Sunday Dinner: Spanish Stew

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: The good news, dear readers, is that Celia is recovering well from her knee replacement surgery! The bad news is you're getting a recipe from me today, and it's not accompanied by a delightful story of how I met a member of the royal family, or lived in the Far East, or emigrated to New York City. My life has been much, much duller than Celia's. Also, I didn't even think to take pictures when I made this, let alone an instructional video. Julia Child, I'm not.

Instead, I'm giving you a reasonable quick Spanish Stew, perfect for the rapidly cooling weather. If you're in the south, and NOT experiencing any cooling because your power is out, you have all our sympathy and best wishes. Some nights it's a home-made meal, some nights it's a cold sandwich. 

Spanish Stew

 

For the liquid portion:

1/2 cup olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic or 6 t pre-minced garlic (my fave for speed and simplicity)

1 large or 2 regular cans of tomatoes, with their juice

1 eggplant, peeled and diced

1 bay leaf 

1 t cayenne pepper, or less if you have white-person mouth like me.

1 t Kosher salt, or to taste

For the hefty stuff:

2 T olive oil

Chicken breast, cubed. I used 2 breasts for a smaller serving. You can go up from there, depending on how meaty you want this to be

Two large potatoes, sliced into half-moons. Is there a professional term for this cut? If there is I don't know it.

OPTIONAL: Chorizo or similar spicy sausage. Get the kind you can crumble, not the cured kind you slice.

Halved olives. I like Manzanillas for this dish, but you do you. If you don't want to fuss with cutting, get some pre-sliced ones.

1 t paprika

Garnish:

chopped fresh parsley

 

Directions:

In a large pot (I used my Dutch oven) heat the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and simmer for a minute. Put the tomatoes with their juice in and smush them with your spoon. Don't fret about getting them small, there's a blender later on in this recipe. Add the diced eggplant, bay leaf, cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Remember, there will be salt in those canned tomatoes, and if you choose to add the sausage, you may need less cayenne. Simmer for 15 minutes to let the flavors blend.

In a generously sized skillet, heat 2 T oil. When it's sizzling, stir in chicken, potatoes and, if you like, crumbled chorizo. Sprinkle the chicken and potatoes with paprika. Saute on high, stirring frequently, until everything is browned. Remove from heat.

Back to the saucy stuff! Either pour the tomato-eggplant mix into a blender/Cuisinart or use your immersion blender. I finally got one for Christmas after seeing how much Celia uses hers, and it has changed my life. 10/10 would recommend. Take out the bay leaf, then blend until smooth and taste to adjust seasonings.

Into the large pot goes the now-blended saucy stuff, the meat and potatoes, the olives and the bay leaf. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are fork tender.

I served this with popping biscuits because that was what I had, but it would be best with a nice crusty bread and a hearty red, like a Malbec or a Rioja.

Dear readers, what are you having for dinner tonight? And have you been affected by Hurricane Helene?

BOOKING AND COOKING!

Hank Phillippi Ryan:

 

First, fanfare fanfare, BOOKING first. The trade paperback of THE HOUSE GUEST is available today! I always wonder how much difference that makes in anyone's lives, but I hope it does!

 

 And I am going on a tiny little whirlwind book tour to make sure everybody knows: tonight I will be at Brookline Booksmith with the superb Shari Lapena!  Whoa. If you have not read her book EVERYONE HERE IS LYING, it is an absolute page turner. Honestly, if I hadn't had to make dinner yesterday, I would not have budged from my chair. (SO fun to have my paperback launch day be with such a superstar--and we get to talk about HER book! Perfect.)

 

Wednesday I go to Jacksonville, Florida to appear at the Jacksonville Public Library.

Thursday off to Atlanta, for the Atlanta Authors series at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.

Thursday, still in Atlanta, at the Sandy Springs Library.

Saturday, racing back to Massachusetts to appear at the Barnes & Noble Hingham. (With some names you will recognize!)

 And then Sunday, in Plainville, at An Unlikely Story Bookstore, with Patty Callahan Henry to talk about her brilliant THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA.

And then zooming back home to zoom for The Back Room, with Kathy Reichs, Polly Stewart, Tosca Lee and Don Bentley!

 

Whoa. And you can get all the deets here.

 

But on to COOKING!  Last week we went to get our farm shares, and we got zucchini and eggplant and golden yellow squash, which meant... make something up.

Something Parmesan? Something Ratatouille?

 

 So here's what I did.

 

I sliced the zucchini and eggplant and squash and salted them liberally, and left them for two hours so the water would come out. So much water comes out, and that makes a huge difference.  (I cut the eggplant  and golden like coins,  and the zucchini in strips. Whatever.)

 

Then I roasted the zucchini and eggplant and squash in olive oil till they were brownish around the edges, then I topped that with parmesan cheese and popped it under the broiler until the cheese browned.

 

Then I took the whole thing out of the oven.

 

Then I lightly olive-oiled a LeCreuset enamel oval pan, put the cheesy veggies carefully along the bottom. Then I sprinkled that with halves of cherry tomatoes from our own garden, then tiny bits of mozzarella cheese, then sprinkled with parmesan cheese, then bacon bits, then snipped basil and fresh parsley from our garden. Popped that back into the oven until the cheese burbled--you can tell it's done.

 

 And wow wow wow it was delicious. Here's a picture.

 

And then –although it was completely unnecessary, I served it with sautéed shrimp.

 

BOOKING AND COOKING! Reds and Readers, either of those things on your schedule this week?

(And oh, because it's August 1, "rabbit rabbit." SO much to remember!)

The more things change, the more they actually DON'T stay the same

JAN BROGAN - We often talk about how great things used to be, and how today's rude drivers, bad manners, cell phones, etc. annoy us. 

It's not that I can't complain with best of 'em, it's that every once in a while it's a good idea to take deep breath and put it all in perspective. One thing I've learned in historical research, especially when I was looking back at the 1970s, is that some things actually improve and we don't notice  We all have a tendency take the improvements for granted and whine about what's not up to par.

 I  hear a lot of people today complain about young kids in the workforce. They can't write complete sentences. Their spelling is atrocious. They can't take criticism because they have been praised all their lives.

But I've been working on a writing project, interviewing eighteen people under thirty. What I've been struck by is their dedication. What I've also noticed in this group,  and in my kid's graduating classes, a lot of young people have a strong sense of "giving back" and doing something worthwhile for the world. All the emphasis on community service in high school and college - that I thought was a lot of resume padding - actually had an effect. These kids are willing to work for very little money to take jobs in really rough places to try to make them better.

In my generation, a lot of people talked about saving the world, but in this generation, a lot people are actually making sacrifices to try to do it.

So that's the one thing I've noticed is getting better today, (that and the ready availability of really good coffee) So how about you, what's the ONE thing you notice is improving?



HALLIE EPHRON: So Jan goes right to charity and good works. Where does my mind go? Food! Oh, gosh, I can remember when eggplant was considered a delicacy in the supermarket, along with soppressata and fava beans. And the only breads you could get were "brown" or "white." Now, if anything, there are too many choices. Vive la global economy! Not to mention local farms.

And remember when you had to watch where you stepped on city streets? I never thought people would scoop their poop, but they do. Or not smoke. Remember when the minute the lights went out in the movie theater someone lit up? And how men in the work place used to think it was fine to say the most embarrassing things to women. And you not only had to deal with telephone calls from people selling you something you didn't want, they came to the door! Yes, some things have changed for the better.

RHYS BOWEN: I will blend both Hallie and Jan's comments and say that we are more aware that we live on a fragile planet and have to husband resources. Until recently the earth was seen as a big candy store from which we could take what we wanted. Now we're recycling, conserving and going back to local farming. All good things. As is the whole world speaking English, making travel so easy.

Smaller good changes? Women not having to sit under a hair dryer in rollers, no more recipes that include cool whip, jello or cream of mushroom soup.

LUCY BURDETTE: Rhys, you're right about conserving resources. It wasn't too long ago that bringing in a reusable bag to the grocery store was considered the territory of a nut job. Now everyone has cloth bags--hurray!

But Hallie's right about food, as usual. Farmer's markets everywhere...and no one would consider serving slimy chop suey out of a can, the way my mom did. Do you remember that stuff? The only thing edible was the crunchy noodles that you sprinkled on top.

And although I know some people love old cars, I have to say new cars have improved a lot--more comfortable, safer, better mileage...I wouldn't go back to my old Dodge Dart!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I agree with all of the above (except I am terrible at actually remembering to take my reusable bags into the supermarket...) but Rhys's comments about sitting under hairdryers in rollers cracked me up. I would add, having come of age in the era of the blow-dryer, that I think flat irons for women's hair are a great boon to civilization. I used to iron my hair straight on the ironing board!


And I second no-more-chow-mein from a can, and at least fewer recipes calling for Cool Whip or Cream of Mushroom Soup.

But one of the changes I'm most grateful for in my lifetime is the ban on smoking in public places. Oh my gosh, especially traveling in the UK, where often there was no place to eat other than the local pub. You walked into a pall of smoke. Your eyes stung, your throat hurt, and then you couldn't get the smell out of your hair or your clothes... I consider Smoke Free a huge leap forward for mankind.


ROSEMARY HARRIS: Absolutely agree with Debs on smoke-free. I grew up with 3 smokers - it's no wonder I love the outdoors, I started going out on my own at age 8! I would add nutrition labeling on food. I don't know what I did before that...I had a little calorie booklet that I bought at the market. And I can't resist the mention of technology. I've driven over 20 hours in the last 8 days and I don't know what I would have done without the GPS.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Ah, you don't have to get up to change the channel on TV? And you can watch whatever you want, whenever your want? Fine, maybe easier TV is not the one thing.  ATMs? On-line banking? I just read an article saying that deaths from traffic accidents have decreased--because cars are so much safer. Oh--sunscreen!
 
JAN BROGAN - See, life isn't so bad, after all. Tell us  Reds, what is the one thing you notice is getting better?

Leaning Tower of Eggplant

ROBERTA: Since five out of the six of us are headed to the New England Crimebake in Deadham, MA this weekend, I thought I'd leave you with a recipe. At a recent dinner out with girlfriends to the Guilford, CT Bistro, we were treated to an amazing eggplant appetizer. Two towers of fried eggplant were interspersed with sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. And then curlicues of arugula were arranged on top with a spritz of balsamic vinaigrette over all.

I just happened to have a few white eggplants and a few lingering
heirloom tomatoes from the tail end of the garden, so I decided to try
to recreate the leaning tower of eggplant for my husband.

Unfortunately, I didn't read instructions about how to fry eggplant
until right before I started the dinner. So too late to soak the
eggplant in milk for 2 hours, I took the Sicilian mama's suggestion
about slicing it lengthwise and salting. Once the liquid beaded on the slices, I washed and dried them, then dipped in egg, followed by flour. I used peanut oil for frying. when the slices were all nicely
browned, I layered them with fresh mozz slices and the tomatoes on a bed of greens. Then sprinkled arugula and vinaigrette over the top.
Truly delicious! the only bad part will be the lingering smell of
frying...and the fact that it's all gone...