Deconstructed Stuffed Pepper Stew

We’re still savoring the comfort food chapter.  I think it’s because of the frigid temperatures that I don’t feel like doing anything but cozying up to the fireplace (if only we had a real one) with a bowl of hot, homey and hearty comfort food. 

I’ve been craving Romanian comfort food, lately; something other than stuffed cabbage or pork goulash.  And to be honest, I’ve been dreaming of Grandma Vicki’s Stuffed Peppers recipe for a while.  This recipe has been on my to make list, but I wanted to somehow avoid the two inconveniences that the recipe entails: first, I wasn’t eager to waste my time in the kitchen stuffing pepper after pepper; and second, those little gypsy peppers traditionally used in this recipe are mighty hard to find in wintertime.  So, how to make a stew without having to spend an outrageous amount of time putting it together?    

But then it happened that a couple of weekends ago, Adrian and I paid a visit to our friends’ house to watch some English soccer games.  After lots of yelling and cheering while watching the games, Gretchen served us a delicious stuffed pepper stew.  The stew had all the ingredients for a stuffed peppers recipe but everything was chopped and blended together; and she called it “a deconstructed stuffed pepper stew”.  And the little lightbulb went off in my head!  Thank you Gretchen for helping me decide how to approach my grandma’s stuffed peppers recipe!  I have to admit that, once I heard the word “deconstructed” I wanted to race home and make the stew right away. 

Before attempting the impossible, I called my grandma and explained how I wanted to transform her beloved stuffed peppers recipe.  Of course, she said that I was crazy and that it would never work.  But, guess what, it worked out beautifully!  Only the aspect of the stew is radically different from my grandma’s recipe but the flavors that I love are all there.  In fact, I would say that there are various nuances and depths of flavor in this dish.  It’s also nourishing and it incorporates everything from proteins to starch and veggies. 

Of course, being a Romanian dish, I was indebted to throw in a smidge of paprika to coat the onions and meat in a mild pungency and give them that beautiful red color.  But the meat, rice, peppers and tomatoes are all able to shine through and add texture despite being engulfed in a sea of sweet, savory and tangy tomato sauce.  And then you sprinkle a few chopped leaves of parsley on top for a lovely green color and much desired freshness.  You could even argue that this stew is similar to a chili; a Romanian chili with rice but without beans.  Ultimately, this Deconstructed Stuffed Pepper Stew is a filling, flavorful and homemade Romanian comfort stew!

Deconstructed Stuffed Pepper Stew

By Simply Romanesco inspired by my Grandma Vicki

Makes: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

·         6 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

·         1 large yellow onion, chopped

·         Salt and black pepper

·         1 Tablespoon sweet or hot paprika

·         1 pound ground pork

·         2 large red peppers, cut into ½ -inch chunks

·         1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes

·         1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

·         2 Tablespoons sugar

·         ½ cup white rice

·         A small bunch of parsley for garnish, chopped

·         Sour cream (optional)

Instructions:

Heat 4 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion, season with a good pinch of salt and pepper, and cook until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the paprika and stir well.  Add the ground pork, season with salt and pepper, and stir well to coat with the paprika.  Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the meat is cooked through.  Add the red peppers and diced tomatoes and give it a good stir.  Cook for 5 minutes.

Combine the tomato sauce with ½ cup of water and pour it over the ingredients in the pan.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the sugar and stir well.  Add ½ cup of water and stir.  Bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes.

In the meantime, rinse the white rice in cold water.  Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over high heat in a small saucepan.  Add the rice and stir.  Add 2 cups of water and season with a good pinch of salt.  Turn the heat to low and simmer uncovered until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked.  When the rice is cooked, turn the heat off and cover the saucepan with a lid and let it sit until the stew is cooked.

When the stew is cooked, add the rice and stir well to incorporate. Check the seasonings and add more salt and sugar if necessary, for that perfect balance of savory and sweet.  Simmer for 5 more minutes.  Serve with chopped parsley and a dollop of sour cream on top.

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)        

French or Hungarian?

We’re talking about French food again.  After Julia Child’s Chicken with Cream, Mushrooms and Port, I came upon another French recipe.  The truth is that I had completely forgotten about this Chicken with Paprika (Poulet au Paprika) recipe, which ended up buried in my recipe collection, which I created over time.  I kept postponing trying this dish until it left my mind entirely.  Luckily, I rediscovered it not so long ago.  It was one of those nights when I just couldn’t decide what to make for dinner.  I knew I wanted something simple, but elegant (not to mention that I only had a few basic ingredients in my fridge and pantry that I kind of wanted to get rid of), but I couldn’t make up my mind.  I was frantically rushing through my ever-expanding recipe collection when I dug it up again.   

I was in Toronto when I first saw Laura Calder make this Chicken with Paprika (Poulet au Paprika) dish on Food Network Canada (the Canadian sister of Food Network).  And I was intrigued.  I’ll tell you why – because Hungarian paprika is one of the main ingredients of this dish.  I wondered if this was really a French recipe (Laura Calder’s show is called French Food at Home).  And then I saw the cream and wine…  I know that paprika is widely used in French cuisine, but it’s even more prevalent in Hungarian cooking.  So, I would say that this recipe is indeed French, but with a Hungarian twist.  

In the end, it doesn’t really matter if the recipe is French or Hungarian.  What matters are the amazing flavors that will pop and dance in your mouth, and how fast you’ll go for seconds.  The paprika gives the vegetables a nice deep red tint, and half way through the recipe they are drowned in a crisp and light white wine, which elevates the flavors to a whole different level.  The sauce has depth and is just divine.  The cream makes it velvety and rich; the red pepper makes it sweet; the celery gives it a crunch, while the plump tomatoes make it tangy and copious.  Not to mention the full-bodied aroma the chicken absorbs while bathing in this decadent sauce and still remaining moist and juicy.  It’s unbelievable how simple ingredients can create a dish that is so gourmet and flavorsome.

Chicken with Paprika (Poulet au Paprika)

Adapted from Poulet au Paprika by Laura Calder

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients:

·         4 chicken drumsticks and 4 chicken thighs

·         Salt and black pepper

·         3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

·         1 red pepper, seeded and cut into roughly 2-inch / 5 cm julienne

·         1 medium yellow onion, sliced

·         2 celery stalks, sliced

·         1 Tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika

·         1 clove garlic, minced

·         ½ cup / 125 ml white wine, such as Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio

·         1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices

·         1 teaspoon sugar

·         1 bay leaf

·         2 Tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil over medium heat in a sauté pan and brown the chicken pieces on all sides.  Remove chicken to a platter.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion, red pepper and celery.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Add the paprika.  Cook until soft, about 10-12 minutes, adding the garlic for the final minute.  Deglaze the pan with the wine.  Add the tomatoes, sugar and bay leaf.  Season with more salt and pepper to taste.  Put the chicken back in.  Cover the pan, and cook over medium-low heat, turning the chicken occasionally, until tender, about 40 minutes. 

Remove the chicken to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm.  Turn up the heat under the sauce and boil down to sauce consistency, about 2 minutes.  Turn off the heat, stir through the cream, check the seasonings (including the paprika, adding more if you like), then pour over the chicken, and serve.  

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)    

Oktoberfest – Pork and Sauerkraut, please!

When I was 12 years old, I went to a tennis school in Augsburg, Germany, during the summer. Back then, I was playing professional tennis and my dream was to become the next Steffi Graf.  At that age, I was well on track to achieve that goal; hence, my parents’ decision to send me to a tennis school.  Unfortunately, the injuries just kept coming.  Five years later, my tennis career was over.  

In the summer of 1997, I was playing a lot of tennis, going to long and challenging practices, winning tennis tournaments, playing more tennis, and more tennis, and even more tennis.  It was during that summer, on one of the few breaks from tennis, when my dad took me to a German beer garden for the first time.  There were wooden benches, live music, good traditional German food, and lots of beer. 

It was early afternoon.  The weather was nice and warm, the sky was clear, and we were just in time for lunch.  I remember that both my father and I ordered the Pork Schnitzel with French fries.  Of course, my dad also had the local beer.  I don’t recall specific details about the food, but I do recall the unique and joyful atmosphere.  That was my first experience with a German beer garden.  These days, we love to go to the Hofbrauhaus in Pittsburgh.      

The pork schnitzel, which we had at the beer garden in Augsburg, was very similar to what my grandmother frequently makes.  German food has always been a staple in our family.  However, today I don’t want to talk to you about the boring breaded pork (maybe we’ll talk about it some other time), and I want to introduce to you a very interesting version of the traditional German Pork and Sauerkraut dish.  This dish is a classic of the German culinary world, but traveling through Austria and Hungary, by the time the dish made it to Romania, it assimilated several local influences.  Furthermore, my grandmother put her own spin on it, and created her own version of this classic dish. 

Szekely-Gulyas (Pork and Cabbage Goulash)

By Simply Romanesco inspired by my Grandma Vicki

Yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients

·         1 green cabbage of 3.5 – 4 pounds (1.5 kilograms)

·         3-4 Tablespoons vegetable oil

·         3 large onions, sliced

·         Kosher salt

·         1 Tablespoon Hungarian paprika (10 grams)

·         2 – 2.5 pounds boneless pork chops, cubed (1 kilogram)

·         2 – 2.5 cups water

·         1.5 cups tomato sauce mixed with ½ cup water

·         2 dry bay leaves

·         Sour cream (optional)

·         Good bread (optional)

Instructions

Cut out the core and slice the cabbage.  Put it in a large bowl and season with 1 Tablespoon of salt.  Mix well.  Let it sit for 1 hour. 

Meanwhile, put a large pan on medium heat.  Add the oil and the onions.  Season with salt and cook the onions until translucent, about 10-12 minutes.  Add the Hungarian paprika and stir.  Add the pork and cook together with the onions and paprika for 10-15 minutes.  Add the water to cover the meat and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for about 30-40 minutes until the meat is cooked. 

Strain the cabbage between your hands before adding it to the pan with the rest of the ingredients.  When the meat is cooked, add the strained cabbage and stir well.  Add the tomato sauce mixed with water and the bay leaves.  Bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for about 45-50 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.  Season with salt to taste.   

I love to serve the goulash with a dollop of sour cream on top and with good bread because I really enjoy dipping the bread in the sauce.  Devine!  The best thing about this dish is that it’s even better the next day.  As it sits in the fridge, the flavors will develop further.  You’ll definitely enjoy these leftovers!