Comfort Food Recipes x 2

February is barely over, but for the past few weeks I've been in a cozy sort of mood. Even on those few clear, warmish days I've been inclined towards roasting and braising and comfort. Perhaps it's because - despite the unseasonably mellow California climate - deep down I know that it's still winter, and that in most places the ground is still covered in snow. In California we may not get snow (unless you're in the mountains), but seasons DO still apply when it comes to green and growing things. Our growing period may be longer, and it is possible to grow tomatoes in a hothouse or ship them in from Chile. But give me gorgeously fresh and local kale, chard, potatoes, leeks, brussels sprouts, and carrots over a mealy tomato or out-of-season strawberry ANY day. That's why my Farm Fresh To You shipment is so exciting; because everything in it is from Capay Organic's farm, grown within 90 miles of my own front door. They didn't use up a ton of resources to get them to me, and I know they're absolutely fresh.

This week's post includes two comfort meals: Shepherd's Pie and Pot Roast. Shepherd's Pie (good Shepherd's Pie) is my boyfriend's favorite meal and Pot Roast is my childhood favorite. I grew up eating - and adoring - my grandma's "Stringy Roast Beef" (aka pot roast) with carrots, potatoes and gravy. Done properly, the meat is succulent, tender, and absolutely falling apart. With my refrigerator stuffed full of vegetables, I needed to update both of these recipes to include more green things. So I did!


Fiona loves rainy Saturdays...& Shepherd's Pie!

Comfort Food #1: Shepherd's Pie with Leeks, Brussels Sprouts, and Carrots

Shepherd's Pie is a simple concept: a layer of mashed potatoes over a layer of lamb over a layer of veggies. Cottage Pie is the same idea, only using beef. In both cases you can use ground meat or tender shoulder meat, braised until falling apart. I haven't tried the latter kind yet because ground lamb is really yummy and less expensive (and quicker!). Good quality ground beef will work fine if you can't find lamb. Having followed recipes the past 2 times I made Shepherd's Pie, this time I decided to venture out on my own. I'm very glad I did. Most recipes call for peas and corn (neither of which are in season when you're most likely to crave Shepherd's Pie) for the veggie portion, and frankly, frozen veggies just don't cut it when there are better SEASONAL options out there. I was amazed that I couldn't find shepherd's pie recipes using leeks, brussels sprouts or winter greens, as these veggies are so at home with butter and potatoes and braised meat. I decided to trust my instincts, and I'm happy to post my own recipe for Shepherd's Pie with leeks, brussels sprouts and carrots! An optional addition or substitution for the veggies are braised winter greens; I tried this with half of my pie, and really really liked it. It's also good as a side dish for both recipes featured in this post.



Veggies:

1 lb brussels sprouts, quartered (keep any loose outer leaves)
2 large/3 medium leeks, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds and halved
5-6 largish carrots, peeled and cut on a bias (diagonally) into 1 inch pieces and halved
2 TB butter
2 TB olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock/broth
1/4 cup white wine (can substitute water)

Heat oil over medium heat for 1 min; add butter. Once melted, add leeks. Cook for 5 min, or until slightly softened, stirring occasionally.
Add brussels sprouts and carrots, (add more butter or oil if not enough to coat veggies). Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
Add wine and chicken stock. Cook until most of liquid evaporated and veggies softened but still firm-ish (you don't want them mushy!), about 5-10 min, possibly longer. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.




Meat:

1-2 lbs ground lamb
1 medium white or yellow onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB olive oil
1/4 cup chicken stock/broth
splash of red wine
chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat 1 min.
Add meat; cook, stirring, until mostly browned, 5-6 min.
Clear spot in middle of pan, add onion (and more oil, if bottom of pan is dry); cook 2 min.
Season with salt and pepper. Add broth/wine, cook until thickened and onions transparent, about 5 min more. Add parsley, season to taste. Set aside.

Potatoes:

1-2 lbs potatoes (russets or yukon gold), peeled and halved
3-4 TB butter
1/4 cup chicken broth/stock (or cream/milk)

Boil potatoes in salted water until they fall apart easily when pierced with fork. (10-30 min, depending on size of potatoes)
Mash potatoes with electric mixer (or pass through potato ricer) in bowl with butter, broth (or cream), and salt and pepper. Taste, adjust seasonings/liquid as desired. Potatoes should be plenty fluffy, but not soggy. Set aside.




Assembly:

1 egg white
freshly grated parmesan
fresh chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350.

Place veggies in bottom of deep baking dish, keeping most of juices. Layer meat on top, keeping most of juices. Smear potatoes on very top, covering meat entirely. Sizes of layers should be very close, although potato layer can be a little thicker. Brush top of potatoes lightly with egg white (helps the top of the potatoes get slightly crisp). Sprinkle with parmesan, parsley and pepper. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until bubbling and slightly golden/brown on top.


(sorry, no "after" photos...we ate it too quickly!)


Braised Winter Greens:

I used multiple kinds of kale and chard. You can also include collard greens, but you may need to cook them a little longer. You can add these to the bottom layer of the Shepherd's Pie, or serve as a side dish!


Before


After
2-3 bunches mixed winter greens (center ribs removed & torn into pieces)
1 small onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 TB olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2-3 tsp fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. When shimmering, add onion and cook until softened, about 5 min. Add garlic, cook until fragrant, 1 min.
Add half of greens, cook until wilted, 1 min. Add rest of greens, broth, and salt. Cover and reduce to low, until greens are tender, up to 20 min.
Take lid off, turn heat to high, cook, stirring frequently, until most of liquid evaporated, 5-10 min. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and squeeze of lemon.

If you prefer your greens more toothsome - and less cooked - an alternative to this is to roll up greens into cigar shape, slice thinly, and then quickly saute with oil, garlic and lemon over med-high heat for 5-10 min, until bright green and slightly softened. With collard greens, you actually don't need to increase the time for this method.

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Comfort Food # 2: Stringy Roast Beef with Leeks, Potatoes, & Carrots

Growing up this was my absolute favorite thing to eat; adding more veggies and braising to the mix makes it even yummier! Thank you Grandma!!!



Roast:

1 4-lb boneless chuck roast
several slices of slab bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, quartered
3 cloves of garlic, whole
1 cup red wine
several cups of chicken broth
2-3 bay leaves

Vegetables:

1 lb potatoes, scrubbed and quartered into 1 - 2 inch pieces (you can use any type, but the larger the potato the more times you'll have to cut it!)
6-8 large carrots
2-3 med leeks, white and light green parts sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, sliced into large pieces
several cloves of garlic
other assorted wintery veggies (I threw in some button mushrooms, left whole or cut in half, depending on size)

Gravy

3 TB juices from roast
2 TB flour
1/2 - 1 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 325 F. (it is okay to cook it slightly faster at 350, but the slower the better!)

Season roast with salt a few hours before cooking and chill; remove from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking (roast should be room temp so it will cook evenly!)

Fry bacon over medium heat until just cooked, about 10 min. Remove bacon, drain off most of the fat. Place roast in pan and brown on all 4 sides, about 2-3 min per side. Set roast aside.

Add wine to pan, turn up heat, scrape off brown bits from bottom of pan. Cook for 2 min. Add juices from pan to a roasting pan; add broth, 1 roughly chopped onion, several whole cloves of garlic, 2-3 bay leaves, cooked bacon, and more wine if you want! Liquid should only be about an inch or so high. Cover and cook in oven for about 2 hours.

Remove roast from pan; carefully remove vegetables, bacon, and most of liquid (but leave a little behind). Reserve the liquid from the pan for gravy and other uses (you can use it to make gravy for leftovers or strain it, freeze it and use it to flavor broths and sauces!)



Toss carrots/potatoes/leeks/onion/garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place roast back in pan and surround with vegetables. If veggies start to overflow (more than 2 inches high) you can cook the rest in a separate pan. Cover and return to oven for 45 min to 1 hr. Check every 20 min or so to make sure veggies don't get too soft. You can also leave pan uncovered for this last part to let everything brown a little, if you prefer. Meat should give way easily when touched with a fork. Veggies should be soft but not mushy.



Heat a few TB of pan juices over medium-high heat. Add 1 - 2 TB of flour, whisking constantly. Whisk in some chicken broth in a steady stream until it reaches a consistency you like. Cook for 2 min, whisking constantly. If you prefer no flour, you can just add broth and some red wine for a quick pan sauce.

Serve with braised winter greens from recipe above!





Happy Eating!