Calamari and Pea Stew
April 27, 2010
In the spirit of following recipes of late, I chose a calamari stew recipe from Mario Batali's cookbook to cook a pound of calamari I bought from the store. I cut only 2 corners: I had less calamari and I used a jar of delicious Cucina Antica tomato basil sauce instead of making my own sauce. The stew is really delicious even in this warm weather today. I suggest serving with a fresh baguette.
You will need:
- 1 lb calamari, cleaned, and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 celery pieces shopped
- 1 white onion sliced into 1/4 inch rounds (I also added a large shallot, minced)
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- 4 anchiove filets
- 2 red chile peppers (dry)
- 1/2 c white wine
- 1 c marinara sauce
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 c peas (frozen is fine)
Saute the onions, garlic, celery, chile and anchiovies over medium heat for 10 mins.
Add calamari, marinara, wine, and vinegar and cook covered over low heat for one hour. Raise heat and add peas and simmer for 10 mins.
Serve hot with bread.
Hunter's Chicken Stew
April 13, 2010
I decided to follow a recipe nearly to the letter to experience what it is like to cook from a recipe exactly as it appears sans the midas touch. I cooked pollo alla cacciatora by Jaime Oliver. Result? Amazing. My only modifications were the type of olives, type of wine, and cooking times. This recipe anticipates feeding a tribe but I cooked for two so proportion of ingredients is smaller.
I cooked 2 chicken breasts. To begin, marinate chx in 1/2 bottle red wine, clove crushed garlic, 6 bay leaves, 2 rosemary twigs, s&p and a dash of EVOO. Let sit over night - this is VERY important.
The next day, take chx out of marinade and pat dry with paper towel. Dust with flour and quickly brown chicken on all sides. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350.
Now, for the sauce, use same pan you used for frying chx (use an enameled pot like le creuset). Quickly toast 2 crushed and chopped garlic, then add 6 anchovies, 1 c olives (I used sicilian), and 1 large can of plum tomatoes (crush in pan with spoon). Add reserve liquid marinade (remove old bay leaves and rosemary, replace with fresh ones), and bring to slight boil. Add chx.
Cover with lid and cook in oven for 1 hour. Turn off oven and let rest for 20 minutes. Eat hot with beans or side pasta.
It will knock your socks off!
