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.

Vipassana Sunflower Soy Dressing

I was recently fortunate to visit the North California Vipassana Center again and help a bit in the kitchen. While there I made sure to get the recipe for the famous Sunflower Soy salad dressing which I've named years ago "Sunflower Crack". It's funny how so many students that undergo the retreat remember the salad dressing of all things as one of the highlights. To put in perspective: the other type of dressing they serve is a pretty yummy Italian Dressing, but the instructions in the kitchen are to prepare FOUR TIME more of the sunflower soy than the Italian because it is so popular. I've only seen one other website out there that shared the recipe, but the quantities were all wrong and it came out super salty. Here is the original and correct one:

Source: dhamma.org
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: N/A
Yields: 8 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 3 cups canola oil (non-GMO)
• 1 cup cold water + 1 after blending

 Instructions:

1. Combine all (except last cup of water). 
2. Run in blender (Vitamix works best) until there are no traces of seeds, but don't over blend as it will get syrup-y.
3. Pour into container and whisk in the last cup of water.

For gluten-free option try substituting the soy sauce with tamari sauce and/or Bragg's aminos. If you're not into canola oil then go with another type of gentle flavor oil. Olive oil is probably not the most ideal for this dressing.

Raw Dairy Free Chocolate Drink

This drink is based on a product I found at the local farmer's market. I am trying to reverse-engineer it and I think got the recipe pretty close now. I won't say the name of the company because I don't want to affect their business., but they have really good raw chocolate products.

Source: Undisclosed
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Yields: 2.5 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups filtered water
• ⅓ cup raw cashew butter
• 4 tsp raw cacao powder
• 3 tsp raw coconut sugar or your sweetener of choice
• Vanilla extract or vanilla bean
• Pinch of salt

 Instructions:

1. Use a blender to mix everything.
2. Store in the fridge. Will stay good for about a week but if you are like me it will be gone the same day.

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.

Gefilte Fish - Our Family's Recipe

This is our family's traditional Gefilte Fish (stuffed fish) recipe. It has been handed down from my grandma to my dad and now it's up to me to pass it on.

The finished product

Source: family recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 90 minutes
Yields: about 36 servings

Ingredients:

• 4.5 lbs ground carp filet or white fish. Optional: save the bones, heads and tails
• 6 medium onions
• 6 carrots, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 cup matzo meal
• 6 eggs
• 1+ cup sugar
• 1+ tbsp paprika 
• 3+ tbsp salt
• Black pepper

Instructions:

1. Make stock using about 9 cups of water, sliced carrots, tomatoes and 2 sliced onions, 3 tbsp salt, 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp paprika, black pepper to taste and the fish heads/tail/bones if you got them. Bring to boil and cook on low for 30 minutes.
2. While stock is cooking, grind the ground carp a second time using the fine disc of a meat grinder together with 4 onions.
3. Mix in the eggs, matzo meal, and a bit more salt, pepper and sugar. You can taste but spit and don't swallow.
   
4. With wet hands, make patties from the mix and slide into the stock. If you have fish heads/tails/bones then get them out of the stock first.
5. Cook on low for 2 hours. Stock should cover the patties. Add boiling water if liquid level gets low. Cover with lid but leave a crack.
6. Once cool, take patties of the the stock with your hands and place on a pan. Put a slice of carrot on top of each patty. Cool in the fridge for 24 hours.
7. For sauce, strain stock liquid into a jar and let cool in the fridge for 24 hours.
8. Serve over a leaf of lettuce, with "ground red horseradish" on the side:
   
   • Boil beets for 30 minutes
   • Peel them
   • Grate them
   • Add grated horseradish root (beets:horseradish ratio about 3:1)
   • Add lemon, salt, sugar

The stock

The ground mix

Patties boiling

Scott's Easy Collards

I came across this recipe in the book "The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook" but later found an online version of it. "This recipe from Scott Jones, former executive food editor of Southern Living, is an update to his grandmother's recipe (and a childhood favorite)". This is the picture from the book, which is excellent BTW with lots of good ideas for cast iron cooking. It's probably copyrighted but I don't think they'll mind since I am plugging it.

Source: JonesIsHungry.com
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 90 minutes
Yields: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 strips center-cut bacon
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 large Vidalia onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 4 (1-lb.) packages fresh collard greens, washed, thick stems removed, and chopped
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook bacon in Dutch oven until crisp.
2. Remove bacon, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings in pot.
3. Drain bacon on paper towel; crumble and reserve.
4. Cook carrot in hot drippings over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. 
5. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until carrot and onion begin to caramelize.
6. Add garlic and vinegar; cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds.
7. Add collards, reserved bacon, and remaining ingredients.
8. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 1 hours or until collards are tender.
   

(Edit: I've been making this recipe lately with about 4 times the amount of bacon, and a splash of thai Fish Sauce which gives it a lot more character)