Tag Archives: meat

Stuffed Peppers with Ground Meat, Farro & Feta in Lemon Sauce

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Stuffed peppers with farro, ground meat and feta with lemon sauce

Stuffed peppers with farro, ground meat and feta with lemon sauce

The gist of this post is:  farro better than rice in stuffed peppers, in my opinion.

My Mom always used rice, lots of tomato product and green bell peppers in her version, which I still love, but I do something different that addresses three issues for me:

1).  Rice can be mushy.  It does not hold up and it does not offer any kind of contrast to the ground meat.  Farro, on the other hand, is firm and chewy, even when overcooked.
2).  Too many tomatoes.  I have allergies and do better with a lesser quantity.
3).  Green bell peppers are not sweet.  They don’t caramelize well because they are not mature enough to have developed a significant sugar content.  I believe older people keep using them exclusively because they (the peppers) were the only ones readily available way back when and they (the older folk) are used to them.  Don’t break my limbs for saying that.  I can tell you something else about older people:  as a general rule, Americans 70 and up are the ones who order coffee at the beginning of a meal and drink it the whole time.  Ask your server friends – they’ll tell you.  When you hang out now and again with a group of older East Bay bowling ladies, you learn quite a bit.  Ask me how many deviled eggs and Jell-O rings show up at their potlucks.  Anyhow, I use red bell peppers because they turn out nice and sweet.

Back to the farro.

Farro, a type of wheat that is the mother of all grains, is catching on again after having fallen out of favor for quite some time.  This ancient grain, apparently first cultivated in Egypt some 6,000 years ago and then catching on with the Italians, is not so easy to grow, and yields a small take.  It was left in the dust in favor of easier, higher-yielding crops.

Nowadays, though, people are rediscovering its quality.  Not only low in gluten and high in fiber, protein and vitamin B, farro has a chewy texture and is the perfect chameleon -readily absorbing surrounding liquid and flavor.  Frankly, I prefer farro to that other Really Big Thing Now, quinoa.  Quinoa can be dressed up enough to taste good, sure, but it’s finicky and spindly compared to the big-ass nature of farro, which easily works as comfort food.

When you shop, look for farro perlato, which means that the hull has been removed and it does not have to be pre-soaked.

Stuffed peppers ready for the oven

Stuffed peppers ready for the oven

I warn you now:  this is a really, really good stuffed pepper.  Yes, there is lots of meat in there, but half a pepper with a nice salad and maybe a roll provides a substantial din-din.  A really big eater, like my slender hubby, Steve, can eat two, but only if he eats nothing on the side.

I provided a recipe for a large quantity because these peppers improve with age.  They make great leftovers a day or two later.  Don’t fool around with two measly peppers – go all out.

This is a frugal dish.  You’ll even use the excess farro cooking water to make your sauce.  If you get the meat at a good price, you can feed a number of guests without spending a fortune.

Stuffed peppers right out of the oven

Stuffed peppers right out of the oven

I use ground beef, and sometimes a mix of ground beef and ground pork.  Ground lamb is luxurious and tastes wonderful in this dish, but not everyone likes the strong taste and it amps up the cost.  That said, if you like lamb, go for it.  Ground poultry lacks richness, aka fat.  If you insist on using it, add at least 1/4 cup of olive oil to the stuffing to help combat dryness.

Stuffed Peppers with Meat, Farro & Feta in Lemon Sauce
   Makes 10 servings

6 cups chicken stock
2 cups farro perlato
5 extra large red bell peppers
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground marjoram
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (plus more for sauce)
Sea salt – to taste (I use 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons)
3 pounds ground beef  (no leaner than 90%)  see text above for meat discussion
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large eggs
Juice of 1 large lemon
8 ounces cubed/crumbled Feta cheese

1).  Bring stock to a boil and add farro; cook 25 minutes, or until done.
2).  While farro cooks, put tomatoes, spices and sea salt in a large bowl (large enough for all the stuffing) and mix, so the dried spices can open up.
3).  Drain farro and reserve stock for sauce.
4).  Add drained, hot farro to bowl with tomatoes and spices; mix/fold in well with spatula, and let sit for 30 mins on counter.
5).  While farro mix is cooling, rinse peppers and cut in half, lengthwise.  Try to leave the half-stems intact as they look nice.  Removes seeds and trim veins, but do not puncture peppers.
6).  Dry peppers well and place on two sheet pans (you want some breathing room on the sheet pans).  Have olive oil and a pastry brush handy.
7).  Fold meat into farro with a spatula after the 30 minutes are up.  Do not overwork mixture, but be sure it’s well combined.
8).  By hand, stuff each pepper half generously.  Ball up the stuffing, pack it in and mound it up.  Pat stuffing smooth and round for each pepper.
9).  When you have your five big stuffed halves on each pan, put 1/4 cup of olive oil in each pan.
10).  With a pastry brush, brush the outside of each pepper with oil – but not the stuffing.  Brush the bottom of the pan where the peppers are sitting, too.  Make sure peppers have some room.  You don’t need oil or breadcrumbs on the stuffing; the tops will get crispy and brown as-is.
11).  Bake at 350 deg. F. for a hour to an hour and a quarter, or until the internal temp is 165 deg. F.
12).  Move peppers carefully (with tongs and a large spatula for support underneath) to a broad casserole dish.  Make sure there is a little room between peppers.
13).  Strew feta on top of, and between, peppers and place casserole in oven (which should be off but still pretty hot).
14).  Place your reserved stock, which will be cool and nice and starchy from the farro, into a small saucepan and whisk in the eggs and the lemon juice.  If you have less than 1-3/4 cups stock left, add some stock or water to reach that level.  You will only need to add a little sea salt if you used a low-sodium stock.
15).  Whisk over a very low flame (really low, please) until the sauce thickens and is hot.  Turn off flame right when it starts to simmer and mix in a little freshly ground pepper.
16).  Pour sauce over and around peppers.

Starting to cook lemon sauce for the stuffed peppers

Starting to cook lemon sauce for the stuffed peppers

Indian-style Sloppy Joes

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"Butter" ground meat over rice - AKA Indian sloppy joes

“Butter” ground meat over rice – AKA Indian sloppy joes

Here’s an odd recipe I concocted one afternoon when I had ground beef and pork on hand and not a whole lot else.

I thought about sloppy joes.  My Mom, who’s German, would not often make something so “American,” but she would surprise us now and then with sloppy joes, made from scratch, which I took too.

I wanted something less tomatoey and more spicy, though.

My kitchen is generally well-stocked with spices and spice mixes, so I looked around to see what could be had for the ground beast.  Enter butter chicken masala spice mix from MDH.  I like their products.  They’re imported from India and much more reasonably priced than versions produced in the US for American cooks.  Buy them in Indian markets, such as Vik’s in Berkeley.  They’re perfect when you don’t have time to mix your own blends and can’t deal with a grinder, though you’ll want to check the ingredient list to see if any doctoring is called for.  In the case of this mix, you must add a little fenugreek.  I haven’t a clue why MDH does not include fenugreek in its butter chicken spices, since it’s integral to the dish, but there you go.

Note that butter chicken and chicken tikka masala are not the same, though my guess is that the chicken tikka masala spices would be fine in this dish, too.  Take a look at whatever you have on hand and make sure it’s balanced.  For example, don’t use something really heavy on the star anise, unless you want it that way.  You want a little heat, too, so if the mix has no dried red chili powder, add a bit.  Cayenne works fine.  Sniff the spice mix for balance.

The best ground meat for this is lamb, but you can use a combo of beef and pork, which works very well.  Ground chicken and turkey are too lean and will result in a dry dish.

You can serve this over rice or on buns with a dollop of really good, plain yogurt.

If you can make this a day in advance, that would be excellent, because it’ll taste better and you can easily remove remaining fat that will have solidified in the fridge.

Make enough for two meals.

Indian-style Sloppy Joes
   Serves 8, or two meals for 4

3 pounds ground meat (lamb is great, pork and beef (90% lean) mix is good, poultry – no)
1 large onion, chopped so finely that it’s almost pureed (in food processor)
1/4 cup cashews, ground into a fine paste with 1/4 cup water (food processor)
2 – 3 tablespoons butter chicken spice mix (if spice mix is missing fenugreek add a pinch; ditto ground red chili pepper)
1 extra large tomato, coarsely pureed
1/2 – 1 cup chicken stock or water
Rice or buns
Really good, plain yogurt

1).  In heavy-gauge Dutch oven or other vessel, fry meat until it’s a bit browned.  Usually will not need oil for this because your ground meat should have sufficient fat.
2).  Remove meat with a slotted spoon to a bowl; cover with foil and set aside.
3).  Remove all but a couple tablespoons of the rendered fat from the cooking pot and place pot over low flame.
4).  Add the onion and brown slowly, stirring often.  This will take a good 15 minutes.  Keep the flame low.  You want to caramelize the onion a bit, but first the liquids have to cook off.  Be patient and don’t burn the onion!!!
5).  Add the cashew paste and fry the whole mass for a moment or two, turning the flame up to medium.
6).  Add the spices and fry this mass for a moment or two.
7).  Add the tomatoes and fry the mixture for a couple of minutes.
8).  Add the ground meat and combine well.
9).  Add stock or water so that there is barely a quarter-inch of liquid above the meat.
10).  Stir and bring to a simmer.
11).  Cover and simmer over very low flame for about 20 minutes, adding a bit of stock or water now and then, but only if needed.
12).  Remove cover, stir, and allow to simmer for another few minutes until most of the liquids have cooked off.
13).  Skim visible fat (it’ll no doubt be bright red from the spices…)
14).  Serve over rice or on a bun with a little yogurt on top.

Thai steak salad

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Thai steak salad - a great way to use leftover steak!

Thai steak salad – a great way to use leftover steak!

I had a large piece of leftover tri-tip (end of the bottom sirloin) on my hands the other day and wanted to use it as-is, since it was nice and rare.  One of the best ways to use leftover steak is in a salad with Thai flavors.

The inspiration for this dish is nam tok, the Issan/Laotian* grilled beef salad containing herbs, fresh veggies, rice powder and a fish sauce/lime juice dressing.  Anyone who knows me knows I love the food of Issan, the Northeastern region of Thailand, which is famous for its hom mali (Jasmine) rice production and, sadly, the poverty of its farmers.  Many of these farmers have been spending time in Bangkok in recent years selling street food, which has made Issan goodies quite popular there, particularly gai yang, a pungent version of grilled chicken.  I’ll post more about Issan in the future, but the one thing you should know about its food is how clean tasting and bright it is, being highly dependent upon fresh produce.  *Note that Issan and Laos share a border, and that the people of Issan are of Laotian heritage, because there wasn’t always a border between them.

The one thing that may throw you here is the rice powder.  Rice powder is toasted rice that has been ground to something between coarse and fine, and it gives Issan warm salads a nice crunch.  It is best to make it yourself, and I’ll tell you how to do that.  In a pinch, though, you can use rice cereal (Cream of Rice).  Just toast it slowly and carefully in a pan over a flame and then allow it to cool.  This will not be half as good as real rice powder, but sometimes you have to make do.  Make sure that whatever you use is not so hard that people will damage their teeth.  Check your work – make sure it’s toasted enough.

If you want to make this a meal, serve it with sticky (sweet) rice.  This would be authentically Issan/Lao.

Renate’s Thai-stye Steak Salad
   Serves 4 or 5

3/4 – 1 pound leftover steak, sliced in thin strips (nothing with destinctive seasoning)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar
1 red chili pepper, seeded & deveined, finely minced
2 green onions, sliced into small rounds
1 English cucumber (if a huge one, use half), sliced
1/4 cup Thai basil, thick chiffonade (roll and cut)
1/4 cup cilantro, rough chop (don’t make tiny pieces)
1/4 cup mint, thick chiffonade
1 tomato, cut into large cubes
1 small red onion, sliced medium
6 cups lettuce
2 tablespoons rice powder (recipe below)

1)  Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and chili pepper well and set aside
2)  Place the sliced steak into a bowl and toss with a couple of tablespoon of the dressing; set aside for 10 minutes
3)  In a large bowl, toss everything (including the marinated beef and dressing) except the rice powder
4)  Check seasoning.  If too mild for your liking, mix up a little more dressing.  If not sour enough, a little lime juice.  And so on
5)  Toss in the rice powder at the last minute and serve

Rice Powder

1/4 cup sweet rice (it’s not really sweet )
Heavy saute pan
Mortar & pestle or clean coffee grinder* or stand blender or bullet blender (blenders have to be very dry!)

1)  Toast rice over low-ish flame until golden brown.  Keep it moving.  Don’t burn it.
2)  Remove rice to a small bowl and allow to cool completely
3)  Grind until you have a coarse powder
4)  Store what you do not use in an airtight container, but don’t keep it more than a month or so

*If you use a coffee grinder that you use for spices, make sure it is absolutely clean.  You can grind a batch of rice to clean it completely.  Don’t use a coffee grinder that you also use for coffee.

Bo Kho – Vietnamese beef stew

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Bo kho - Vietnamese beef stew. So good!

Bo kho – Vietnamese beef stew. So good!

One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes is thit bo kho, or beef stew.  You often see it on menus as ‘beef stew noodle soup,’ and it comes in a big bowl with rice or egg noodles.  In Southern Vietnam it’s eaten with French bread instead of noodles.  Doesn’t matter – it’s all good.

The recipe that follows is from my friend and cooking school mate, Phu Nguy, who translated it for me recently, and talked me through its nuances.  Currently a chef at a fancy Japanese place in San Francisco, he’s been a wonderful sushi resource, but this soup is pure heart.  When it comes down to it, we are the food we grew up with, and it’s clear that Phu has been down with thit bo kho for some time now.

The broth of this stew/soup is fragrant, red, rich and complex, and the big pieces of beef and potato translate to comfort food no matter where you’re from.  There is something a little different about it, though.

There is star anise here.  Even if you are not a big fan of its licorice-like flavor, try this stew anyway because it really works here.  There’s anise in Chinese-style BBQ duck, and you like that, don’t you?

There’s lots of prep, but resign yourself to it.  Turn on the radio and enjoy it.  Please use real, fresh ingredients, like actual lemongrass stalks, bulb garlic and fresh ginger.  Make sure your dried spices haven’t lived in your kitchen since 1990.  Asian cuisine relies on bright, fresh flavors, and your dishes will really shine if you make the extra effort.

Here are a couple of tips to help with the recipe:

1)  Chopping lemongrass is a bit of a pain, but you can do this in a small food processor if you’re in that much of a hurry.  Take off all the outer leaves until you are left with the tender part inside.  Cut the top half off and use the bottom half.
2)  The curry powder called for is basic curry powder – nothing fancy.
3)  Buy whole star anise.  It’s best to get this loose at places like Whole Foods so you can buy a small quantity at a time.
4)  A daikon is a huge white radish, and any Asian market will have them.  Check out the daikon in this photo:

daikon

5)  Do not upgrade the meat requirement.  You need a tough, flavorful cut that requires long, moist cooking.
6).  Use potatoes of the waxy variety that will hold their shape, i.e., red.
7).  Seriously consider the tendon option (see ** below).  If you like pork belly you should try it.  Tendon has the mouth-feel of fat but contains very little, and texture-wise is something like firm gelatin.  It picks up the flavors of what it’s cooked with, in this case the rich broth of the stew.
8).  When I want to super-enrich the broth and/or I have extra people to feed, I add more beef, but only 1-1/2 extra cups of water per extra pound of meat.

I hope you try this.  You won’t believe how good the broth is, so make sure you have extra baguettes on hand.  Be sure to check out the photos at the end of the post.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Vietnamese Beef Stew  –Bo kho
Serves 6

Ingredients
Beef chuck or bottom round – 2 lbs (cut into 2-inch cubes) */**
Canola or vegetable oil – 3 tablespoons
Fresh lemon grass – 2 stalks (discard the leaf; use the bottom half and finely chop)
Fresh red chili peppers – 2, seeded and minced
Brown sugar – 2 teaspoons
Fresh ginger root – 2 tablespoons, grated
Ground cinnamon – 2 teaspoons
Curry powder – 2 teaspoons
Freshly ground black pepper – to taste
Fish sauce – 3 tablespoons
White onion – 1, medium dice
Garlic – 4-6 cloves, minced
Tomato paste – 1/3 cup
Star anise – 4 whole
Salt – 2 teaspoons
Carrot – 2 medium, cut into medium-sized cubes
Red potatoes – 4 of average size, peeled, cut into medium cubes
Daikon (Japanese or Korean) – 1 peeled, and cut into medium cubes
Baguette  – 1 whole, warmed in oven for a few minutes before serving
Lemon wedges

Procedure
Marinate the beef in a mix of the lemon grass, chilies, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, curry powder, fish sauce and black pepper in a bowl.  Mix well and let stand for 45 mins. 

Beef process
In a heavy Dutch oven, heat the oil until quite hot.  Sauté the onion and garlic for a minute and do not allow to burn.  Add tomato paste and stir-fry for 1 ½ mins.  Add the beef and let it fry on all sides for a few minutes  — until it gets a little color.  Add the star anise, 1 teaspoon of the salt and 4 ¼ cups of water.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and allow to simmer for 1 hour and 45 mins.  Skim foam from the top occasionally.

Vegetable process
Add the carrot and cook for 10 mins.  Add potatoes and cook for 10 mins.  Finally, add the daikon and cook for 10 mins.  (In total, this stew simmers for 2 hours and 15 mins.)

Check the beef for tenderness.

Serve in deep bowls with bread (dip it into the stew) and with salt, pepper and lemon wedges on the side.

*For more flavor:  add extra beef.
**To make it authentically Vietnamese:  add beef tendon.  If you want to do this, cut tendon into pieces about 2-inches long and then boil in plain water for a good two hours before you make this soup.  Then add it with the beef.  If you boil the tendon until it is quite soft, then you can add it to the soup with the carrots.  Tendon is all connective tissue, and takes a long time to become soft.

Beef cubes in marinade for bo kho

Frying meat and seasonings for bo kho

Adding veggies to bo kho

Your basic tripe stew

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Tripe stew in the Polish tradition - red from the paprika!

Tripe stew in the Polish tradition – red from the paprika!

We love tripe.  My Mom is from Germany, and her family ate everything edible on an animal, and passed that principle down to me.

I often have tripe at dimsum, and it’s a real treat.  It’s usually served two ways.  Honeycomb tripe (from the second stomach structure of a cow) is stewed with turnips in sauce, rendering it soft and savory.  Book tripe, from the third stomach structure (I say this because cows technically don’t have four stomachs), is steamed with scallions and ginger and served with a light dipping sauce.  Try one or both when you go for dimsum just to see if you can deal with the texture, which is the issue for most Americans.

I make it at home once every few years.  It’s readily available at Asian markets, like 99 Ranch, and pretty easy to deal with, since most of the tripe sold nowadays has been thoroughly cleaned and blanched.

For the recipe that follows, use honeycomb tripe, which has little honeycomb indentations on one side.  Don’t use book tripe, which is the other one commonly sold.  Book (aka leaf) tripe has thin strips on one side, and does not work as well in a stew.

This is more or less a Polish recipe, but I’ve futzed with it over the years.

Serve with a soft starch, if you like, but I want textural contrast, so I eat it with a crispy baguette.

Renate’s Tripe Stew
     serves 6, if you have sides and/or plenty of bread

2 1/2 pounds honeycomb tripe
3 tablespoons Canola oil
1 rib celery, de-stringed/small dice
1 large carrot, small dice
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 – 3 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground marjoram
Salt & pepper

1).  Rinse tripe and scrub well with Kosher salt on both sides.  Rinse several times.  Cut into 1/2 inch strips that are 3 – 4 inches long.  Boil strips  for 40 mins.  Drain well and set aside.
2).  Saute celery, carrot, onion and garlic in oil in heavy gauge pot until soft and golden brown.  Do not allow to brown too much or to burn!
3).  Add tomato paste and fry in vegetables for about a minute.
4).  Add tripe and saute for about 5 minutes.
5).  Add paprika and marjoram and a little salt and pepper; salt is dependent upon saltiness of stock used.
6).  Add stock until ingredients are covered, but not swimming.
7).  Combine well, cover and allow to simmer for 1 1/4 hours.
8).  Remove cover and allow to simmer an additional 15 minutes.  If too dry, add a little more stock.
9).  Check for tenderness.  If not soft enough for you, cover and cook another 10 – 15 minutes.
10).  Adjust seasoning and enjoy!