Ropa Vieja, Broccoli Soup and Eggplant Confit

Jones Creek Beef #2 --  Old Rags for Eight

I gotta tell you folks, cooking this grass-fed, free-range, no-hormone added Jones Creek Beef is unlike anything you've done to a cow! This meat is so lean that it's more like bison than your average megamart beef. You really want to cook this grass-fed goodness either Medium Rare (that's how I'd do burgers) or braised until it's nearly falling apart, surrounded by liquid and goodies like onions, bell peppers, garlic, and such. 

That's what happened this week when my foodie friend Sara and I made Ropa Vieja, the classic Cuban dish. We then served the "Old Rags" up to several of our friends at the marina, aboard Sara and John's 52 foot cruiser called Star Dust.

We started by searing the roast in a splash of bacon fat, to get that great caramelized color and flavor we all love. Then we popped it in a slow cooker for about four hours with a 6 oz jar of sofrito and a couple cups of homemade (well, boat-made in this case) chicken broth. Sofrito is a wonderful "flavor base" kind of salsa made from onion, tomato, garlic and spices. You can make your own sofrito, as I described here several weeks ago, but we decided not to this time around. 

While the roast was cooking we sliced up three yellow onions, three colors of bell peppers, a half dozen small heirloom tomatoes I'd acquired, and an equal number of cloves of smashed garlic. At the 4 hr. mark we added the vegetation, put the cover back on and watched videos for two more hours while the aroma inside the boat started to make us drool.  

 Sarah had a large pot of pre-cooked rice to which we added a Sazon Tropical tm packet while re-heating, and I'd brought a package of corn tortillas to serve with the Ropa. At the end of the six hours, I pulled the roast apart with a pair of forks and returned the shredded meat to the wonderful liquid in the pot.

When the guests arrived we plated the Ropa with the rice and warmed corn tortillas, and toasted each other with a nice red wine! Succulent, unctuous, and flavorful. And that's just the beef! The "gravy" of broth, onion, bell pepper and garlic was frosting on the beef-cake!

2 lb Jones Creek Beef tm Chuck Roast

2-3 cups Chicken or Beef broth

6 oz Goya tm Sofrito

3 Yellow Onions, sliced into strips

1 Red Bell Pepper, cored, seeded and sliced into strips

1 Green Bell Pepper, cored, seeded and sliced into strips

1 Yellow Bell Pepper, cored, seeded and sliced into strips

6 cloves (at least) Garlic, smashed and chopped

This recipe fed six hungery boaties, and there was leftovers enough for at least two more meals!

Broccoli & Feta Soup

Sally is a big fan of soups, particularly vegetable soups. She found the original of this in an Oprah! magazine.

1 cup diced Onion

1/2 cup diced Celery

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1-1/2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, skin-on, cut into 1/2" dice

4 cups no-sodium Chicken Stock

6 cups Broccoli florets (about 1-1/2 lbs of crowns)

1/3 cup Parsley, plus more for garnish

2-4 Tbsp chopped fresh Dill, for garnish

1/3 cup Feta crumbles, plus 1/4 cup for garnish

S&PTT

Saute the onion, garlic and celery until soft, with a pinch of salt & pepper. Add the potato and the stock and stir to combine. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered,until the potato is soft -- about 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook until barely tender -- about 4 more minutes. Add 1/3 cup parsley and 1/3 cup feta.

With a stick or jug blender, puree the soup, in batches if needed, to get a creamy consistency. Season again with salt & pepper, to taste. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with additional parsley, feta and dill.

Eggplant Confit

It's that time of year again in South Florida -- Aubergine Season. From tiny globes to huge footballs, the white and purple eggplant is supreme this time of year! I usually make Stuffed Eggplant, Eggplant Parmesan in several versions, the dish called Imam Fainted, various iterations of roasted slices of eggplant, or an Eggplant Mint & Honey spread. Use the Search tool to see the dishes I've featured here over the past couple years.

This time we're doing Eggplant Confit. Sally found a recipe in the newspaper, and suggested we try it. I did some research and came up with my own version with additional flavor elements.

Confit usually refers to something cooked low and slow in its own fat -- like the classic Duck Confit -- as a way to preserve the item. Eggplant doesn't have any fat to speak of, but that's OK, we'll add some olive oil, among other things, and preserve the result in jars. Since we're not interested in preserving the eggplant for months, we don't need as high a proportion of fat as when making Duck Confit.

Eggplant marries well around the world with garlic, onion, bell peppers, and tomatoes in any combination, and we're going to add those here as well.

1-1/2 lbs mini Eggplant (nothing much bigger than a golf ball)

1 cup chopped Bell Peppers -- mixed colors are nice

1 cup diced Red Onion

1-1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes, we like the yellow ones

4 large cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Kosher Salt as needed

1/2 cup EVOO -- sounds like a lot but it really isn't

12 leaves fresh Basil, julienned

1/4 cup fresh Dill stripped from the stems

Trim the tops from the eggplants and halve them. If they're bigger than a golf ball cut them into quarters. Place them in a plastic bag with a good amount of Kosher salt. Twist the bag shut and shake to coat the eggplant well. Place cut side down on a couple layers of paper towel on a tray of some kind. Let them sit for at least half an hour to draw out some of the moisture.

Meanwhile, chop up all the other veggies. Spread everything (except the fresh herbs) in a 9x13 baking dish, and pour the olive oil over all. Roast in a pre-heated 275F oven for at least an hour until everything is very soft.

Cool a bit and pack the confit into screw-top jars (the recipe should make two pint jars plus a bit) adding half the basil and dill to each jar. Cool fully, seal and store in the fridge.

To serve, toast a nice crusty roll of bread and schmear some confit on top. Serve with a salad, as a side, or as an appetizer!

Great Salmon Technique

I found a really great way to prepare Sockeye Salmon filets, the other night. Thaw the filets, dust with Pride of Szeged Fish Rub tm, and drizzle some oil in your skillet. Place the fish skin-side down in the hot oil and cook for 10-12 minutes, covered. Then drizzle each filet with a few drops of Toasted Sesame Oil, and a splash of Balsamic Vinegar, and cook another couple minutes until the fish flakes easily. Extra yummy!!