I felt I needed to give STEWS their own post. For me, stews are chowders without cream. For me, stews are soups with large chunks with less liquid. But most importantly, stews can be kept in a slow cooker all day; they can be ladled out in any volume; and they can be pureed by just adding additional water. Stews also fill the house with great aromas that help build an appetite for those who has lost the joy of eating.
Stews range from a thick paste to chunks in a broth, so the general rule is that you will need to add 50/50 stew to extra liquid.
With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I thought now was a great time to talk about stews. Corned beef and cabbage - it's a stew.
So the first stew I posted was Bison Chili. Yes, Chili is a stew. Although most Americans think of chili made with ground meat. I've been to a number of Chili cook-offs that had chucks of meat - including alligator and rattlesnake - delicious.
Which takes us to the close cousin - American Chop Suey and Hungarian Goulash. One of the Classic American school cafeteria meals. I've been on FB with a group of parents who have children on g-tubes, today, there was a post about "How do you send your child to school with pureed food?" Many school post what the daily lunch menu is, and a parent could replicate that daily menu with a home-made version . . . just thinking out loud . . .
The last stew I posted was Boeuf Bourguignon - a standard beef stew. The more I thought about stews the more I also believed the spicy Szechuan bean curd my wife orders from Bamboo Restaurant is a type of stew. OK maybe a chunky soup
About a year ago, I posted the Russian dish - Beef Stroganoff. This would be more of the "paste" variety of stew. OK, it has cream . . . just to show you the variety available in the world
We have beef covered well, but what about other meat stews.
On the seafood side, we have the Bouillabaisses and the paellas. When most people think of stews they think of long-cooked root vegetables, but rice stews and pasta stews can sit in a slow cooker too.
Étouffée, Jambalaya, and Gumbos and great regional versions of seafood and chicken stews, so think about the stews that are popular where you live. Like Chicken mull, Callaloo, or Booyah. And yes, it is OK to google the recipes.
Coq au vin, although I have not covered it yet, is a classic chicken stew. I suppose I'll work on this recipe this summer. I'm hooked on the chicken porridge right now, I'll have to wait until this phase passes.
Irish stew is the classic lamb stew. When my sister-in-law Dorothy, comes over for a visit I always prepare lamb. Nothing like sharing a favorite meat with someone else who appreciates it. In the summer I grill lamb, but earlier this month the grill was snow covered, so I slow-cooked Irish stew for her. Made sure I made enough to send her home with a container of un-pureed goodness.
My son has found a great place to pick up "goat", I'll have to try goat stew soon.
There are so many ethnic varieties out there, I recommend pulling out your mom's old cookbook and looking through the meals you have not had since you were a child.
Online, I found "Karelian hot pot*" and although I do not have a Finnish cookbook, I know someone who does. So you know where my research will take me . . . Oh look Mulligan stew too!
Classic American stew ingredients.
*I got my recipe - Equal amounts of beef stew meat and pork (I buy a pork loin roast usually) cut in 1-2" chunks. Place in an oven safe dish, chop an onion and spread over the meat (you can add some baby carrots or rutabaga pieces too☺). Cover about 3/4 with water (nearly to the top anyway), add salt (depending on the amt of meat, if 2 lbs total then maybe 1 tsp) and like 10-15 whole peppercorns. In the oven, 375 Fahrenheit, covered for about 2 hrs. Great in the crock pot too.
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