Paella and jambalaya are both dry stews with the rice cooked right in the pot along with smoked sausage and/or ham, chicken and shellfish. PreliminariesIf the shellfish is frozen, defrost and clean: peel and devein the shrimp, scrub the clams and/or mussels. (The clams in the image above were pulled out of a box of Trader Joe's frozen steamer clams. No scrubbing needed. They tasted quite good considering the ease and convenience.) Heat pan And decide what the fat will be: olive oil for the … [Read more...]
Stir fry
A quick, adaptable Asian stew. A stirfry is the quickest "stew". It needs nearly constant attention, so some veggie prep moved to step 1. Preliminaries Start rice or boiling water for noodles. In a jar with a tight lid combine a few tablespoons of soy sauce, a tablespoon of mirin (or sherry), a tablespoon of oyster or hoison sauce and a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar (the cornstarch is added later); cover and shake vigorously. For the main ingredient cut … [Read more...]
Cacciatore, Tomato Sauce or Italian Gravy
Hunter stew, tomato sauce or gravy? Grandma was Sicilian and made a thin, soupy sauce. Like most Americans, I like mine thick. A very liquidly stew is a soup; a stew poured over a starch is a gravy or sauce. Stretching one ingredient and pulling back on another creates a different dish, but why bother with a different recipe? Preliminaries Optionally cut up a chicken (or buy it that way), cut Italian sausage into chucks (or leave whole, but larger pieces take longer to cook.) The image below … [Read more...]
