Brazilian Black Beans with Pork

Absolute home run of a recipe - the stew was smoky, rich and full of flavor; the sauce added a perfect accent of sharp, grassy tang. We pretty much followed the recipe in Cook's Illustrated's Slow Cooker Revolution - our reliable go-to - save for deglazing the onion and bacon mixture with a cup of water. I scraped the pan pretty well though, and the stew was more than rich enough, so no harm done. I may try a bit of acid next time, though. Recipes for the stew and the accompanying sauce follow.

• 6 oz bacon
• 3 onions, chopped
• 1/4 c tomato paste
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 T chili powder
• 2 t ground cumin
• 1 t ground coriander 
• 4c chicken broth
• 1 lb dried black beans
• 1 lb sausages, halved and sliced 1/2 in. thick
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 lb boneless pork butt roast, cut into 1-1/2 in. pieces
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, saute the bacon over medium-high heat till crispy, about 5-10 minutes. Add the onions, tomato paste, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander and cook till the onions are softened and beginning to brown, 10 or so minutes.

Meanwhile, put sausages, bay leaves and broth in the slow cooker. Add the onion-bacon mixture and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 5-7 hours on high (took us about 5) or 9-11 hours on low, till meat is tender and beans are done. Adjust seasoning if necessary, then serve over rice and with Brazilian hot sauce (recipe below).

Brazilian Hot Sauce (makes about 3 cups)


This was good, though I may add a bit more jalapeno/include a bit of pith and seed next time.

• 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced (seeds and white pith removed if you're inclined)
• 1/3 c white wine vinegar
• 3 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1T cilantro (used 1/4c parsley)
• 1/2 t salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes, till flavors have melded.

Lengua Estofada

Lengua was always one of my favorite childhood dishes - my lola used to put extra button mushrooms in it for me. Finally I decided to try my own version of it - not a recreation of the beefy richness I remember, but something to tweak and turn into an occasional indulgence. I started from a recipe in Let's Cook with Nora, and made several changes - most notably trebling the amount of mushrooms (what? I love them). It turned out wonderfully - the meat was tender, the sauce (more of a broth by thickness) rich and tangy but sweet from the carrots and leeks. I may try a more umami-laden version in the future, but this recipe is a keeper.

Since this is the first time I've ever tried this (and since I had an epic, 20-minute battle with the leathery outer coating of the tongue), I've felt obliged to document (and share said documentation of) the process.

• 1 beef tongue (2.6 lbs. or so)
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1-2 T salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 medium onions, quartered
• 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and crushed
• 1 t peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 clove
• 2 carrots, cut into rough chunks
• 3 leeks, cleaned and sliced
• 1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, including juice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 to 1-1/2 cup water
• 3-4 cups mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed (used a mix of white and cremini)

Here are most of the assembled ingredients.

Rub tongue with salt and vinegar (pre-boiled tongue below - doesn't look very different after this step). Rinse, then boil for 10 minutes.

Scrape off leathery coating on surface. (Mind, this took me 20 minutes with three different knives. It got pretty gnarly in the end, but I triumphed. It probably would have been much easier if I'd boiled the tongue for the whole time first, but I wanted it to braise with the sauce.)

Brown tongue in oil (5-10 minutes.)

Transfer to plate, then brown the onions and the garlic.

Return tongue to pot, then add everything but the mushrooms. (I may try adding less water next time.) Bring to a boil then simmer gently till the tongue is tender (recipes say three hours, it took me more like four).

Slice tongue into pieces and set aside (when I gave John a taste at this point, he said it was just like brisket or pot roast).

Strain sauce (skipped this step). Add mushrooms; turn heat to medium or high and cook for a few minutes, till sauce is reduced and mushrooms are done. Return tongue to pot and warm through. 

Serve with rice and garnish with parsley. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks and Navy Beans

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks and Navy Beans, originally uploaded by essgee51.

The slow cooker is my new favorite thing. We prepped and started this last night, went out, came back, slept and woke to this savory, meaty richness. We used this recipe as a jumping-off point. Our version (below) completely filled the cooker (thankfully, I decided to buy only two shanks at the last minute!) and produced at least four cups of spare liquid/fat. Now that we have a solid base recipe, next time, we may try a bit less liquid, more seasoning (it's too rich and savory to be bland, but could perhaps use a bit of zing), some herbs and perhaps more vegetables.

• 1 lb. navy beans, rinsed and picked over
• 2 lamb shanks (about 4 lbs.), cut in thirds
• 1-2 tbsp. olive oil (will probably omit this next time - there's more than enough fat in the finished product)
• 1 huge carrot (about 1 lb.), roughly chopped (will add more next time)
• 4 large portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 medium onion (about 1 cup), chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 cups liquid (hot water or stock)
• salt and pepper to taste

Soak the beans. We forgot to soak them overnight, so we followed the quick soak method on the bag:

• boil for two minutes
• remove from heat
• cover and let stand for an hour
• rinse.

Boil the beans (in new water) for a half-hour. We may skip this step next time and just adjust slow cooking time accordingly.

Drain the beans and place them in the slow cooker. Add all the other ingredients, then season (we started with about a tsp. of freshly ground black pepper and a tbsp. of salt). Cook on high for an hour (we had to leave, so it was more like half an hour), turn the slow cooker to low, and let cook for 8-10 hours (more like 12 in our case, because we slept in).

Adjust seasoning and enjoy!

Beef Stew a la Bittman

Beef Stew a la Bittman, originally uploaded by essgee51.

While I typically make stew the lazy way, this time I bothered to brown the meat. It made a big difference, and I'll definitely be making the time investment in the future. The stew turned out to be rich, comforting and flavorful, but next time I think I'll use a fattier cut of meat and up the umami quotient (perhaps with Worcestershire or soy sauce, anchovies and/or tomato paste). Recipe, with my modifications, below.

• 2-4 tbsp. neutral oil (used grapeseed - started with 2 tbsp. but had to keep adding more because of the lean meat)
• 2-1/2 lbs. stew beef, in chunks
• 1 clove garlic, crushed + 4-5 cloves (1 heaping tbsp.), chopped
• 2 large onions, cut into eighths
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 3 cups liquid (used 2 cups beef broth from a very good concentrate I found + 1 cup red wine)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme
• 6 small/medium potatoes, cut into 1-2 in. chunks (used Yukon Gold)
• 5 medium carrots, cut into 1-2 in. chunks
• 8 oz. mushrooms, quartered
• 1 10-oz. package frozen peas and pearl onions

Heat large pot or Dutch oven on medium-high for 2-3 minutes;. Add oil, then wait another minute. Add crushed garlic clove, then remove once it begins to turn golden-brown, about a minute.

Brown meat, working in batches and seasoning the meat with salt and pepper as you go. Remove meat and reserve, then drain excess oil if necessary (wasn't in my case, since the beef was very lean).

Lower heat to medium. Cook onions, stirring often, till softened, about 10 minutes.

Add flour and stir till completely incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.

Return meat to pot. Add liquid, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes undisturbed.

Add carrots, potatoes and mushrooms to pot. Cool till vegetables are tender, anywhere from 30-60 minutes (closer to 60 on my finicky stove). Adjust texture of sauce to taste, adding liquid if you want it soupier and boiling for 5 or so minutes if you want to reduce it.

Add peas, pearl onions, chopped garlic. Simmer for another 10 or so minutes, till peas are warmed up and garlic has infused stew. Adjust seasoning, then serve.

Leek, Potato and Mushroom Soup

The soup that keeps on giving - just finished the last bit today, but it's featured in two other packed lunches this week and a few meals at home besides. The recipe is courtesy of the talented Flit, who I encountered via the Mr. Bento Flickr pool; my halved and tweaked version is below. My first attempt turned out extremely tasty, though a bit watery, partially because I had more stock than expected. Next time, I'll lessen the amount of liquid (and probably reduce what I do use a bit more beforehand); I'll probably also keep the increased leek and carrot proportions and cut down the dairy a bit.

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 3 large leeks, white and pale green parts, sliced (about 4 cups)
• 2 medium-sized carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
• 8 oz. mushrooms
• 2 russet potatoes, diced (about 2. cups)
• 5-6 cups chicken stock (homemade this time - next time I'll use less and reduce what I do use)
• 1 tsp. dry dill
• 1 tsp. dry thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup half-and-half (will try less, maybe 1/2 cup next time)

Over medium or medium-low heat, sprinkle the leeks and carrots with salt and sweat in the butter till soft, but not colored (around 5-10 min.).

Add mushrooms, potatoes, black pepper, dill, thyme and bay leaf; then add enough broth to cover by 1-2 inches. Simmer till potatoes are tender (around 20-30 min.).

Remove from heat. Stir in half-and-half.

If possible, let sit a few hours/overnight, then reheat before eating.

Chicken Adobo (4) with Livers

This latest in the adobo chronicles is a fairly mellow, but flavorful and rich (perhaps partially because of the chicken livers) version. The base recipe comes via Burnt Lumpia (who adapted it from Steamy Kitchen); I merely fiddled with some proportions and added the livers. Next time I may try crushing the garlic instead (which gives me discrete cloves to nibble on or smash into the rice) and adding gizzards (balunbalunan in Tagalog; grandma used to put an extra helping in her adobo for me).

• about 3 lbs. chicken (4 leg quarters in this case)
• 1/2 lb. chicken livers
• 2/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 6-8 cloves garlic (minced or smashed, as you prefer)
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 4 bay leaves

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot. Marinate for at least two hours.

Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer till chicken is done (about 20-30 minutes).

Remove chicken from pot and reserve. Bring heat to high and reduce the sauce, stirring often, till it thickens to desired consistency (I was getting hungry, and so stopped after about five minutes - perhaps halfway to almost-thick-enough-to-coat-the-back-of-a-spoon. Tasted fine, though.)

Pat the chicken pieces dry, then place them skin-side-up on a baking sheet or in a cast-iron skillet. Place under a broiler and broil till the skin is crisp, about 2-4 minutes.

Serve with white rice, pouring sauce over everything.

Pesang Manok (Boiled Chicken Soup)

Had a couple of inches of ginger and some softening celery to use up, so I figured I'd order a cabbage and some chicken thighs and make some boiled chicken soup, Filipino-style. Now, I've almost eaten all the soup, but I still have more cabbage than I know what to do with - this monster weighed over seven pounds! (See what can happen when you order produce, sight unseen, from Peapod?) This can result in a dish that's fairly bland on its own, but comforting and delicious when served with a dish of fish sauce on the side. Took Market Manila's suggestion and browned the chicken first, which helped deepen the broth a wee bit.

• 1 tbsp. or so peanut or vegetable oil
• 2"-3" in. ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2-3 lbs. chicken (I used thighs)
• 5 cups water
• 1 tsp. peppercorns (next time, I'll use more)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 3-4" lengths (used more as I had a bag to get rid of)
• 1 small cabbage, roughly chopped (about 1/4 of that monstrous head)

In a pot large enough to hold all the soup ingredients, saute the ginger and onion till they release their aromas, about 1-3 mins.

Add the chicken. Brown slightly on both sides, about 3-5 minutes/side.

Add the water, peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and cook till chicken's almost tender, 20 or so mins.

Add the celery, wait a few minutes, then add the cabbage. Cook till the veggies are tender - another 5-10 minutes.

Serve over white rice with patis and sriracha on the side.

Chicken Adobo, Part II

This is the second in a series of cook-by-the-book attempts to establish a new adobo baseline recipe. It's taken from Filipino Cooking Here and Abroad. I've never used sugar in an adobo recipe before, but now I see the advantages to it - this iteration tasted wonderfully complex even without the browning and before being stored for the night.

Future mods? More garlic, maybe a bit more sugar. And definitely some chicken livers. Had some gizzards but figured I'd save them for a night when I'd more time to cook.

• 1-1/2 lb. chicken legs (with some of the backbone and delicious kidneys)
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 plump garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper (approximated several grinds)
• 1 tsp. sugar (2 lumps)
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients but the oil in a pot and let stand for at least 30 minutes, turning the chicken now and then.

Bring to a boil, then simmer till the chicken's tender (about 30-45 minutes - could have been done sooner, but Colbert's first Iraq episode was on so I let it ride).

[Didn't do this part, but intend to next time.] Reserve sauce. Brown chicken in vegetable oil, then move to plate.

Pour off some oil if you wish, then add sauce to the pan. Raise heat and stir until the sauce thickens to desired consistency.

Serve with chicken over white rice.

Chicken Adobo, Part I

Recently, I realized that I haven't made adobo in months. In an attempt to earn back my Pinoy card (and use up the chicken thighs in the freezer), I decided to remedy that. Alas, it's been long enough that I've forgotten the proportions of my "baseline" recipe; on the brighter side, this gives me an excuse to experiment with different ones. So, herewith - and just barely beating out Bittman's version, because the idea of a new vinegar picqued my curiosity, is my take on the venerable Burnt Lumpia's chicken adobo.

In retrospect? I would have marinaded, added a bit more garlic and browned the chicken after, not before, for maximum skin crispage. But hey - it was a weekday, and I wanted something fairly low-maintenance.

• 2 lbs. chicken thighs, skin on
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 7 cloves garlic (about 1-1/2 heaping tbsp.), minced
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 heaping tsp. black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

Put oil in a skillet large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer; turn heat to medium and wait till oil shimmers. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, and brown (about 5-7 minutes); turn, then brown the other side (another 5-7 minutes).

Remove chicken and place in a bowl. Pour off all but a tablespoon or two of the drippings. Turn the heat to low and saute the garlic till it's light brown and fragrant (about 1-3 minutes). Deglaze the pan with the liquids, making sure to scrape with a wooden spoon.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up; add any accumulated juices, too. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover the pan, and play Xbo mess around onl- be productive for 25-45 minutes, or till chicken is tender.

Remove chicken and reserve. Turn heat to medium-high and reduce sauce to desired consistency, stirring often and correcting seasoning if necessary.

Return chicken to pan, remove from heat, and serve with white rice, drizzling sauce over both.

Black Beans

I keep forgetting how cheap, convenient (and fast, when canned!), nutritious and nummy beans can be. As usual, very roughly based on a recipe in Bittman v2.

• 1 15.oz can black beans (reserve the liquid)
• 1 cup tomatoes, chopped or crushed (used some aging grape maters this time)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp. cumin (I'll probably use more next time, though)
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (didn't do this during the current iteration - thank FSM, cos even 1/4 tsp. may be too hot for some)
• salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 heaping tbsp. garlic, minced (or more to taste)
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 cup red wine (used chicken stock)
• 2 scallions, chopped (for garnish)

Put beans, tomatoes and the bean liquid in a small pot. Season with bay leaf, cumin, cayenne powder, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes, while you prepare the next step.

Put the oil in a skillet; turn the heat to medium. Cook the onions about 10 minutes or till they're tender. Then, add the garlic and cook for one minute more. Add to the bean mixture.

At this point, Bittman advocates putting the wine in the skillet and cooking it down for 5 or so minutes. I messed up and added the liquid to the bean-tomato and onion-garlic mixture instead. Fortunately, 5 or so minutes of boiling evaporated most of it and did not leave a bland mush.

Serve over white rice.

Quick Chicken Stock

This recipe's based on Bittman and, in this particular case, modified to include some ginger that was getting soggy and to disinclude some parsley that I didn't have. We'll see how it turns out.

• 2 lbs. chicken thighs
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 small onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 small stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 3-4 in. knob of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 7 cups water

Throw everything in a large pot and bring just about to a boil.

Partially cover the pot, and reduce heat so the liquid's very gently bubbling. Cook for 30-40 minutes, till chicken is done.

Remove thighs; debone and reserve meat. (Actually, at 40 mins., the stock was still kind of meh, so I took the meat off the bones and reserved it, then threw the bones back in the pot for another 20 mins. Let's see how it goes.)

Strain the stock, pressing down hard with a wooden spoon or something similar to extract the maximum amount of juice from the veggie solids.

Freeze or use stock and chicken (will be doing the latter with both, presently).

Asadong Manok (Tangy Chicken Stew)

Last night, I was looking for a low-maintenance chicken recipe that would minimize prep and at-stove time while maximizing flavor and Fallout 3: The Pitt-playing. We had everything needed for this simple but flavorful chicken stew (original recipe from Filipino Cooking Here and Abroad; my version - which increases the amount of garlic, tomatoes and vinegar relative to the amount of chicken - below):

• 1-1/2-2 lbs. chicken thighs or other assorted parts
• 1/4 cup vinegar (prefer cane, used plain white since that's all I had)
• 4-6 plump cloves garlic, minced
• salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp. cooking oil (I used peanut oil in this case)
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 1 14. oz. can tomatoes, drained and crushed
• 1 cup water - produces lots and lots of sauce (original recipe has 1 cup of water for 3-4 lbs. of chicken)
  
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp. paprika

Marinade the chicken with the vinegar and garlic for at least 30 minutes.

Place the oil in a skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and onions, then saute till the former are mushy (4-7 minutes).

Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and add it to the pot. Saute, turning the chicken pieces now and then, till the meat colors slightly (5-10 minutes).

Add the reserved marinade, water, bay leaf and paprika to the pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 30 minutes, until chicken is tender.

Correct seasoning and serve over white rice.

Minimalist Tomato-Garlic Soup

My tummy wasn't very happy, and I wanted a quick, satisfying soup that wasn't too rich. The revised How to Cook Everything offered a simple base recipe called "Boiled Water." It seemed like it would produce watery tomato sauce, but I gave it a try - and voila, reason #4,313 not to doubt the Bittman. Though my simplified version (below) didn't turn out quite as quickly as his, it was surprisingly flavorful and satisfying. The main differences between the recipe below and his are: more garlic, a bit more tomato and some Memmi (a stand in for the soy sauce that seems to have gone missing).

• 6-10 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
• 1 14. oz. can tomatoes (I use Muir Glen), roughly chopped
• 2 cups water
• 1-2 tsp. Memmi or soy sauce

Put all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let the liquid bubble gently for a while, anywhere from 20-40 minutes (Bittman prefers 15, but I found that everything wasn't nearly broken down enough for my tastes. I waited till the garlic was almost stewed but the tomatoes hadn't completely lost their structural integrity).

Correct seasoning and serve.