COOKING FOR THE PLANET
Reducing food waste with great recipe ideas!
All you need to know about cooking great casseroles and stews
A warming stew or casserole is great comfort food, and you can make it out of just about anything. Use whatever vegetables are in season or in your crisper. Check your pantry for ingredients such as soup mix or split peas or prunes. Stews are a good way of using up odd things in your fridge and pantry such as left over stock or tomato paste or pesto - even chutney can be good in a stew. You don’t need a recipe just follow the simple steps below and experiment with different flavours.
With so many other ingredients in your stew you don’t need much meat. Of course, you don’t need to use meat at all, you can use dried beans, peas, chickpeas, and root vegetables that can withstand long cooking instead, but adjust the cooking time.
Use less tender cuts of meat for stews as tender cuts of meat tend to become dry with prolonged cooking. A little bit of fat and connective tissue adds flavour to a stew as it breaks down in the long cooking process. If you are worried about too much fat cook the stew the day before it is needed. Store it overnight in the refrigerator and remove any fat or oil on the surface of the dish before reheating it next day.
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BASIC RECIPE METHOD
1. Heat fat
Use olive oil, peanut oil, oil and butter, dash of sesame oil, mustard oil, and other flavoured oils.
2. Brown meat quickly, drain on paper towel
Use meat with plenty of connective tissue for long slow cooking e.g. Gravy beef, chuck steak, skirt steak, pork shoulder, lamb shoulder, shanks.
3. Cook aromatics until soft or transparent
Gently sauté onions, leeks, celery, capsicums, garlic, chilli, shallots, ginger, diced carrots, mushrooms, bacon, pancetta, prosciutto.
4. Toast spices
Briefly fry spices such as cumin, turmeric, paprika, peppers, mustard seeds, until aromatic. Don’t let them burn.
5. Add liquid
Deglaze with red wine, white wine, port, beer, cider, stout, or just water. Add stock and maybe some tomato puree.
6. Add filling ingredients
Use potatoes, sweet potatoes, pearl barley, rice, lentils, split peas, dried or canned beans, (soak dried legumes overnight) or make some dumplings to add later.
7. Add vegetables
Add seasonal vegetables – time needed to cook depends on tenderness e.g. tins of tomato, corn, champignons don’t require much cooking.
8. Add extra flavourings
A little salsa, pesto, chutney, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, olives, anchovies, herbs add zing.
9. Cook slowly
Cook slowly on low heat and test to see when meat is tender. Keep meat in liquid or it will dry out as it cools.
10.Thicken
Thicke with little cornflour and water, or simmer to reduce, or add a flour roux, or flour the meat before browning to thicken as it cooks.
11. Garnish
Add a gremolata or dash of pesto, or dob of yoghurt, or chopped herbs, when serving.