Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho)

If you haven't figured it out yet, a lot of the recipes in this blog are not original. I just post them to keep my own copy, in case the websites where I found them go down. This one was originally called "Spicy Vietnamese Beef Stew", although I personally found it to be very mild, which is not surprising because there were no spicy ingredient. Fine by me, it's still delicious! Original Bo Kho has noodles in it. To keep with the paleo theme, my favorite substitute is enoki mushrooms.

Sources: nom nom paleo (stew) +  my organic life ("noodles")
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 4-5 hours
Yields: 6-8 portions

Ingredients:

• 2½ lbs. beef stew meat, cubed
• 1 large stalk lemongrass, cut into 3-inch lengths, and bruised with a heavy object
• 3 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1½ tsp. Madras curry powder
• 2½ tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 tbsp. applesauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp. ghee
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups canned diced tomatoes, pressed by hand trough a tomato sieve
• 2 whole star anise
• 3 cups water
• 1 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces

"noodles" - optional:

• 4 packs of Enoki mushrooms, remove the roots, wash, drain and somewhat separate
• 1 tbsp. ghee
• Sesame oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, prepare a marinade from the fish sauce, curry powder, ginger, applesauce, lemongrass and bay leaf.
2. Marinade the beef for 30 minutes or more.
3. In a dutch oven or a skillet, melt the ghee and brown the beef. Set aside and keep the lemongrass and bay leaf.
4. If you're using a dutch oven, preheat oven to 300°F. Otherwise you can use a slow cooker.
5. Fry the onions in the skillet/dutch oven until soft.
6. Add the tomatoes, bring to boil, then simmer for about 12 min until a paste is formed.
7. Add some salt to taste, then also the browned beef, lemongrass, bay leaf, and star anise.
8. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the water and carrots, and bring to boil.
9. If you're using a dutch oven, then transfer it to the over and bake for 2½ hours. If using a slow cooker then transfer to it and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until meat is really tender.
10. For noodles: when stew is almost ready, heat up the ghee in a skillet and add the mushrooms. There will be liquid coming out.
11. Add salt and black pepper to taste, and sesame oil, then turn the heat up to high and stir well for about 2 minutes, until the liquid thickens.
12. Put "noodles" in the serving bowls, then pour the stew over them and serve.

Slow Cooked Rabbit in White Wine and Garlic

When I asked the vendor at the farmer's market how to prepare the rabbit, he recommended to cook it with white wine in a slow cooker. I was searching around the Internet for inspirations and came across this recipe, which is super simple and came out great. One thing I did find out is that rabbit is mostly very lean meat, and even in a slow cooker it can be a bit dry. This was easily solved by making a reduction sauce from the leftover broth and drowning the meat in it. So good...

This recipe would also work great with a whole chicken.

Source: christinecooks
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 hours
Yields: depends on the size of the rabbit, 2-4 portions

Ingredients:

• 1 whole rabbit, skinned
• 12 cloves of garlic, whole
• 6 cippolini onions, peeled and whole
• 10-12 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 bays leaves, fresh if you have them
• 1 cup cooked bacon pieces
• 5-6 whole peppercorns
• sea salt pepper to taste
• 1 plus ½ cups dry white wine, divided
• 1 cup broth
• 3 tbsp. butter

Directions:

1. Place the onions, garlic and peppercorns in the bottom of a slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle with half the bacon and thyme sprigs.
3. In a skillet, sear the rabbit with the bacon fat on all sides.
4. Place the rabbit in the slow cooker on top of the onions.
5. Pour half the wine into the hot skillet and scrape the bottom, allowing it to reduce by half.
6. Pour this over the rabbit and sprinkle the remaining bacon and thyme.
7. Add the broth and rest of the wine into the slow cooker.
8. Cook on high for 4 hours, then on low for 4-6 hours.
9. It's okay to carefully turn the rabbit over once or twice.
10. When tender, remove thyme stems, and transfer rabbit to a large plate.
11. Strain the broth, and add the bacon, some garlic and onions to the plate.
12. In a sauce pan, reduce about 2 cups of the broth down to half a cup. It's ok to add some garlic - mash it up.
13. Add the butter, stir, and pour over rabbit.

Cumin and Mint Marinade for Lamb

This is a recent discovery and a very rich marinade. I usually make this amount for 6-8 chops, which is about a pound.  After they're done marinading I either cook them on a BBQ or broil them on low for 10-15 minutes each side.

In this picture I use short loin chops, rather then the regular ones. Kinda like mini t-bones...

Source: myrecipes.com
Prep Time: 5 minutes, then 4 hours to marinade
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 6-8 lamb chops

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup chopped fresh mint, or substitute/mix with cilantro.
• 1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp regular balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp honey or maple syrup
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground mustard, or substitute for dijon.
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 pound of lamb chops

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients in a small bowl
2. Cover the lamb and let sit in the fridge for 4 hours

Braised Goat Shoulder with Sweet Paprika

I am very fortunate to live across the street from the largest farmers market in northern California, located in San Rafael near the Marin County civic center. It is a foodie's dream: tons of local organic produce, artisan chocolates, specialty cheeses and sustainably grown meats. A good friend of mine owns a booth there and turned me on to goat shoulders - such an excellent cut! The perfect combination of meat and fat, mmmmm...
I've been looking for different ways of preparing it and came upon a recipe which is the basis for the one below. My version is slightly different and adopted to a slow cooker instead of a dutch oven.

Source: shepherdsongfarm.com
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Yields: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• Goat shoulder (~ 2 lbs.)
• Salt, pepper, sweet paprika
• Cooking oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 small carrots, diced
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 cloves of garlic, chopped
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tbsp. sherry vinegar, or white wine vinegar
• 3 cups bone broth
• 1 tbsp. ghee

Instructions:

1. 2 hours before cooking, sprinkle the goat liberally with salt, pepper, and a light (but thorough) dusting of sweet smoked paprika. Place in the fridge and bring out about 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Start the slow cooker on 'high'.
3. Heat oil in a large pan and brown the goat generously on all sides until very brown. Remove from the pan.
4. In the same oil fry the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots on medium-low for about 5 minutes.
5. Add white wine and sherry vinegar and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Add the broth and bring to boil.
7. Place the shoulder in the slow cooker and cover with the hot broth.
8. Don't be tempted to add salt! It's okay if the broth is a bit bland at this point.
9. Let cook far about 2 hours, then turn over the shoulder every hour or so. It should be very tender after a few turns, about 4-5 hours from the start.
10. Take out the shoulder and move it to a covered pan so it stays warm and moist.
11. Strain the broth and pour into a sauce pan. Bring to boil.
12. Turn the heat to 'low' and reduce the sauce until it is quite thick. It should take about 30 minutes and you should have about ½ cup left. Mix in the ghee. Add salt if necessary.
13. Cut shoulder into slices, place on a warm plate, cover with sauce and serve.

Chicken Gizzards in Paprika Sauce

This is a dish I remember from my childhood in Israel. It's great to see how gizzards and other organ meats (offal) are regaining popularity in the U.S.

Source: ocheltov.co.il
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs. chicken gizzards, cleaned and halved.
• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed into 2" OR a basket of small mushrooms cut in quarters
• ½ tsp. cumin powder
• ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
• ¼ cup coconut oil, or lard, or tallow.
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper

 Instructions:

1. Place gizzards in a pot, cover with water and bring to boil. Cook on low for 30 minutes, strain, move to a bowl and mix with some pepper and salt.
2. In a separate bowl mix the potatoes/mushrooms with cumin and turmeric until they are evenly covered.
3. Melt the oil in a pot, add the onions and fry until translucent. Add the gizzard and fry on low for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the paprika and immediately 3/4 cup water so it won't burn and become bitter.
5. Pour the potatoes/mushrooms over the gizzards, bring to a boil, cover the pot and cook on low for an hour.
6. In the last 5 minutes add the garlic and if necessary more salt or pepper.

Beef Tongue - Our Family's Recipe

This is our family's traditional beef tongue recipe. I'm posting it this time of year in light of the upcoming passover holiday.

Medium size beef tongue

Source: family recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2-3 hours, plus time for cooling.
Yields: about 12-18 servings, depending on the size of the tongue

Ingredients:

• 1 medium to large beef tongue (from grass fed beef preferably)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2-3 carrots, sliced
• 1 celery root, sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• 4-6 garlic cloves, sliced
• Parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

      For hot tongue also:

• 1 medium onion, diced and fried
• 1 Basket of white or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• Chicken soup powder

Instructions:

1. Wash the tongue, place in a pressure cooker together with the first batch of ingredients and cover with water. Cook for 45 minutes or alternatively 2 hours in a regular pot.
2. Let cool for a bit. Take the warm tongue out of the liquids and put inside a plastic bag until it's not to hot to handle with hands.
3. It should now be easier to peal it. Use a knife for the parts that won't peal easily.
4. Put in the fridge to cool down completely, or even in the freezer afterwards for a few minutes.
5. Cut into thin slices. Should be easier if tongue is very cold.
6. If you prefer to serve cold - use as is along with mustard and pickles.
7. For hot tongue, spread the slices in a pan with a slight overlap.
8. Spread the fried onions and mushrooms on top, cover with liquid from cooking and sprinkle with chicken soup powder.
9. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.
10. Take out of pan with a spatula so not the break the slices. Serve hot.