s Law, it ended up in the wrong place. Fortunately, unintended destinations from shortcuts can lead to interesting new discoveries. No, I’m not talking about a journey to some exotic South Seas island, but the very delectable slow cooked meat sauce called Ragú of Mediterranean origin, most notably from Southern Italy.

            It all started out on one of our recent snowy weekends, when a spicy pork dish sounded appealing. I thought of spare ribs and the freezer yielded a nice package of country style ribs. I was ready to roast the last butternut squash from our summer garden and so in my February minimalist mode, it seemed logical to use a recently acquired ribs recipe that just required rubbing the meat with some spices and roasting them in a slow oven, tightly wrapped in foil, and bake them at the same time.

            BIG mistake! The lean country style ribs could be quickly grilled and augmented with barbecue sauce, but my recipe was obviously meant for different, more succulent cut of meat, like St. Louis style pork ribs. The aroma was wonderful, but I had visions of Charlie Chaplin savoring the view of his braised boot. It was dry. Spicy, but dry!

            Well, sometimes this happens in the best of kitchens and with any luck you can find a way to salvage by following Ben Franklin’s advice: ”Waste not, want not”. It was a little too late to put the ribs in a slow cooker, but Mediterranean country tables are rich with inventive ways of braising meat in a tomato based sauce, often with sweet or hot sausage.

            With this in mind, the tough country ribs were thinly sliced/shredded and ready to be transformed in something edible. To build flavor in a bold tomato sauce one needs to start with a sauté of vegetables or a soffritto, with additional spices and then allow all the flavors to blend with the meat by slow stove top cooking for hours. Thus a Ragù is a dish that allows improvisation according to your taste, imagination and what is available in your kitchen. Once you have everything in the pot, it takes care of itself, except for a stir once an hour while you watch the next snow storm move into Midcoast Maine.

                        Spicy Pork Ragù

            In a heavy Dutch oven or large pot, fry 2 slices thick bacon until almost crisp, drain on paper towels. Pour off most of the fat retaining about 2 Tblsp. Chop and sauté for 7 minutes on high heat: 1 large onion, 1 large carrot and 1 stalk celery until the vegetables start to brown. Add 4 chopped cloves of garlic and ¾ cups chopped celery leaves, 2 tsp. dried oregano, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground coriander, ½ tsp. smoked paprika (optional). Stir over medium heat for 1 minute and add 1 cup white wine. Stir in the meat (2+ cups shredded), torn pieces of the bacon, 1 can (28 oz) tomato puré, 2 tsp. sugar, ½ cup chopped sundried tomatoes (optional). Bring to a boil, then lower heat to low simmer. Adjust seasonings with salt and peper. Make sure meat and vegetables are covered with liquid.  Cover and cook with occasional stirring for 4 hours. If necessary, thin with a bit of hot water or broth.

            Serve over hot rotini or rigatoni with freshly grated Assiago or Parmesan cheese. The meaty Ragú keeps well in the  refrigerator for several days and can be reheated for serving as a lunch dish on a crusty Italian roll with or without melted Provolone cheese.

            The salvage project was more time consuming than planned. But the results were tasty and it is now March, so no need to feel too guilty about resolutions. However, next time I want to make pork ragú, I may just start with coarsely ground pork and some sweet Italian sausage.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

IN PRAISE OF HOME COOKING

In Praise of Home - Cooking.

            My resolution to simplify February and spend less time preparing each meal did not include ‘not thinking about food’. In fact, snowstorms are very conducive to contemplating topics you are passionate about, which in my case includes home cooking.

            Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy good restaurants immensely whether they serve fancy food or just plain food well prepared from fresh ingredients. I recall wonderful meals from a fabulous chili served in a small restaurant in Rangeley Maine, to an incredible 3 hour luncheon at the French Laundry in California, to inspired meals served on the edge of the Mediterranean, while we watched the native fish cruising by at the edge of the deck of our waterside table.  My fond memories include the innumerable small bistros in Europe and elsewhere and I won’t forget the simply delicious lunch served on a large banana leaf in Bangalore India. 

            In all of these, my taste buds and I were the beneficiaries of someone else’s effort and had the pleasure to enjoy and taste the show. But food, like other things in life, can be most fully appreciated only if you have had a chance to get to it close and personal. Home cooking removes the “virtual” aspects of food and gives you an understanding, appreciation and insight in what makes a wonderful meal in its true sense.

            Unfortunately, the saying: ”if I can’t microwave it, I can’t cook it” applies to a large segment of the population. The prepared food industry and take-out businesses  encourage this trend because of significant profits. Of course, the modern pace of  life also encourages such trends and even in retirement I have been known to call the Movie and Pizza shop in Waldoboro at dinner time, when nothing but a pizza will do.

And yet, one can only commend someone like + Jamie Oliver in Los Angeles, who goes around with a kitchen/classroom in a bus with the aim of teaching anyone how to prepare 10 easy meals as a start for home cooking, healthier eating and lifestyle. With vegetable gardens springing up at many schools to teach children the joys of fresh produce, somehow the old school home economics classes no longer seem so obsolete.

Next to stir fries and pancakes, muffins are some of the easiest and quickest to make in the home kitchen. With relatively few ingredients, they are easily mixed and baked and with minor variations are adaptable to different flavors, both sweet and savory. Here is my basic recipe for a batter that will make 8 medium or 12 small muffins depending on the size of the pan.

                        Sweet or savory muffins

Sweet.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl stir together 2 cups flour, 1 Tblsp. baking powder, ¼ cup sugar and ½ tsp. salt, and make a well in the center. In another small bowl beat 2 eggs with ¾ cups milk and 2 Tblsp. melted butter. Pour egg mixture in the flour mix and stir until just blended. At this point stir in 2/3 cups raisins or cranberries or blueberries or a shredded apple. Distribute batter among the cups in your pan sprayed with a baking spray or lined with paper cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, cool on the rack briefly and enjoy any time of the day.

Savory. Prepare the flour mix as above, with only 1 Tblsp. of sugar and added  ¾ cups shredded Parmesan cheese and ½ tsp basil, oregano or rosemary. Use the same egg mixture and omit the fruit. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and serve as you would serve rolls or cornbread. Other variations for savory muffins could include chopped sun dried tomatoes, olives or even crumbled bacon. The variations are only limited by your kitchen supplies and personal taste preferences.

And finally, the other advantages of home cooking are lack of preservatives so prevalent in prepared foods and simply cost. The above batch of 8  muffins prepared in your kitchen will cost you little more than the $1.30 price per muffin at the store. And best of all, the aroma of home cooking or baking is priceless.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

RESOLVED - SIMPLIFY FEBRUARY

Resolved – Simplify February

            The hyperbole of the Holiday Season, starting in November, as well as the continued exuberance of the season with special gatherings, family and meals that provided challenges for taste and presentation have temporarily worn me out. January should be the time for regrouping, making of dietetic resolutions and general readjustment, except that the football league has managed to insert Superbowl Sunday at the end of this month, which precludes carrying out all such good intentions. So, now that there is ‘great joy’ in Baltimore, life elsewhere can go back to normal.

            February being the shortest month, seems like a good time to attempt readjustments. A woman I met had the intriguing suggestion of using this time to rebalance the contents of her freezer and her pantry, by only buying essentials like milk and bread for the month and cooking mainly with the foodstuffs accumulated in the house. Worth the try, but I would miss the fresh fruit and salads, so essential for pleasant meals.

            Still, much as I love my kitchen, the aim for this month is to spend shorter time in it preparing our meals. This does not mean giving up fresh and healthy ingredients, but rather reverting to simpler and less time consuming recipes. However, unlike the summer, when it is possible to put together a delicious salad, winter requires something more substantial and preferably warm, to chase away the daily chill. Soups are wonderful, since most of them can be made in quantity, which then provides a meal for several days.  The same of course can be said for slow cooker meals, but simple and even colorful meals can be had in times of 25 minutes or less, with the right ingredients.

            A much neglected ingredient in this area is couscous, which can be prepared in 10 minutes and like polenta and grits serves as a delicious base for a variety of toppings.

                                    Couscous with salami and broccoli ragu

            Pour 2/3 cup whole wheat couscous in a heavy ceramic bowl and pour over it 2 cups boiling chicken or vegetable broth with 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper. Cover and let sit 10-15 minutes, after which fluff with fork and keep warm. In the meantime heat 1 Tblsp. butter and 1 Tblsp. olive oil in a heavy skillet, sauté 4 oz. sliced mushrooms with 2 cloves chopped garlic for a few minutes, sprinkle with 2 tsp. flour and stir in ¾ cup beef broth and a shake of red pepper flakes. Stir until thickened, then add 4 oz soppressata or other hard salami cut in 1/3 inch cubes and a cup of small broccoli florets. Simmer to heat through and serve on top of couscous in individual bowls.

            Recently we came back from a disastrous short vacation and a less than pungent pasta supper seemed to be desirable. There are certainly dozens of recipes for pasta carbonara, but since there were no eggs in the refrigerator, this made a colorful and satisfying meal.

                                    Rotini Primavera – Carbonara

            Cook the desired amount of rotini primavera (multicolored vegetable rotini) in a large amount of salted water for 10 minutes, adding ½ cup frozen peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain and toss with the sauce.

            While the pasta is cooking, in a heavy sauce pan fry 2 slices of bacon to nearly crisp and drain on paper towels.  Pour off most of the fat and sauté 1 small onion finely chopped for a few minutes, stir in 1 chopped clove of garlic, salt, pepper and then stir in ½ cup milk. Bring to simmer and blend in 2 oz. cream cheese and ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Add slivered 2 thin slices of deli ham and when heated through pour over the drained pasta with peas. Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon and toss to mix. Serve with added Parmesan cheese.

            I’m quite resolved to simplify February. Unfortunately there is Valentine’s day!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

THE HUMBLE BEAN

The Humble Bean

            New England bean suppers have long held an established culinary position in community events.  However, with the exception of string beans, family meals such as beans and hot dogs epitomize scraping the bottom of the barrel in home cooked food. Hence the undeserved humble image has long been attached to all bean varieties and legumes in general, such as cow peas (black-eyed peas), lentils and even garbanzos.

            And yet, while beans have often in the past been associated with poverty, their popularity seems to be getting a new life not only by the USDA and nutritionists, but also as an interesting side or main dish component in trendy restaurants. Suddenly legumes have been ‘discovered’ not only for their protein, fiber, carbohydrate, vitamin and mineral content, but also the variety of flavors that can be produced by different members of the legume family. As we discover and adapt the flavors of ethnic cuisine, we also discover that the legume has been a staple in pots from prehistoric times in all continents. So, in addition to chili and hummus, it is delightful to discover other delicious recipes that use lentils, peas and beans.

            Historically beans have been grown in different climates and in dried form can be easily preserved for winter and times of scarcity of other food stuffs. This quality probably explains why in some cultures, beans or some form of cow peas are eaten at New Year’s. In the South black-eyed peas in Hoppin’ John are eaten to insure luck for the coming year.  At Christmas and on New Year’s eve, an old Latvian custom calls to serve cooked ‘gray peas’, a form of cow peas that are actually brown and have a good nutty flavor, with the proviso that the number of peas left over predicts the number of tears in the New Year. Needless to say, a sincere effort is made to clean up your plate.

            Today, beans, chickpeas and even black-eyed peas are available in canned form, though lately I have noticed that the can contents have started to shrink for many brands. This makes the dried legumes even more economical to use, since a cup of dried beans or chickpeas will give you two cups after soaking and cooking. Except for lentils, which only require 30 minutes to cook, dried beans and peas/garbanzos benefit from an overnight soaking in plenty of cold water. After rinsing the soaked beans or peas, cover them with cold water, bring the pot to boil and continue to cook uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours, depending on the bean, until tender, but still intact. Add salt only after cooking to avoid toughening the skin of the bean.

            One of my all-time favorite bean recipes evolved through the years and is good as a casserole, especially in cold weather.  The original came from Carol, a secretary in our department of Microbiology, out West. This version uses canned beans, but cooked dried garbanzo and pinto beans are even better.

                                                Four Bean Casserole

            Cook 5 slices of thick bacon to near crisp and drain on paper towels and break up the slices. Pour off most of the fat and over high heat brown 1 lb. lean ground beef and 1 cup diced onions. Drain off extra grease and stir in ½ cup catsup, 1 tsp. salt, 1 Tblsp. yellow mustard, 2 Tblsp. apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 28-oz can un-drained vegetarian baked beans, 1 15-oz can garbanzo beans and 1 15-oz can pinto beans drained and rinsed, ½ tsp. liquid smoke and 1 bag frozen (edamame) soy beans. Add roughly crumbled bacon, stir together and bake covered in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. 

            Early in December I discovered at the Waldoboro Library a copy of Crescent Dragonwagon’s wonderful cookbook “Bean by Bean”, undoubtedly the ultimate bean cookbook.  Santa must have heard me enthuse about this book, so now I have a copy of my own to explore during this winter’s chilly months.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

BRING THE TORCH

Bring the Torch…

            ‘Swoosh..Sizzle..Mmm..’ were the sounds at  last week’s delicious opening of  the Friends of the Waldoboro Library 2013 Speaker Series. Dana Moos, the author of “The Art of Breakfast” was there to talk about her book and demonstrate that B&B artful entertaining was actually quite accessible outside her premises at Portland’s Pomegranate Inn.

            Being a firm believer in ‘Artful Plates’, as often mentioned in this column, my curiosity and wish to learn found me in midst of a large gathering at the library. From the beginning it was apparent that this was not going to be an ordinary event, since one of the first items that appeared on the table was a torch. And I do not mean a large flashlight, or a belated French Christmas carol prop “Bring the torch Jeanette Isabella..”. No, it was a moderate size butane blowtorch, sitting expectantly next to an assembly of plates, forks, sauces, sugar and fruit.

            Restaurants like to feature crème brûlée, which requires a blowtorch to glaze the top of this delicious desert.  Son Mark, a natural chef in his own right, loves to amuse male guests, boys and adults, by having trays brought to his workshop, where he wields his welding torch to finish off this dinner desert at home. But to do this at breakfast?  No crème brûlée, but Ms. Moos had taken broiled grapefruit with brown sugar to a much higher level.  With her vanilla sauce, different fruit when covered with raw sugar and deftly glazed with a blowtorch took on another dimension in both presentation and taste. The discussion in the room was lively and informational. The banana slices, tinged brown and slightly warm were a hit with everyone present.  I doubt that even nutritionists advocating us to eat more fruit and less sugar could resist these.

            My enthusiasm for this new culinary trick even got the attention of my husband, who usually confines his opinions only to the finished food product. But, we were actually speaking about a gadget from the hardware store! While he does not think I should touch the blowtorch in his workshop, he has offered to find me a kitchen worthy one.

            In the meantime I will have to continue with more gentle cooking methods in the kitchen for after dinner or brunch fruit presentations.

                        Sautéed Bananas or Pineapple in Praline Sauce

            Heat 1 Tblsp. unsalted butter in a large heavy skillet until just shimmering and sauté 2 bananas (halved lengthwise and crosswise) flat side down for 1 minute, turn and continue for another minute. Transfer to 2 desert bowls. If using pineapple: cut two  ¾ inch thick slices of fresh pineapple, peel, core and cut each in half, blot with a paper towel and proceed as with the bananas. For more servings, repeat the process with additional fruit, since you do not want to crowd the fruit on the pan during the sauté process. For the sauce, melt 2 Tblsp. butter in the same pan, stir in ¼ cup lightly packed brown sugar, ¼ tsp. ground cardamom, ¼ cup dried cranberries (optional),  ½ cup light cream or half and half and simmer for a couple of minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in ¼ tsp. lemon or lime juice and spoon over the sautéed fruit. If available, decorate with pomegranate seeds.

            This is the time of the year when all good gardeners dream of next summer’s vegetables and fruit.  I can’t wait until August’s peach crop and my new kitchen blowtorch!   

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)