Satisfying the hunter within

It really does seem the ultimate irony for someone as squeamish as me to be cooking a dish with 'hunter' in the title. I still have nightmares about the time my husband and I decided to venture out of our comfort zone and cook a partridge in our oven. The bird proceeded to bleed all over the oven, so much so that it dripped out. It was like a scene from a horror movie, and needless to say, did little for my appetite. When buying meat, I now stay well WITHIN my comfort zone and like my meat to be packed in plastic wrap and styrofoam and not to resemble in the slightest, the animal/bird from whence it came. Yes, I'm squeamish. I am not the kind of cook who joints her own chickens and does creative things with giblets. No thank you!

Fortunately, despite the name, this dish requires no such ghastly bloody activity. Chicken Cacciatore (literally translated as 'hunter's chicken) has many forms, but all are called thus because they are supposed to encapsulate the kind of rustic one pot dish that a hunter out in the field (doing ghastly bloody things, no doubt) would rustle up for him/herself. Since we are still somewhat in post-holiday purge mode, I sought out a recipe in a  book I clearly bought at this time of year called The Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook, published by the American Heart Association. I have to confess, I have had mixed results from the pages within - some of the recipes I have tried have been boringly bland, even if no doubt healthier for the lack of seasoning within. I am now a bit more careful about the recipes I choose to try from this book - opting for those which have some stronger, richer flavors in there, even they are skimpy on the salt and fat. This one is no exception - chosen because it is finished off with balsamic vinegar, which I predicted, rightly as it turned out, would add a richness to the dish, even without any wine (and minimal salt in the dish). The resulting dish has the advantage of making one feel virtuous for having eschewed those unhealthier ingredients, which, given the excesses of the former consumed during the month of December, is no bad thing! (It also helps one justify drinking a glass alongside the meal!) I also added a little more garlic and herbs than called for in the original, to give it some more zing on the taste-buds.



Healthy Chicken Cacciatore
Serves 6

8 oz mushrooms, quartered
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup fat-free, low sodium, chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat
1 6oz can tomato paste/puree
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil
wholegrain pasta to serve

1. Place the mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, celery, carrots, broth, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and bay leaf in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Add the chicken thighs, and spoon some of the sauce over them.
2. Cook on low for 6-7 hours (or high for 3-3 1/2 hours), or until chicken is cooked through.
3. Stir together the tomato paste and balsamic vinegar and stir into the slow cooker. Stir in half the fresh basil. Change heat setting to high, if necessary, and continue to cook for 15 minutes more.
4. Serve over pasta with the rest of the basil sprinkled over the top.

Trying to warm up

Ah, the trials of becoming a namby-pamby Californian, doomed to shiver uncontrollably at any temperature dipping below 60 degrees Fahrenheit! I even found myself - shock-horror - complaining about the rain this week. Me, a tried and tested Brit, who has climbed Scottish mountains in downpours a Californian would struggle to find words to describe, and probably resort to something like ‘hurricane’, thereby verbally capturing but a small percentage of the unpleasantness of the conditions, particularly when atop a large granite mountain with no cover for miles.

Anyway, I digress! Suffice to say, it is winter, and my mental image of what winter entails now involves fewer puffy down jackets and more casual debates with my child about possibly wearing long trousers to school, before I give up and let him wear his usual shorts. And since I clearly do not have my son’s constitution, and am still shivering even with long trousers, the question is how to warm up. I could, on the one hand, continue my holiday diet of kettle chips, great cheese, lots of wine and copious quantities of chocolate. That would doubtless add to my layers, and therefore insulating capacity, in one way, but I am looking for...err... perhaps a slightly less permanent solution. And the one I have come up with is soup (and fuzzy socks, but that is a conversation for different blog!)

This week’s soup was a hit with all the family, which is rare enough around here. I think the reason (apart from it being delicious and made by their beloved wife/mother of course), is that it has both pasta and beans in it, so is satisfying, even to carb-guzzling teenage boys. And I served it with some crusty bread, which, future daughter-in-law candidates should note, is the way to most boys’ hearts. A good focaccia or ciabatta, and they are yours, hook line and sinker. Moreover, the pasta in question is, in my version, orzo, which has the advantage of being able to pass for rice in appearance, thereby not alerting youngest son to the presence of pasta in his bowl. Yes, I am dastardly in my deception.

The recipe itself comes from a book I bought on a whim years ago called Veggie Feasts by Louise Pickford, which has languished at the back of my cupboard. It isn’t a bad book, per se, but having got my purchase home, there weren’t really many things I was desperate to try. Having tried this though, and enjoyed it, I may find myself reaching for it more often.

Pasta and Bean Soup with Basil Oil

2 TBSP olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ TBSP chopped fresh rosemary

3 14 oz cans diced tomatoes

32 fl oz vegetable stock/broth

2 14 oz cans white beans (e.g. cannellini beans), drained and rinsed

6 oz dried orzo

salt and black pepper

grated parmesan to serve

For Basil oil:

1 ½ oz basil leaves

7 fl oz olive oil

1.     Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, add onion, garlic and rosemary and cook over a low heat, stirring frequently, until onion is softened.

2.     Stir in the tomatoes, stock, beans and some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

3.     Add orzo, return to the boil, and continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes until pasta is al dente.

4.     Meanwhile make the basil oil: Place basil leaves and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth.

5.     To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with a drizzle of basil oil and grated parmesan.

Can you heal me now?

The family are being attacked by some kind of bug this week. Sigh. I guess it is the season for all things bacterial and viral to wreak havoc. One high-point to the week was this soup though, which I would like to suggest has healing powers, not because I have any medical training or, any of that, what do you call it.... proof, but rather because it is extremely yummy and slipped down sore throats with delicious ease. I definitely felt better, for a while at least! The fact that it was easy peasy to make (particularly if you buy ready chopped/shredded vegetables) was a bonus, given that standing over a hot stove is not exactly a desirable activity when under the weather.

I adapted the recipe from one in The Great American Slow Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarborough, undoubtedly one of my favorite go-to books when I reach for my crock-pot. My only critique is that it doesn't have any pictures :-( My tweaks to the original were predominantly aimed at making it a more substantial dish - I find that if I'm serving a soup for dinner, it needs to have something filling in it. If there is one thing I can't stand it is whines of 'But I'm starving!" at bedtime. Fortunately the addition of garbanzo beans did the trick admirably.

In this house, we all love ginger, including when there is enough of it to lend a distinct heat to a dish, as well as a subtle spicy flavor. If you and yours are less enamored with ginger's warming ways, then by all means reduce the quantity I used.

Vegetable 'Penicillin'
Serves 8

10 cups vegetable broth
3 cups small cauliflower florets (if you're cutting up a head, this is about one head)
3 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup shredded/grated peeled sweet potato
1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes (don't bother to skin them)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup grated fresh ginger root (you don't need to peel it!)
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 15oz cans garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained and rinsed

1. Put all the ingredients except the garbanzo beans into the slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on high for 3.5 hours, or low for 5.5 hours, then add the garbanzo beans.
3. Cook for a further half hour, by which time the cauliflower and cabbage should be perfectly cooked.