During Winter, Savor Hearty Fare

After a week or so of asparagus and strawberry weather, winter
is back with a vengeance. Forecasts call for freezing temperatures
and rain this weekend with the possibility of snow at high
altitudes.
After a week or so of asparagus and strawberry weather, winter is back with a vengeance. Forecasts call for freezing temperatures and rain this weekend with the possibility of snow at high altitudes.

Of course, what we experience during winter in this part of California is usually mild compared to weather in most of the country, or even in our own mountain ranges. As a result, we can get fresh vegetables, including salad ingredients, even during the coldest winter days. Our long growing season helps, as does globalization and our increasing access to crops from other countries.

It wasn’t always this way, of course. Our ancestors, both in this country and in our various countries of origin, used to rely much more on what they could grow and catch during the warmer months. They were skilled in preserving it, without freezers, for the months of scarcity.

Chickens typically stop laying eggs this time of year. Grains would need to be shared with draft animals to ensure they had the strength to plow when the land was ready.

I remember reading somewhere a theory that the feasting and revelry that have come to us as Mardi Gras or Carnevale (the very word “Carnevale” linked to the Latin for “goodbye to meat”) originated in early Europeans’ need to consume much of the food stored from the previous harvest before it became inedible. So, they feasted to bursting in the dark winter nights.

Similarly, Lent has its roots as a time of sacrifice in the forced sacrifice caused by scarcity in the season before spring. As modern humans, we are lucky to be able to choose whether to “eat lean” during the Lenten period.

This week’s recipes feature dishes that invite us to gather round the hearth and enjoy each other’s company over something warming and fortifying, to strengthen us for the rest of the winter. Meaty soups or succulent stew is also relatively flexible as to ingredients and forgiving as to timing.

Either of these can be served with crusty bread and butter, with a light fruit-based dessert.

White Bean Soup with Sausage and Collard Greens

(adapted from www.marthastewart.com)

Serves 4

You can keep everything you need for this dish on hand–sausage and collards in the freezer, canned beans, onion and vinegar in the pantry.

1 package (12 ounces) frozen bulk sausage, thawed and crumbled

1 medium onion, chopped

2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped collard greens, kale or mustard greens, unthawed

2 cans (15.5 ounces each) cannellini beans, drained, rinsed, and slightly mashed

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 Tbs. red-wine vinegar (optional)

Step 1: Cook sausage and onion in a large saucepan over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until fat renders, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes more. (If bottom of pan starts to burn in spots, sprinkle with water and scrape up blackened bits.)

Step 2: Add collard greens, beans and 4 cups water; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until soup is slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Adjust consistency of soup with water, if necessary. Stir in red-wine vinegar, if desired.

Beef Stew with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Pearl Onions   

(from www.cooksillustrated.com)

Make this stew in a large, heavy-bottomed soup kettle measuring at least 10 inches in diameter. If the kettle is any smaller, you may need to cook the meat in three batches rather than two.

Serves 6 to 8

4 ounces bacon, cut into small dice

3 pounds chuck-eye roast , cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

1 1/2 tsp. table salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 medium onions , chopped coarse (about 2 cups)

3 medium cloves garlic , minced

3 Tbs. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups red wine (preferably full-bodied)

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 pound white mushrooms , brushed clean and quartered

1 cup frozen pearl onions (8 ounces)

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Step 1: In a large soup kettle over medium heat, cook diced bacon until browned and crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Drain bacon bits on paper towel lined plate and reserve drippings separately.

Step 2:  Heat oven to 300 degrees.

Step 3: Place beef cubes in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat over medium-high heat in large nonreactive soup kettle; add beef to kettle in two separate batches. Brown meat on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch, adding remaining tablespoons of bacon fat if needed. Remove meat and set aside.

Step 4: Add chopped onions to now empty kettle; saute until almost softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic; continue to saute about 30 seconds longer. Stir in flour; cook until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine, scraping up any browned bits that may have stuck to kettle. Add stock, bay leaves, thyme and reserved bacon bits; bring to simmer. Add meat; return to simmer. Cover and place in oven.

Step 5: Heat 2 tablespoons of reserved drippings in large skillet until hot and add mushrooms; saute over high heat until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from skillet, then add frozen pearl onions (previously cooked according to package directions). Saute until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Reserve.

Step 6: When meat is almost tender, about 1 1/2 hours, add mushrooms and pearl onions to stew. Cover and return to oven. Cook until meat and pearl onions are tender, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Stir in parsley, adjust seasonings and serve. (This can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated up to three days.)