Roast Heritage Turkey with Sausage, Apple and Pecan Dressing

Maybe it is the times that we live in, maybe its because I love history.  Either way, I find myself drawn to earliest days of our Republic, when people such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were walking and talking. I often enjoy trips to Mount Vernon, Monticello, or colonial Williamsburg. And, with each trip, I ultimately find myself fixated on, not the founding fathers, but the enslaved who served them. The reason is that I am almost always interested in the kitchens. Those kitchens were staffed by slaves, who were responsible for preparing and serving each course to the hosts and guests.  (My interest actually goes far beyond what may have been served to the guests of George Washington and focuses on what the slaves often prepared for themselves with what little they had. If you are looking for a good book that touches on this subject, check out The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty.)

For Thanksgiving 2018, I decided to prepare a meal that would have prepared during the colonial times. I drew from my cookbooks, such as The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook, and, online, such as the recipes provided by Mount Vernon.  Nearly all of the dishes -- from the appetizer to the main course -- were recipes that could find some connection to America's colonial past. (The only exception was the roasted vegetable dish, which I had made in the past.)

When it came to the turkey and dressing recipes, I decided upon the a Roast Turkey with Sausage, Apple and Pecan Dressing.  This recipe comes from the Tavern Cookbook.  One would like to think that this recipe was served back in the colonial era, such as to George Washington, but I have nothing to support that theory.  And, given that Thanksgiving itself did not become a recognized holiday until another one of the great American Presidents (President Lincoln), this turkey and dressing recipe certainly wasn't served to celebrate any holiday. 

As for the actual turkey itself, Thanksgiving 2018 also featured a first in my cooking adventures ... roasting a heritage turkey. My beautiful Angel and my family were going to be celebrating Thanksgiving at home with her parents. This sparked an interest in sourcing a local turkey from a Maryland farm and, even further, a heritage bird that represents the history of this bird.  There are several farms across the Old Line State that raise heritage turkeys, such as Narragansett and Bourbon Red breeds. Ultimately, I chose Nick's Organic Farm, in part because of its location and the variety of products beyond turkey that the farm sells.  (In a way, this was a test of buying directly from a farm; I am looking to procuring more of the meat that I cook with from a farm as opposed to a grocery store.)

I purchased a ten (10) pound Bourbon Red turkey from Nick's Organic Farm. This 10 pound weight makes the the turkey the smallest one that I ever prepared. (I usually have cooked birds between 12 and 16 pounds, and, occasionally, up to 20 pounds in the past.) Given this was the first time that I was cooking with a heritage bird, I did a lot of research into the bird itself, including the white meat to dark meat ratio and the cooking times.  This is where the Internet, for all of its information, can fail someone. There are literally recipes for cooking this bird in two opposite ways: (1) low and slow; and (2) hot and fast. For someone who is new to cooking heritage birds, this is not helpful. Needless to say, I choose the low and low method in the hopes that I could err on the side of caution. It would be far less frustrating (or so I thought) to cook the bird for an additional 15 minutes than to have a bird as dry as the paper upon which the recipe is printed. I cooked it at 325 degrees for approximately 3 hours. Otherwise, I cooked the bird according to the recipe's instructions.  The lower cooking temperature meant that the cooking time was a longer.  For purposes of this recipe, however, I have left the cooking times from the Tavern Cookbook because those cooking times are more appropriate for store-bought birds).

The stuffing recipe also provided a first, in terms of the ingredients that were used and the style of preparing the stuffing. In an effort to produce a stuffing as close as possible, my beautiful Angel baked both French bread and corn bread. As for the principal ingredients, I bought some bulk turkey sausage.  (My Angel only eats turkey, she does not eat pork or beef.) The apples were a combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples. The pecans were, well, pecans.

Typically, when preparing stuffing, I was always told to dip the day-old bread in some turkey stock.  This dipping is to help the stuffing remain moist during the cooking process.  The recipe that I worked with did not call for the dipping of anything in turkey stock.  Instead, the only liquid that was added to the stuffing was 1 stick of melted butter.  This naturally created a drier stuffing.  Given I was working with a smaller bird, I could not put much of the stuffing in the cavity of the bird. The rest went into a greased, glass baking dish and baked separately. I put the dish in at the end of the cooking time for the bird.

Overall, I found the heritage bird to be the best turkey that I have ever eaten, both in terms of flavor and texture. (And, in this regard, I strongly recommend using Nick's Organic Farm.)  The Bourbon Red really does provide a stark contrast to the rather bland meat and texture of a mass produced, broadbreasted white bird.  In fact, the bird is so much better than any other turkey that I have had, that it more than justified the additional cost of the heritage bird. I definitely plan on using heritage birds in the future.  The only change I would make is to stick with the instructions or go with my gut when cooking the bird

ROAST HERITAGE TURKEY WITH

SAUSAGE, APPLE AND PECAN DRESSING

Recipe adapted from The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook, pg .116-117

Serves Many

Ingredients (for the dressing):

1 pound bulk fresh mild or hot sausage
     (I used mild turkey sausage)

2 large onions, finely chopped

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

3 cups cooked corn bread, cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 cups day old French or Italian bread, 

     crusts removed and cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 large cooking apples, preferably Granny Smith,

     peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch dice
     (I used a combination of Granny Smiths and Honeycrisps)

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Ingredients (for the turkey):

1 trimmed turkey (12 to 14 pounds)
     (I used a 10 pound Bourbon Red heritag eturkey)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup (1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups turkey stock

Directions:

1. Prepare the dressing. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, place the sausage and cook, stirring often, until no trace of pink remains. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the skillet. And the onions and celery to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until softened about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the drained sausage, onions, celery, corn bread, day old bread, apples and pecans. Stir in the melted butter, parsley, salt and pepper. 

2. Prepare the turkey.  Dry the turkey inside and out with paper towels. Season the inside the cavity with salt and pepper. Fill the breast and neck cavities with the dressing. Truss the turkey securely with a trussing needle and kitchen string.

3. Roast the turkey.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub the turkey with the butter and season well with salt and pepper. In a large roasting pan, place the bird on its side. Cook for 15 minutes and then turn on the other side for fifteen minutes. Turn, breast side down, in the pan and cook until the back is golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and turn breast side up. Continue to roast for 18 minutes per pound, basting every 20 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer the turkey to a warmed platter and let sit, loosely covered with foil for 10-15 minutes.  

4. Prepare the gravy.  Skim the fat from the surface of the roasting pan juices.  Pour off the clear juices and reserve.  Place the roasting pan on top of the stove and sprinkler over the flour. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until the flour is lightly brown, about 2-3 minutes. Pour in the turkey stock and increase the heat to high. Stir or whisk constantly until the gravy comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the clear pan juices and season with salt and pepper. Strain through a sieve and pour into a warmed gravy boat. Carve the turkey and pass the gravy on the side.

ENJOY!

Clams Calabria

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, "We found some large clams ... which the storm had torn up from the bottom, and cast ashore.  I selected one of the largest ....  I kindled a fire with a match and some paper, and cooked my clam on the embers for my dinner."  Once cooked, Thoreau remarked, "I found it sweet and savory, and at the whole with a relish."

That is the ideal way of finding claims ... strolling along the beach and finding them just waiting to be collected and eaten.  Henry David Thoreau lived from 1817 to 1862, when that was perhaps one of the more common ways one could find a clam.  He also had the blessing of being near a beach where clams could be washed ashore.

Alas, for me (and you), it is not the nineteenth century and my proximity to a beach (and I am guessing that yours) is way beyond walking distance.  It is much closer and much easier to simply walk the aisles of the local grocery store and give thanks for the fact that about 150 years after Henry David Thoreau, the modern distribution system enables those stores to provide large clams.

Recently, the local grocery store had cherrystone clams, which are a relatively large clam.  As an aside, clams are categorized by name.  The smallest are referred to as "countnecks," increasing in size with names as "littlenecks," and "topnecks."  Larger clams are referred to as cherrystone clams and, if you still want to go bigger, then there are the quohog clams and chowder clams.  Most stores carry littleneck clams, and, everyone once in a while, they also carry cherrystones.

When I saw those clams sitting in ice, my mind immediately began thinking of recipes.  It has been a long time since I cooked with clams.  My thoughts immediately turned to chowder.  However, it is June.  The hot weather is not exactly chowder weather.  Then I thought about taking the ingredients in a chowder - potatoes, onions, and bacon - for a topping that could be put on the clams.  At that point, I saw a display with dried sausages, including a hot Calabrian-style sausage.  Substitute that sausage for the bacon and I had a recipe ready to be made.

This recipe is relatively simple ... borrowing from my days cooking in a seafood restaurant.  The clams are steamed in a pilsner beer, although white wine and even water will work fine.  I just happened to have a bottle of beer handy for this dish.  As the clams steam, which takes a while due to their large size, I sauteed the onions, potatoes and some garlic.  I added some paprika and oregano for flavoring.  Once the topping was cooked, I added the sausage.

This was an easy dish to make, and, the topping is quite good.  However, as much as I liked this recipe, I have to admit that nothing is better than a perfectly steamed cherrystone clam by itself.

CLAMS CALABRIA

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves 2

Ingredients:

6 cherrystone clams

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 cup of potatoes, finely diced

1/2 cup of sweet onions, finely diced

1/4 cup of dry Calabrian sausage

2 cloves of garlic finely diced

1 teaspoon of paprika

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 bottle of pilsner beer or 12 ounces of white wine

Directions:

1.  Prepare the topping.  Heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onions and potatoes.  Saute until the onions are soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, paprika, oregano, salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Saute for 1 to 2 minutes more.  Turn down heat to low.

2.  Steam the clams.  While the onions and potatoes are sauteing, heat the beer or white wine over high heat in a pot with a cover.  Once the beer or wine begins to boil, add the clams and cover.  Steam the clams for about 5 to 7 minutes or until all clams have opened.  

3.  Finish the dish.  Remove the clams from the beer and wine, remove the top part of the shell.  Add the sausage to the onion and potato mixture.  Spoon the mixture over each clam with a slotted spoon to ensure that the least amount of oil is added to the clams.  Serve immediately. 

ENJOY!

Turkey Paella

A few years ago, we got a paella pan as a wedding gift.  Making paella has been on my short list of things to do, but, I have had a hard time deciding on which recipe to make.  Basically, there are three types of paella: (1) Paella Valenciana; (2) Paella de Marisco; and (3) Paella Mixta.  There are, however, many more paella recipes that use a wide range of ingredients, including some that I have been wanting to cook with for a long time, such as rabbit.  That variety left me thinking and overthinking my first foray into paella.

It took a very stressful period at work to finally push me into making a paella.  Clare's parents were visiting and, given everyone eats turkey, I decided to make a paella.  Although I spent a lot of time thinking about making a true Spanish paella (focusing particularly upon a Paella Valenciana), I did something very un-Spanish.  I made a turkey paella.

The turkey is the centerpiece of this paella.  I used turkey thighs, because I think the darker meat has more flavor than turkey breast.  I also used a turkey sausage, which was made in a mild Italian style, in the place of chorizo.  Finally, I decided to use turkey stock rather than chicken or seafood stock.  The 1-2-3 combination of turkey thighs, sausage and stock guaranteed that the paella would have a good solid turkey flavor.  To round out the dish, I decided to use some traditional paella ingredients, such as roasted peppers, artichokes, and peas.

One last note: Paella is traditionally made with a particular type of rice, like Valencia or bomba rice.  However, if you are like me, you might not have that rice in your pantry.  A good substitute is arborio rice, which is the same type of rice you would use to make risotto.  Although you would normally stir arborio rice a lot when making risotto, the rice does not have to be stirred when making paella.   

TURKEY PAELLA

Recipe adapted from Saveur

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 to 2  pounds boneless skinless turkey thighs, cut into 2" pieces
12 ounces of turkey sausage, cut into 1/3 inch slices
3 medium tomatoes, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 box of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
8 ounces of fresh or frozen peas
3 jarred roasted red peppers, torn into ½"-thick strips
30 threads saffron, crushed (a scant ½ tsp.)
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
3 dried bay leaves
7 cups of turkey broth
2½ cups short-grain rice, preferably Valencia or bomba
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the base of the rice.  Put the saffron and ¼ cup hot water in a small bowl and let sit for 15 minutes. Season turkey thighs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 16"–18" paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey thighs and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes.  Remove the thighs and add the turkey sausage.  Cook the sausage, turning occasionally, until browned for about another five minutes.  Add the turkey thighs back to the pan and then add the paprika, garlic, bay leaves, tomatoes, and onions.  Cook all of the ingredients, stirring often, until onions soften, about 6 minutes. Add reserved saffron mixture and broth.  Season with salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.

2.  Cook the rice and remaining ingredients.  Sprinkle in rice, distribute evenly with a spoon, and add artichokes, peas, and peppers. Cook, without stirring, until rice has absorbed most of the liquid, which should take about 15–20 minutes, although it may take longer.   Also, if you pan is like mine, which is larger than the burner, rotate the pan every few minutes to make sure that different parts of the paella are over the heat and the rice cooks evenly.)  Cook until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is al dente. Remove pan from heat, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Overall, this paella was very delicious, and it paired very well with a good white wine, such as the Las Colinas del Ebro Garnatxa Blanca from Catalonia.  The use of turkey made for an interesting twist on a traditional Valencian dish.  It also provides an interesting inspiration for what to do with leftovers from Thanksgiving.  But, that will be left for another post.

ENJOY!

The Bolek Family Turkey with Apple Sausage Stuffing

Turkey and stuffing represents a combination of the New and Old Worlds.  The explanation begins with the following scene ... Sixteenth Century Spanish explorers or conquistadors traveling through the New World region that would become part of northern Mexico.  As they pass through town after town, the Spaniards notice that the indigenous people have domesticated an odd, aggressive bird that struts around, "gobbling" all the time. The indigenous peoples may have roasted or stewed the turkey meat, but they did not stuff the birds.  When the Spaniards found that turkeys were delicious and decided to bring the birds back to the Old World.

The popularity of turkey spread throughout Western Europe.  It was a change from the swans, herons and peacocks that graced the plates of the wealthy.  European cooks began to prepare turkey incorporating their own cooking styles, creating a myriad of different recipes.  One such cookbook, Martha's Bradley's British Housewife (1758), collected several of those recipes: Roasted Turkey with Onion Sauce, Roasted with Oysters, "Forced the Italian Way" (i.e., stuffed with a sausage-like mixture), the Dutch Way, with Cray-Fish, au Bourgeois, Boiled the Dutch Way, Stewed, in a Pudding in Guts (sausage links), Glazed, and in a Cullis (sauce). Thus, the Old World way of stuffing birds combined with a New World bird most likely gave rise to what is often the centerpiece of holiday meals here in the United States.

This recipe does not come from any old cookbook.  Instead, this Turkey with Apple Sausage Stuffing recipe is my mom's recipe.  She makes this recipe for Thanksgiving, and, every year, she expertly produces an amazing dinner.  The turkey is always juicy and the stuffing is perfectly made.  I wanted to make this dish for a group of our friends who were coming over to our house for the Easter holiday.  I followed the recipe (with a couple of changes, such as the substitution of turkey stock for chicken broth) and everything turned out well.  However, it was not as good as my mom's Turkey with Apple Sausage Stuffing.  I guess I will need some more practice.  It is a good thing that holidays come several times a year....

THE BOLEK FAMILY TURKEY WITH

APPLE SAUSAGE STUFFING

Recipe provided by my Mom

Serves a lot

Ingredients (for the turkey):

1 whole turkey (about fifteen pounds)

1 cup of fresh thyme, chopped 

1/2 cup of unsalted butter

Salt, to taste

Ground pepper, to taste

Ingredients (for the stuffing):

1 loaf of bread (white or white)

16 ounces of turkey stock (you can substitute chicken stock

     or chicken broth)

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter

4 tablespoons of chopped onions 

1/2 to 3/4 cup of chopped celery

1 to 2 apples, peeled and diced

3/4 pound of mild Italian sausage, browned

1 cup of water

1 egg, beaten

Salt, to taste

Ground pepper, to taste

Ingredients (for the gravy):

5 tablespoons of all purpose flour

3/4 to 1 cup of water

Reserved turkey stock (or chicken stock or broth)
A few drops of Gravy Master

Instructions:

1.  Begin to make the stuffing.  If the bread is fresh, leave on the counter overnight to get stale.  Heat a the butter in a skillet over medium to medium high heat, add the butter, then the onions and celery.  Cook it slowly and stir often to make sure that it does not burn.  Once the onion and celery are soft, remove from the heat. 

2.  Continue to make the stuffing.  Pour the turkey stock into a medium bowl.  Take a couple slices of bread and dip them into the broth.  Squeeze out all of the broth and put the slices into another bowl.  Repeat this process until you have used the whole loaf.  Strain the breadcrumbs and the stock for use later in the gravy.   Pour 1 beaten egg, about a  teaspoon of salt, and a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper, and some poultry seasoning.  Add the apples and the sausage.  Mix everything well.  Set aside.

3.  Prepare the turkey.  The turkey should be defrosted.  (The best way to do this is buy the turkey a couple days in advance and let it sit in the refrigerator.  If it is still frozen on the morning you intend to serve it, place it in cold water for a couple of hours.)  Before taking off the wrapper, read the instructions regarding how long it will take to roast the turkey.  The instructions are usually fairly accurate.  Once you remove the wrapper, wash the turkey thoroughly, inside and out.  Remove the giblets, set aside. 

4.  Stuff the turkey.  Place the turkey in a roasting pan.  Stuff the turkey, starting in the back of the turkey.  Do not pack the stuffing, but make sure that the stuffing fills the cavity.  Also insert some stuffing at the head of the turkey.  (If you have leftover stuffing, place it in a glass baking dish and add it to the oven when there is about an hour left in the cooking time of the turkey.)  Lace the skin over the closures.  Place pats of butter in crevices or on top.  Add water to the bottom of the pan. 

5.  Roast the turkey: Cover the turkey with the roasting pan lid or foil and put the turkey in a 325 degree preheated oven.  About one hour or so before it is done or maybe sooner depending on size of turkey, baste turkey with drippings from bottom of pan, this will help brown up the turkey.  Also add more hot water if necessary so the turkey wont stick to the bottom of the pan.  Also baste any stuffing that is sticking out of turkey. When turkey is almost done, (1/2 hour or so before) uncover it and let finish roasting uncovered.  Also keep basting it if necessary.  When turkey is a nice golden brown, and the drumsticks are loose from turkey, it is probably done  You can use a thermometer to check.  Usually the pop up thermometers in the turkey are not too accurate.  Take from oven, let sit for a couple of minutes.  Pull turkey from roaster and carve.

6.  Make the gravy: Separate fat from juice in the drippings.  Put into medium size kettle.  Bring to a  boil.  Add saved chicken broth and maybe another can if necessary and bring to a boil again.   Use a mixture of several heaping tablespoons of flour to about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of water and shake together to get the lumps broken down.  Put into kettle and stir.  Add Kitchen Magic to make it a darker color.  Gravy should thicken.  Keep stirring and bring to a boil.  If it doesn't, repeat the flour/water mixture but not as much flour or water.

PAIRING THIS DISH

As with chicken and pork, the conventional pairing for turkey -- a white meat -- would be a white wine. Most white wines would work well, with the sole exception of sweet wines.  Some possibilities include Riesling wines from Alsace or Germany, along with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc wines from California, Washington, State or Oregon.  Lesser known varietals, such as Viognier, or lesser known wines, like Vouvray, could work well with turkey.  A couple of white wines that I have previously reviewed that would work with this dish include the following:

Dr. H. Thanisch's Bernkasteler Badstube -- Riesling Kabinett (2009)
100% Riesling grapes
Mosel Valley, Germany
Flavors of green apples and pears

Black Ankle Vineyards -- Viognier (2009)
100% Viognier grapes
Mt. Airy, Maryland, USA
Flavors of pears, along with a little vanilla and oak

Some red wines will also well with turkey and stuffing dishes.  The wine that jumps to mind is a Pinot Noir, but also a Syrah from France could pair well with this dish.  A couple of red wines that I have reviewed that I think would pair well with this recipe are the following:

Thomas Henry -- Pinot Noir (2009)
100% Pinot Noir grapes
Napa Valley, California, USA
Flavors of dark cherries and strawberries

Privé Vineyard -- Le Nord (2006) or Le Nord (2008)
100% Pinot Noir grapes
Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Flavors of cherries, pepper and spice

ENJOY!

For more on the history of turkey and stuffing, check out The American Turkey and Thanksgiving at The Journal of Antiques.

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Andorra

After a break from eating Chivitos al Pan, which was necessary to clear the added cholesterol from my arteries, my culinary adventures take me across the Atlantic Ocean to the little country of Andorra.  I did not select this challenge at random; instead, this is a planned challenge.  I chose Andorra for two reasons. The first reason lies with the cuisine of the country.   Andorra or Principat d' Andorra is a small country nestled in the Pyrennes Mountains between Spain and France.  Despite its location, Andorra is neither Spanish nor French.  Instead, Andorra is Catalan.   The Catalan people have a long history, artistic tradition and cuisine; however, today, the people are split between Catalunya in Spain and Rousillon in France, with the independent country of Andorra in the middle.

Catalan cuisine draws from ingredients found along the Mediterranean coast.  These ingredients include tomatoes, garlic, eggplant, chiles, chickpeas and artichokes, along with poultry, pork, lamb and seafood.  The dishes created by Catalan cooks vary from the seafood-based dishes along the Mediterranean to the heavier, pork dishes found inland.  The inland Catalan cuisine includes, and is sometimes referred to as, "Catalan mountain cuisine."  The cooking in Andorra is a good reflection of the Catalan mountain cuisine.

The second reason for selecting Andorra as my next challenge is the date.  The day, January 17, is St. Anthony's day is Andorra.  Back in the 1970s, some friends got together to prepare the national dish, Escudella, for their neighbors and shopkeepers.  This celebration is a revival of the much older tradition of distributing food amongst the poorest residents.  With every year, more and more Andorrans gathered together to cook and share their national dish.  The celebration was eventually moved to the Village Square in the capital, Andorra La Vella.  And, over time, the Brotherhood of the Escullaires were formed to prepare the stew for each celebration. 

THE MAIN COURSE

This challenge presents me with the opportunity to "join" the Germandat de Escullaires for a day.  I decided to prepare the national dish for Andorra as part of the Around the World in 80 Dishes challenge.  The first reference to escudella was made by a Franciscan writer, Francesc Eiximenis, who was Catalan, in the fourteenth century.  Brother Eiximenis wrote that the Catalan people eat escudella every day.  After having made this dish, I can see why.  Generally speaking, escudella is a Catalan soup with two primary components: (1) the broth and (2) the meats and vegetables used in making the broth.  The broth is basically a stock, flavored by bones, meats and vegetables.

In making this dish, I had to make a couple of substitutions.  The first substitution involves the bones used for the broth.  The recipe calls for both marrow bones and ham bones.  I could easily find the marrow bones, but not the ham bones.  So, I substituted an additional marrow bone or two for the ham bone.  The second substitution relates to the sausage.  The recipe does not specify the particular type of sausage to be used.  After a little research, I decided to use butifarra (or botifarra), which is a traditional Catalan mild pork sausage.  Butifarra can be difficult to find; however, I did find a recipe for making butifarra sausage.  I got all of the ingredients, except for the cure.  I did not need the cure because I was not curing the sausage.  The raw sausage would be browned and go straight into the escudella.  If you plan to make butifarra sausage, check out Len Poli's website, which has general instructions for making the sausage.  

ESCUDELLA

Adapted from My Hungry Tum

Serves 8

Ingredients (for the Escudella):
2 cups of dry cannellini beans
1 marrow bone
1 ham bone
2 chicken breasts or 3 chicken thighs
8-12 cups of cold water
1/2 head green cabbage
1 large potato, cut into eighths
1/4 cup of rice
1 cup chick peas
1 cup of pasta (such as shells)
6 sausages, removed from casings and rolled into balls
2 slices of prosciutto
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper to taste

Ingredients (for the Butifarra Sausage):
1 pound of ground pork
1 teaspoon of salt
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1/8 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 very small pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of nutmeg
1/4 tablespoon of wine vinegar

Directions:

1.  Make and brown the sausage.  Mix the ground pork with all of the ingredients (salt, garlic, cumin, ground black pepper, nutmeg and wine vinegar.  Form small balls or links. Gently brown sausage in cast iron Dutch Oven or pot/casserole w/vegetable oil over medium heat.

2.  Begin the stew.  Rinse the beans in cold water and tie the bones in cheesecloth.  Put both with the chicken, cooked sausage and ham in the pot or casserole with at least 8 cups of cold water and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce flame, and cook gently, covered, about 2 hours or until beans are cooked and chicken very tender.

3.  Remove the meats.  Remove ham and marrow bones and discard them. (I have seen recipes that call to extract and use the marrow, which I did.)  Put chicken aside.

4.  Return the soup to a boil.  If there is only a little liquid left, add a bit of water for the cooking of the remaining ingredients and bring soup to a rapid boil.

5.  Add the remaining ingredients.  When it is boiling, put in cabbage, potatoes, rice, pasta, chick-peas, and pepper to taste.  Continue cooking over medium flame for 30 minutes (or until newly added ingredients are cooked through).

6.  Return the meat to the stew.  A few minutes before serving, put chicken meat, removed from bones and shredded, in the pot to heat.  Season to taste.

7.  Plate the dish.  There are two ways to serve escudella.  One way is to serve the components separately: a bowl of the broth and a plate of the meats and vegetables.  This is known as Escudella i carn d'olla.  The other way is to serve the components together, like a soup or stew.  I chose this second presentation, which is sometimes referred to as Escudella Barrejada.  For this challenge, I plated the escudella using this second presentation. 

*     *     *

Although I was not standing side by side with the actual Brotherhood of Escullaires, this challenge nevertheless offered me the opportunity to cook this amazing Catalan and Andorran stew.  The escudella was great ... the broth was very flavorful, with the beef bones, chicken, ham and sausages making their contributions to the earthy and hearty soup.  The cabbage, potatoes, rice and pasta all added textures that underscored the earthiness of this dish.  Once again, I finish a challenge stuffed, not only with great food, but also with the desire to move on to the next challenge.  Until then, I would like to wish all of the Andorrans out there a very happy St. Anthony's Day, and ...

ENJOY!

For more information about Escudella, check out Slavic Nerd's Travel Blog. 

Couscous alla Trapanese con Pollo e Salsiccia

This recipe is based upon a recipe by Chef Giuliano Bugialli, who wrote a cookbook of recipes from the Italian islands, like Sardinia and Sicily.  Couscous is an ingredient in Sicilian cooking, particularly in Trapani, which is both a city and a province in Western Sicily.  Trapani is near North Africa and, hundreds of years ago, Arabs ruled over this part of the island.  The Arabs brought, among other things, couscous.  Today, the couscous used in Sicilian cooking is usually Moroccan couscous rather than Israeli couscous.  In Trapani, couscous is made with fish, rather than with meat as it is in Northern Africa.

This is one of two couscous recipes that are being posted.  This recipe focuses on chicken and sausage.  While not the traditional ingredients used in Trapani couscous, it provides an alternative for those who do not eat fish and calamari.  This recipe is substantially revised from Chef Bugialli's recipe, primarily to make it easier to make.  One major revision is that the couscous is toasted in butter first.  This helps to develop the flavor of the couscous.  Another major revision is the use of canned tomatoes over fresh tomatoes, because they are easier to use and the puree that comes with the canned tomatoes can help to thicken the sauce.  (For those who like thicker sauces, you can add more puree.)

COUSCOUS ALLA TRAPANESE CON POLLO E SALSICCIA

Adapted from Chef Giuliano Bugialli
Serves 6-10

Ingredients for the Sauce:

1 large red onion

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 pounds of canned whole tomatoes, seeded and

     cut into large pieces, with puree

1 large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

1 large pinch of saffron

20 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, leaves only

6 large cloves of garlic, peeled

10 very large fresh basil leaves

4 tablespoons of tomato paste

3 cups of chicken stock

Ingredients for the Chicken and Sausage:

3 pounds or chicken

1 pound of mild Italian sausage

Salt, to taste

Ground pepper, to taste

Ingredients for the Couscous:

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

2 cups of couscous

1 cup of water

1 cup of chicken stock

1 pinch of saffron

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. First begin preparing the sauce by heating the oil in a large saute pan.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for five minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every once in a while.  Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes.

2.  Finely chop the parsley and garlic together.  Add the chopped ingredients and the whole basil leaves to the saute pan and mix very well.  Cook for 5 minutes more.  Dissolve the tomato paste in the broth and pour it into the casserole.  Lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.

3.  Now prepare the couscous.  Heat the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat.  When the foaming subsides, add the saffron and couscous and cook, stirring frequently until the grains are beginning to brown, about five minutes.  Add water, broth and salt, stirring briefly to combine.  Cover and remove pan from heat.  Let stand until grains are tender, about seven minutes.  Uncover and fluff grains with fork.  Season with ground pepper to taste.

4.  Taste the sauce for seasoning.  Start adding the chicken.  Cook the chicken for a few minutes and then add the sausage. 

5.  Transfer the couscous to a platter, pour the sauce over the couscous and arrange the chicken and sausage on top or on the side.  Sprinkle with parsley.  Serve hot.

ENJOY!