Afghan Stew

I don't have a lot of experience with Afghan cuisine except to know that it's awfully tasty, so when I found a recipe for Afghan lamb stew with spinach, I knew I had to try it. To be frank, I am not sure how authentic that recipe really is, but I only used it as a starting point anyway. I actually made a fair amount of changes to it, and I believe I came out with a more flavorful result. For instance, I replaced the water with beef broth and added red wine. I also dusted the lamb with flour for a richer flavor. In addition, I added more spices than were called for in the recipe.

One of the the things that I really like about making things like stews is that you generally have a lot of room to experiment and can easily adjust the taste of the dish with the kind and quantity of spices you use. However, it also means that I often toss things into my dishes without really measuring them. So when you check out my recipe, keep in mind that the quantities are just estimates. You should definitely feel free to adjust the seasoning according to your own tastes and what you already have in your spice cabinet.

Afghan Lamb Stew
(serves 4)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound cubed lamb stew meat
flour for coating meat
salt and pepper to taste
dash of beef grill seasoning
2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup dry red wine
cayenne pepper to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
dash of Old Bay seasoning (optional)
3 cups chopped chard
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

-- Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-low heat.
-- Add the onion and cook until transparent.
-- Increase heat to medium, and add garlic and lamb. Cook, stirring frequently, until meat is browned on the outside.
-- Pour in the broth, wine, and season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin, turmeric, and Old Bay.
-- Bring to a simmer, and reduce heat to low.
-- Cover the pan, and continue cooking for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
-- Add chard and cilantro to the meat mixture, and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
-- Serve over rice.


The original recipe calls for the stew to be served over basmati rice, but I didn't happen to have any in my pantry, so I just used some jasmine rice -- almost any rice will do. I always use broth instead of water to cook rice, so this time I used beef broth to complement the flavors of the stew.

I happen to like my food really spicy (I have an asbestos tongue), but since I am also feeding the husband and kids, I kept it toned down a little. You can easily crank up the spice by using more cayenne or Old Bay. If you make it too spicy, you can dilute it by adding more of the liquid, or even adding a little sugar. If you end up with too much liquid, you can just thicken it up by adding some cornstarch.

The original recipe calls for spinach, but I happened to have two big beautiful heads of chard in my kitchen, so I used that instead. I think that you could use just about any leafy green in this recipe.

The result was really tasty and could be tweaked in so many different ways. I think that next time I might add a little cinnamon and see what that does to the taste. You could also add diced tomatoes for an even heartier stew. I might also drop a dollop of yogurt on top when serving (this would also help cut some of the heat if you've got a spicy dish).

Pork Burritos (and hidden chard)

I've been busy this fall -- cooking a lot, but too busy to write about it.  One thing I've been doing a lot of lately is trying to make a meal out of the items I already have in the house, rather than running to the grocery store to buy more ingredients.   Not only is it better for our wallets (in this ridiculous economic environment), but it's kind of fun to MacGyver a meal together.  

All day today I've been trying to figure out what to make.  I had an entire package of diced pancetta left over from a recipe last week.  I also had some red chard from my CSA delivery.  I knew that I couldn't get my family to eat chard on its own (it's green, and therefore suspect), so I knew it had to be hidden in something else.  Pancetta and greens are a great side dish, but not something from which you can make an entire meal.  Then it hit me:  burritos!  What better way to hide things from your kids than to wrap them in a tortilla and cover them with cheese and sour cream!  So, I decided to make pork burritos -- all I needed to buy was the ground pork. 

Actually, I should note here that I don't really buy ground pork.  My father-in-law was a butcher who ran several Petrini's markets (if you are from Northern California, you probably know Petrini's -- my mother-in-law is a Petrini).  He told me that he is generally suspect of pre-packaged ground meat in the supermarket; he claims that grinding up pork is a way for markets to easily get rid of pork that is either low quality or nearing the end of its shelf life.  So instead, my mother-in-law recommended that I buy boneless ribs and grind them myself in the food processor.  This actually works great and is really easy!  

All I had to do was saute the pancetta, chard, and pork together, put them in a soft, warm tortilla, add some cheese, sour cream, and roll the entire thing up.  Yum!   Obviously this is a versatile recipe and you can make plenty of substitutions.  You can use almost any hearty green like regular chard or mustard greens.  And instead of pancetta, you can use Canadian bacon or just regular bacon, if you like.  But don't be tempted to skip the bacon just because the recipe already calls for pork.  The pancetta not only provides some flavorful fat in which to saute the greens, but it also adds some nice texture to the pork.  And really, doesn't everything taste better with bacon?

Pork Burritos

6-8 servings

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork ribs

4 oz diced pancetta

1/2 cup of chopped red chard, ribs removed (or similar hearty green)

2 tablespoons of green salsa, plus more to taste

tortillas

shredded Jack cheese

sour cream

-- Heat broiler

-- Chop pork into 1-2 inch cubes.  Grind in food processor

-- Remove pork from food processor and add chard.  Chop until diced

-- Heat a saute pan over medium high heat, and add pancetta.  Cook until it starts to crisp, about 5 minutes

-- Add chard to pan and mix in with pancetta.  Cook until the two are well incorporated, about 2 minutes

-- Add pork to mixture, and cook until meat is cooked through

-- Add green salsa to mixture

-- Place tortilla for each person on top rack of oven.  Let sit under broiler until soft, about 10 seconds.  Don't let them sit too long, or the tortilla will get crispy and become unwrappable.

-- Put tortilla on plate, 1-2 tablespoons of pork mixture (depending on the size of your tortilla), add cheese, sour cream, and more salsa, if desired.

-- Fold and roll tortilla

Note that you probably won't need to add any salt to this recipe.  The pancetta is generally pretty salty.  Taste the meat after you add the green salsa to the pan.  Add salt to taste, if necessary.