Dayrecipe Food Community

Shullie Neumark of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, writes: “I like cooking but I’m a little bit impatient, which is why I make dishes that can be done ahead of time — and quickly. I hate being rushed before meals, especially when guests are on their way over. Those guests are usually good friends or members of our large family. My husband and I emigrated from South Africa seven years ago. I am retired from preschool teaching, but I still keep busy by cooking for the family. A typical South African dinner is a barbecue with lots of grilled lamb chops and sausages.”

Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2pounds lamb stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1tablespoon all purpose flour
• 3tablespoons olive oil
• 1large green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1medium onion, finely chopped
• 33×1/2-inch strips lemon peel
• 2garlic cloves, chopped
• 2small bay leaves
• 2cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1tablespoon tomato paste
• 4medium carrots (about 8 ounces), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1cup frozen petite peas
• chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS Place lamb in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add flour and toss to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add half of lamb and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer lamb to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining lamb. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same pot. Add bell pepper, onion, lemon peel, garlic, and bay leaves. Sauté until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Return lamb and any accumulated juices to pot. Add broth and tomato paste. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 50 minutes. Add carrots; cover and simmer until lamb and carrots are tender, about 20 minutes longer. Add peas. Simmer uncovered until peas are tender and gravy thickens, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Season stew to taste with salt and pepper; ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley.

If you have a gas grill and want great smoky flavor, soak hickory-wood chips in water one hour. Drain well; place chips in a disposable aluminum pie pan directly over flames (or over lava rocks if they are part of the grill’s design). Allow chips to begin smoking, then grill vegetables until tender.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Spicy Barbecued Rib-Eye Steaks with Smoked Vegetable Salsa.

Makes about 5 cups.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 4large fresh anaheim chilies,* halved lengthwise, seeded
• 1large onion, quartered lengthwise
• 1large yellow bell pepper, quartered
• 1head of garlic, top 1/3 cut off, head left intact
• 1/4cup corn oil2cups hickory-wood chips, soaked in water 1 hour, drained
• 19-inch-diameter disposable aluminum foil pie pan
• 1/3cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4teaspoon cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add oil; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Arrange hickory chips in foil pie pan; place directly atop coals. Allow chips to begin smoking, about 10 minutes. Grill vegetables until tender, turning frequently, about 10 minutes for tomatoes, 20 minutes for chilies, onion, and bell pepper, and 35 minutes for garlic. Transfer vegetables to cutting board. Cool. Remove any loosened peel from tomatoes, chilies, and bell pepper. Peel garlic. Coarsely chop all vegetables; transfer to medium bowl. Mix in cilantro and cayenne pepper. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

* Also known as California chilies. Available at Latin American markets and many supermarkets.

A complete vegetarian main course, with fresh herbs and Moroccan accents.

Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 2cups diced peeled eggplant
• 1 1/2teaspoons salt1 1/2cups water
• 1cup couscous
• 2 1/2tablespoons canola oil
• 2 1/2tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1cup diced peeled carrots
• 1cup diced zucchini
• 1cup diced yellow crookneck squash
• 1cup small broccoli florets
• 1cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2cup diced red onion
• 2garlic cloves, minced
• 4tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 2tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

DIRECTIONS Toss eggplant and 1 teaspoon salt in medium bowl; let stand 30 minutes. Rinse and drain eggplant. Pat dry.

Bring 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil in large saucepan. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 10 minutes. Uncover; fluff with fork.

Whisk 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and vinegar in small bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant and carrots; stir-fry 3 minutes. Add zucchini and next 5 ingredients; stir-fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add couscous and vinegar mixture; stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in basil and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Makes about 2 quarts.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2lb portabella mushrooms, caps and stems cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1lb shallots, left unpeeled, quartered
• 1lb carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 6 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs (including stems)
• 5fresh thyme sprigs
• 4garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 2tablespoons olive oil
• 1cup dry white wine
• 2bay leaves (not california)
• 1cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 2qt water

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss together mushrooms, shallots, carrots, bell peppers, parsley and thyme sprigs, garlic, and oil in a large flameproof roasting pan. Roast in middle of oven, turning occasionally, until vegetables are golden, 30 to 40 minutes.

Transfer vegetables with slotted spoon to a tall narrow 6-quart stockpot. Set roasting pan across 2 burners, then add wine and deglaze pan by boiling over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes. Transfer to stockpot and add bay leaves, tomatoes, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Pour through a large fine sieve into a large bowl, pressing on and discarding solids, then season withsaltand pepper. Skim off fat.

Cooks’ note:
• Stock keeps, covered and chilled, 1 week, or frozen 3 months.

Vegetable broth is rich and delicious when made correctly. The peels add color and vitamins, and the mushrooms lend great flavor. There are many varieties of veggie broth in cans too. Try both homemade and canned. You also can substitute canned chicken broth for the Fresh Vegetable Broth in any recipe.

Makes 4 cups.

INGREDIENTS

• 10 cups water
• 1 medium-sized onion, unpeeled, studded with 4 whole cloves
• 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and lightly bruised
• 2 celery ribs with leaves, cut into large chunks
• 8 white mushrooms, halved
• 2 carrots, unpeeled and cut into large chunks
• 2 leeks, trimmed and cut into large chunks
• 2 medium-sized tomatoes, quartered
• 4 medium-sized new red potatoes, halved
• 8 fresh parsley sprigs
• 2 fresh dill sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

DIRECTIONS 1. Place water in a large, heavy pot. Rinse all the vegetables well, then add to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour. Adjust the seasonings to taste and simmer for 30 minutes longer.

2. Strain the broth; discard the bay leaf but reserve the vegetables to eat as is, or pur
e them and use to thicken soups or sauces for stews. Let the broth cool to room temperature and then refrigerate, covered, in a storage container or freeze. Refrigerated, it will keep about 4 days. This recipe is easily doubled, and you will need more than 4 cups of broth for three of our soups.