Vegetable Coconut Curry

August 15, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Main Dish

A few weeks ago I was asked to participate in a curry cook-off fundraiser through which my dear friends Antonio and Nicole from Science in a Suitcase were raising money for volunteers to go on a trip to Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India. Their organization sends engineer volunteers to third-world countries to expose children to science.

I got to know Nicole and Antonio through my job, but we really got to be friends when earlier this year I volunteered for them in Siem Riep, Cambodia teaching elementary school kids Lego Robotics. I spent three days at a local school teaching with legos and building cool stuff like motorized tuk-tuks and boats with a group of super shy yet creative kids. Even though it was exhausting spending 8-10 hours in a hot classroom with no A/C, it was so rewarding. It felt so good to share my passion for science and engineering with such a bright and eager group--they even came to school on a Saturday just so they could spend an extra day learning from me. Education isn't a given in that part of the world, and children don't take it for granted like is often the case here at home.

The trip to Cambodia wasn't work-related though. Everything was organized by my amazing girlfriend Roni, who singlehandedly made all the arrangements to make sure we had a great time there. I haven't mentioned it yet here, but Roni has a social business called krama wheel that empowers women in Cambodia to work from home and help kids get access to education: for each handmade scarf or beach throw sold she donates a school uniform to a child in need.

If you aren't familiar with recent Cambodian history, in the late 70's during the Khmer Rouge regime under the leadership of Pol Pot, over 25% (2-3 million out of 8 million people) of Cambodia's population was executed or died in forced labor camps due to strenuous working conditions, malnutrition and lack of medical care. Most of the victims were intellectuals ranging from doctors to teachers. Pol Pot's idea was to create an agrarian socialist country where only peasants were needed. According to his calculation, to achieve this utopia he needed only one or two million people.

The effects of those horrible crimes are still noticeable in Cambodia. Literacy and education rates are low and poverty is peaking. On this trip I had the chance to experience what fuels Roni's drive to succeed with krama wheel. She took me to some of the most isolated villages in rural Cambodia where families cannot afford to send their children to school for various reasons, one common one being that they don't have the funds to buy school uniforms (which are mandatory), another being that families require their children to help in the fields to ensure a successful harvest to make ends meet.

I come from a poor country and lived under the communist regime of Ceausescu. I know what is it like to have meager food rations. I know what is it like to have no freedom of speech, to live in fear of the secret police agency (Securitatea). It was bad, but at least I had access to education. Education is what helped me be the person I am today. That's why I feel so strongly about education and wanting to help others in need. I truly feel that education is the most powerful tool for changing the world.

As for the curry, I didn't win the cook-off. An absolutely amazing lamb curry came in first and a duck curry in second. Mine was one of the top-voted among the vegetarian curries and I received praises by many of my Indian co-workers, which honestly made me feel more honored than any award could. The vegetable list in the recipe is pretty extensive. I added so many, because I had to cook for 8-10 people, but you can opt to add less. Enjoy!

VEGETABLE COCONUT CURRy

Serves 6-8
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 can coconut paste (about 14 oz) (or coconut milk with 1 tsp potato starch)
6 oz Greek yogurt - optional (add more coconut paste if you want it vegan)
6 oz tomato paste
3 TBS ghee (or unsalted butter)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander, ground
1 TBS kosher salt
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and diced to 1/4 inch cubes
1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced to 1/4 inch slices
1 1/2 lbs ravaya eggplants, trimmed and quartered to 1 inch chunks (or regular eggplants)
1 lb cauliflower florets
3 cups vegetable broth (4 cups for more curry sauce)
1/2 lb French beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans, drained - optional
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup roasted cashews
salt, to taste

Paste

3/4 cup unsalted cashews, soaked in warm water for 15-20 minutes
3-4 Thai chilies, roughly chopped
1/2 cup cilantro stems, roughly chopped
7 garlic cloves, crushed
2 inch ginger root, crushed and roughly chopped
4 large ripe tomatoes, roughly diced
1 TBS kosher salt

Tempering

1 bunch fresh curry leaves (about 15-20 leaves)
1 cinnamon stick
8-10 cloves, whole
8-10 green cardamom pods, whole
2-4 black cardamom pods, whole
1 tsp black mustard seeds, whole
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds - optional
2 dried bay leaves
1 star anise, whole

Paneer

1 tsp peanut oil (or canola, or sunflower seed)
14 oz paneer, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 tsp coriander, ground
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp peanut oil (or canola, or sunflower seed)
1 tsp salt

Instructions

In a bowl combine coconut milk, yogurt and tomato paste. Whisk until all ingredients are combined. Let the mixture sit at room temperature while you proceed with the rest of the recipe.
In a food processor mix all the ingredients under paste. Pulse until you reach a smooth consistency. Set aside.
In a large deep stainless steel skillet heat one tablespoon ghee over medium-high heat. When it melts and starts smoking add all spices under the tempering section. Toast until mustard seeds start to pop and spices become aromatic, about 1 minute. At this point you can remove and discard the larger spices (cloves, anise, cardamom, bay leaves, fenugreek seeds) if you'd like, as the spices already released their aromatic oils.
Add the rest of the ghee, let it melt and then mix in onions. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until onions are translucent.
Pour in the paste mixture and cook until it thickens, about 10 minutes. Add turmeric, chili, coriander powder, and one tablespoon salt. Stir well.
Add sweet potatoes (do not add the regular potatoes yet, if using), carrots, eggplant and cauliflower. Pour in the veggie broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy. Remember that you'll cook them more so don't overcook them.
Meanwhile, in a bowl combine one teaspoon oil, paneer cubes, coriander, turmeric and chili powder. Mix well until the paneer is evenly coated. In a non stick pan heat the rest of oil (2 teaspoons) over medium heat. When the oil is hot and it easily slides across the pan, add paneer cubes. Cook until golden brown on each side, about 5-10 minutes. When done, sprinkle with salt, transfer the paneer to a plate and set aside.
Return to the large skillet. Temper the coconut and yogurt mixture by transferring one ladle at a time of the hot curry into the mixing bowl. Once tempered, pour the mixture into the skillet, and stir to combine.
Add potatoes, beans, chickpeas and paneer and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Taste and adjust saltiness. Chances are that the curry will need a lot more salt.
Remove from heat, sprinkle with cilantro and more cashews if you'd like.

NOTES

Some of the spices used for tempering are unpleasant to bite into. I personally don't mind them (except for the fenugreek which is very bitter) and usually just leave them all in the curry and remove them when eating. Alternatively you can use a tea ball for the more intense spices after you toasted them.
Don't be surprised by the amount of salt you'll need to use. It's normal when working with vegetables.
Serve hot over basmati rice or with naan bread with a side of raita.

Homemade Tagliatelle Cacio e Pepe with Brussels Sprouts

July 31, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Main Dish

I know a lot of people get nervous when it comes to making homemade pasta, but I've never been intimidated by it. This may come off as cocky, but believe me, it's actually quite simple to make pasta. It consists of four basic ingredients: flour, eggs, olive oil (or water) and salt. Nothing else. It's not like baking or bread making where you have to be super precise, pay attention to the hydration of the dough and all that jazz.

Making pasta was one of my favorite pastimes with my Hungarian grandmother Jolika. She made pasta quite often (that was the only option during the communist regime, as the stores didn't sell such things). Most of the times she made either a traditional Hungarian type of pasta stuffed with prune preserves called derelye (coming soon, I promise) or a thinner variation of the well-known angel hair pasta which she used in her homemade chicken noodle soup. The process is the same as with any other type of pasta. It doesn't matter if you're making tagliatelle, spaghetti, ravioli or linguini you will have to knead, rest, roll, cut and dry the pasta. Five steps and you're done.

Preparing homemade pasta from scratch can be time consuming and exhausting. Nowadays though the process is overly simplified by all the available tools and gadget. Kitchen mixers and pasta machines can be found in a lot of households, but even if you don't have any of these tools, you can still make it happen the old school way. I don't own a mixer, so I have to knead the dough by hand which I actually like doing even though it can be tough on your arms. It gives me a better feel for the consistency of the dough which lets me adjust it by adding water or an extra egg when too dry, or flour when too wet.

When Jolika used to make it, she had to roll out the dough with a rolling pin and then cut it with a very sharp knife. I mentioned in one of my previous posts that whenever she was making pasta she would give me a tiny piece of dough to practice rolling with my own mini rolling pin. It actually helped me a lot, as I still remember what the right consistency for the dough needs to be. Another important thing that I learned from Jolika was to use the right type of flour. Even in Hungary, when making tészta (pasta), we always used nullás liszt "0" which, as you may already have guessed, is the "00" flour. One day I'll have a kid and I'll do the same thing as Jolika did when I was a child

The inspiration for this recipe came from an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation. It's the Sicily episode where he's going to this cute little trattoria and eats what "could be the greatest thing in the history of the world" according to him. When I heard this, I already knew what dinner was going to be the next day. I know that brussels sprouts aren't normally part of this dish, but they were in season and cheap when I came up with this recipe last fall, so I tossed them in. As for the lemon and sunflower seeds, I took a tip from a Bon Appétit Foodcast podcast (How to Make a Killer Summer Pasta episode) that suggested adding a bit of acid and nuts or seeds to elevate the taste of the pasta. Buon appetito!

HOMEMADE TAGLIATELLE CACIO E PEPE WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Serves 2-4
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Inactive time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb "00" flour
2 whole eggs, pasture raised
2 egg yolks, pasture raised
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS olive oil, extra-virgin
1 TBS water (if needed)
1/2 cup "00" flour, for kneading and rolling
1 1/2 TBS salt, for boiling the pasta
2 TBS butter, unsalted
2 thai chilis
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 lb brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved
1 TBS olive oil, extra-virgin
1 TBS black pepper, freshly ground
1 cup Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano-Reggiano), freshly grated
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
1/2 lemon

Instructions

Start with the pasta. In the center of your work station (preferably a large wooden cutting board) heap up a half pound of flour. Keep the rest nearby. Make a “well" in the center and pour in the eggs and the yolks. Add salt and one tablespoon olive oil and beat the mixture lightly with a fork. Using your fingertips, gradually start incorporating the flour into the egg mixture. Gradually work the dough together until all the flour is mixed in. The dough should be sticky and it should hold together. Depending on the size of the eggs, you may need to hydrate your dough if it is too dry by adding one tablespoon of water.
Knead the dough using the palms of your hand, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Make a ball out of the dough, sprinkle flour, wrap ball in plastic, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in 5-6 equal parts. Slightly drizzle water over a kitchen towel and cover the 5-6 small dough pieces. You will work with one at a time, so the damp towel will keep them from drying out.
Take the first piece of dough, flatten it with your hands so that it is 1-inch thick and sprinkle with a little flour on both sides. Using a pasta maker, roll out the dough. Start with the thickest setting and work your way to the desired thickness. For tagliatelle I usually stop at the 5 setting.
To stretch the pasta into a sheet, roll it through the pasta maker on the rest of the settings, going down one level at a time, rolling it through about 2 or 3 times on each level. The more you run it through the machine, the silkier your pasta will be. If the dough starts sticking at any point, sprinkle some flour on it.
To cut the noodles, run your pasta sheet through whichever cutting attachment you prefer, running it through in the same way as when you stretched out the sheets.
Once the noodles are cut, hang them to dry over a pasta hanger or place them on parchment paper and sprinkle with flour.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water (one and a half tablespoons of salt) to a boil.
While the water is getting hot, heat butter in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted and starts foaming, add chilis and garlic. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add brussels sprouts and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the brussels sprouts from the pan to a plate and set aside.
In the same skillet that you used for the sprouts, heat one tablespoon of olive oil until it slides easily across the skillet. Toss in cracked pepper and roast for 2-3 minutes. Add the brussels sprouts back into the skillet and remove from the heat.
When the water in the pot is boiling drop in tagliatelle and cook for 2-3 minutes at most. Fresh pasta takes a lot less time to cook. Save one cup of pasta water and then, drain the pasta using a colander. Shake off excess water and add pasta to the skillet with the brussels sprouts.
Stir, add the pasta water and cook for about 2-3 more minutes until the pasta is al dente. Remove from heat and add the cheese.
Toss well until pasta is evenly coated. Before serving, squeeze half a lemon all over the pasta and sprinkle toasted sunflower seeds on top.

Notes

When using the pasta maker, run the dough through the largest setting at least 4-5 times, folding it in half after each roll.
When making tagliatelle, I recommend that you don't go higher than setting number 5-6 on the machine as your pasta will be too thin and will break easily. Also the texture is not going to be the same.
Make sure you don't burn the garlic as it will become bitter.

Breaded Sweet Farmers Cheese Dumplings (Túrógombóc)

July 23, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Dessert, Main Dish

I'm curled up in a blanket on the couch with a cup of coffee to my left and a snoring Popsi to my right. Roni and I both have our own rituals that we take very seriously on weekday mornings. While Roni likes turning on the news and sipping her coffee on the couch, I prefer reading the news on my laptop. I start my day browsing sports news in Romanian (God, I miss soccer) and then move on to reddit to checkout what's happening in the world, or to my blog to work on my next post.

I was browsing through my drafts to see which recipe to post and I came across these farmers cheese dumplings or túrógombóc, as we call them in Hungary, that I made with my mom and niece. I then realize that it's been already over a month since my visit to Hungary and Romania. It's scary how fast time flies. It seems like it was yesterday that I was hanging out with my family, eating a bunch of good food and going to Balaton with my niece, sister and mom.

My niece, Rebeka, helping me preparing the cheese mixture. — My niece, Rebeka, helping me preparing the cheese mixture.

Every time I go home and meet up with old friends we start talking about how things are in the US and how my life changed ever since I moved across the pond. It's usually a great conversation as I am usually asked about things that I almost never think about. It is not easy to explain the differences between Europe and the U.S. especially to my friends who have never been here before. Of course they follow me on social media, but the problem is that I'm not that active on Facebook. Most of my posts are about food or travel, and just a few about my everyday life. Fortunately, Roni is tagging me in her posts, so people get an idea of what is it like for me to live here.

Whenever I'm in Hungary, the most frequent question I'm being asked is what I like the most about living in the U.S. and what I miss the most about living in Europe. The first one is not a hard question to answer, the second one the other hand is a little more difficult. Apart from the standard "I miss my family and friends"- which holds true by the way- there is more that I miss about Europe. I had to think about it for a while, but once I did, a lot of things came to my mind. Small things that may seem insignificant at first, yet still, once they aren't present in you life anymore you realize how important they were.

Amongst the things that I miss the most about Europe are the mornings and their dynamic. I realized this while I was in Debrecen. I was still jet lagged so I woke up earlier than usual and decided to take a walk to the neighborhood market for breakfast. It was 7am and the sun was already up, yet still the streets were almost empty. Think of it as the moment when you wake up. You're in bed, you slowly open your eyes and, unless you're some hard-core boot-camper, you start stretching and getting to your senses. That's how morning are in Europe- so peaceful, so slow.

There were only a handful of people on the streets walking towards the tram or bus station. No cars at all, just a few bicycles. Everyone was silent. All you could hear are the birds chirping. As I walked by the houses, I saw people with morning hair opening their windows and letting the fresh air wake them up. It was a bit chilly and even though I was wearing a t-shirt, I didn’t feel cold. I smelled fresh coffee. I looked to my right and I saw a young couple, still in their pajamas, sitting in silence on their apartment's balcony and sipping coffee almost in slow motion. They weren’t talking, just enjoying that moment of silence.

My mom, Rodica, holding a delicious bowl of túrógombóc

As I walked further down the street, I got closer to the market. I saw more and more people. I saw the early birds, the elderly. Some of them trudged, some of them slowly rode their bicycles. I thought, "I rarely see elderly people on the streets in Austin. Where are they? What happened to them? I miss them." Soon enough the dynamic changed. More and more cars made their way on the streets, the bicycles started moving faster and more people waited at the bus stops. The day had started!

BREADED SWEET FARMERS CHEESE DUMPLINGS (TÚRÓGOMBÓC)

Serves 6-8
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Inactive time: 1 hour

Ingredients

2 lbs farmers cheese
1/2 tsp salt
5 TBS sugar
6-inch vanilla bean pod (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
1/2 fresh lemon, zested
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
3 eggs, pasture raised
10 TBS semolina
2 TBS butter
3 cups bread crumbs
1 TBS salt
3 TBS sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl combine farmers cheese, salt, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, raisins, eggs and semolina. Using a wooden spoon stir well until all the ingredients are combined. Cover with a plastic wrap and place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour. This will allow the semolina to absorb the moisture which will soften it.
In the meantime, add butter to a deep skillet. Heat butter on medium-high flame until the it melts. Add breadcrumbs to the skillet and toast until they become golden brown. Once brown, set the skillet aside.
Fill a large saucepan or pot half way through with water. Add one tablespoon of salt to the water and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
Wet your hands, grab a small handful of the cheese mixture and form golf ball sized dumplings. Place the dumplings (túrógombóc) into the boiling water and repeat until you've used all the remaining mixture. Once the dumplings are done they will float to the surface, after about 5 minutes. Using a sieve or a slotted spoon scoop them out and gently shake them to get off the excess water.
Transfer dumplings to the breadcrumb skillet. Mix well until all the dumplings are well coated with breadcrumbs.
In a small cup mix the remaining sugar with the cinnamon. Sprinkle sugar cinnamon mixture over dumplings before serving.

Notes

Alternatively, serve túrógombóc with a side of homemade apricot jam, blueberry flambé or sour cream.

Bacon Wrapped Venison With Balsamic Fig Reduction

June 25, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Main Dish

I'm now in Singapore, but my mind is still in Hungary. I love going there and getting to see old friends that I worked with for 4 years before moving to Austin. It always fills me with joy being around them. I wasn't able to let all of them know that I would be coming home, so when I ran into them in the office hallway or cafeteria they were surprised and happy to see me. We just start talking and it always feels as though I never left, even though we hadn't seen each others in years. The conversations start where they been left off years ago.

The thing that I love to do the most while I'm in Hungary - apart from hanging out with old friends- is eat. Eating is sacred in Hungary and meat, in any form and shape, is the ultimate food. Game meat is especially common in Eastern European cuisine.

Although my dad and grandfather were big into hunting, it never turned into something that I was interested in. As a kid I joined dad on a few of his hunting trips, but I was more fascinated by the nature than killing animals. As kids our role was to herd the game towards the hunters. I shot only a few times in Romania, since firearm restrictions are a lot more strict. I never actually shot anything, but came close to shooting a duck once. Another time I saw a deer about 50 feet away from me but when I pointed the gun in its direction and saw its big wet eyes, I couldn't pull the trigger. My dad wasn't happy with that, so he stopped taking me hunting.

What I loved most about dad's hunting trips was that we never returned empty-handed even though we didn't always shoot something. If we saw beautiful mushrooms, we'd pick them. I learned which ones were edible and which one were not from my mom, who read several books and was able to recognize the good ones. Other times we'd pick wild berries. Or sometimes dad would shoot pike fish. Pike is well known to spawn really close to the surface where they are visible from the shore. That's when my dad would shoot them and bring them home.

I know game meat is not for everyone. Roni, for example, will not eat any game meat, no matter how well prepared it is. Venison tenderloins and backstraps are absolutely delicious and if you haven't tried them, please do because you're missing out on something extraordinary. I prefer marinating them before cooking to remove the gamey taste and infuse them with great aromas. When preparing game meat in Romania and Hungary, juniper and nutmeg are always present, as they help bring out the sweetness of the meats that makes them so delicious. Game meat pairs really well with fruity sauces or reductions. If you have fresh berries on hand you could use that instead of figs.

As for a side dish, I prefer mashed potatoes with pan roasted meats. I also found parsnips and broccoli in the fridge so that's how this mash came to be. Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Venison With Balsamic Fig Reduction

Serves 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Inactive time: 1/2 day

Ingredients

Marinade

1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10 juniper seeds
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Venison

1 1/2 lbs venison backstrap, cleaned (or tenderloin)
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
8-10 slices bacon (or prosciutto)
2 TBS peanut oil (or sunflower seed oil)
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1-2 sprigs fresh oregano (or rosemary, thyme, or tarragon)
salt, to taste

Balsamic Fig Reduction

1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1/2 cup dry Solera sherry
1/3 cup beef stock
10-12 fresh figs (or 1/2 cup fig preserve with lemon juice to reduce the sweetness)
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 TBS unsalted butter
salt, to taste

Parsnip and Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

1/2 lbs parsnips, peeled and diced
1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
1/2 lbs broccoli florets
1 1/2 TBS salt, for boiling the vegetables
3 TBS butter (or basting fat from the venison or a mix of both)
1/2 cup milk (or heavy cream)
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
salt, to taste

Instructions

Mix all marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag along with the venison backstrap. Seal the bag and shake well. Put the backstrap in the refrigerator and let it marinade overnight.
Preheat oven to 360F (180C) degrees. Put the parsnip, potatoes and broccoli into a large pot. Cover with water, add 1 1/2 TBS of salt and bring to a boil.
Remove venison from the refrigerator, pat dry and discard the marinade. Sprinkle fresh ground pepper on it. Lay bacon or prosciutto overlapping each other about a quarter of an inch on a plastic wrap. Place the venison on the top and slowly lift the plastic wrap starting from the top end. The venison will start rolling over the bacon. Wrap everything tightly in plastic plastic wrap. Set it aside and let it rest for 10-15 minutes at room temperature.
By this time the vegetables should be boiling. Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are easily pierced with a fork. Set an alarm if you have to because you'll be multitasking.
Add oil to a heavy bottomed or cast iron skillet.
Heat oil over medium-high heat until it starts shimmering. When it's almost smoking add wrapped venison and roast it for 3-4 minutes on each side until the bacon is crispy. If using prosciutto you may need to cook it for about 2 minutes on each side.
Reduce heat to medium, add butter, aromatic herbs and crushed garlic and baste venison wrap for 5 more minutes. Scoop out 3-4 tablespoons of grease and save it in a small bowl. You'll need it for the cumberland sauce and the mash.
Remove skillet from heat and place it in the middle shelf of the oven. Cook for about 10 minutes or less. If you have a thermometer make sure the inside temperature of the venison is not higher than 125F (50C) degrees.
While the meat is in the oven, start the cumberland sauce by adding half of the saved fat to a small or medium sauce pan. Heat it up over medium heat and add shallots. Sweat them for 2-3 minutes and add the sherry and vinaigrette. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Add the beef stock and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Add the figs and lightly crush them with a spatula or spoon. Cook for 5-6 minutes, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until the sauce thickens. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Transfer venison to a plate and wrap it in tin foil and let it rest for 5 minutes. This is an essential step for every meat that you roast. If you don't rest it the meat will bleed when sliced losing the delicious and precious juices.
By this time your vegetables are tender as well. Drain them well and while they are still warm, add butter (or grease from the venison basting sauce), cream, and black pepper. Using a potato masher or a hand mixer, mash the vegetables to your desired consistency. If you like it creamier add more butter and mash them longer. I prefer my mash chunky so I always use the masher. Taste the potato mash and adjust saltiness. You will need more salt than usually because of the sweetness of the parsnips and broccoli.
Cut venison into medallions and serve with the fig reduction. Serve with parsnip and broccoli mash, or alternately with asparagus, roasted rustic potatoes or creamy polenta with cheese.

NOTES

I use a plastic wrap to help with wrapping the bacon tightly around the venison. It also saves me some time as I don't need to wrap the bacon strips around the venison one-by-one.
If you are not using a heavy skillet, the cooking times may need to be less. I prefer cast iron because the heat is distributed evenly and the shifts in temperature aren't that sudden when reducing/increasing heat under it.

Slow Cooked Oxtail and Short Rib Ragù With Homemade Gnocchi

June 04, 2015 by Aurel Pop in Main Dish, Side Dish

Today is my favorite day of the year- it's my birthday! I'm turning 32 which feels great, but scary at the same time. I'm getting old. It feels like it was not long ago that I left my hometown of Satu Mare, Romania to move to college to Timisoara. The first year was perhaps the best year out of the five that I spent there. I lived with three of my best friends from high school: Ovi, George and Cristi. We were a crazy bunch, but somehow we always stayed out of trouble even thought we often towed the line.

Ovi and Cristi played backgammon (Table in Romanian) every single night. Sometimes I would wake up in the morning and they would still be in the kitchen playing. They kept a running score and after a year, the score of the sets was something ridiculous like four hundred and something to four hundred and something. This may not seem to be a lot at first glance, but let me clarify that each set consisted of a best-of-eleven series. The funniest part wasn't even that, but the amount that they bet: 5 RON (less than 50¢).

George and I weren't into board games or gambling, but we were obsessed with this computer game called Football Manager. We'd spend most of our free time playing it. I think the most we played in one sitting was twenty-something hours. The boys didn't really know how to cook so I was responsible for feeding our crew. In exchange, they would wash the dishes (dishwashers are not common in Romania), clean the house and run errands. It was a pretty sweet deal for me, because I loved cooking.

The all-time favorite dish in our house was a bolognese pasta that I made with fresh vegetables, ground meat, and lots of cheese. Not parmesan though because it was way too expensive for our broke-college-student taste. We always served this with cheap wine that we either bought from Recaș, a winery close to Timisoara, or from the tiny convenience store next to our apartment for the equivalent of $1 for 2 liters.

This oxtail and short rib recipe is a lot different though. It is without a doubt the most time consuming of all of my recipes. I make it only once or twice a year and that's not because of the time it takes to cook, but mostly because it yields so much ragù that we stock up our freezer with leftovers.

Next week, I'll go on a three-week long business trip. First, I'll head to Hungary for a conference where I will be presenting, and then to Singapore to help a customer get a system up and running. Although very exhausting I love these kinds of trips. I enjoy traveling to new places, and even though I've been to both Hungary and Singapore before, I managed to get the return ticket with a two-day layover in Tokyo. I've never been there before, but based on what Anthony Bourdain keeps mentioning in his shows, Tokyo is the food mecca where chefs want to retire and die.

One of the reasons I decided to make this hearty dish now, in the middle of the summer, is this trip. I wanted to stock up the freezer for Roni for when I'm gone. She hardly ever cooks, but now with my blog up and running, she does it even less often. When I'm not at home to make food she will eat tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Although I don't mind her eating tacos, I don't want the crew at El Tacorrido to get false hopes that she was back to eating there every day only to get heartbroken again when I return.

This is a recipe you must try. I know it's a lot of time that you will need to sacrifice in order to make it, but it's worth it. Once you taste it you'll understand what I'm talking about. Words can't describe how delicious this dish is. It's a hearty piece of heaven, the perfect dish for a dinner with friends and family. Open a bottle of good red wine, share stories about your old college shenanigans, and have great laugh. After all that is what food should be about: love, friendship and joy.

Slow Cooked Oxtail and Short Rib Ragù With Homemade Gnocchi

Serves over 20
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 7 hours
Inactive time: 6 hours

Ingredients

Ragù

3 TBS unsalted butter
1 lb oxtail
2 lbs beef short rib, bone in
1/4 cup olive oil
1 big yellow onion, finely chopped
1 leek, cleaned and finely chopped
4 celery stalks, finely chopped
4-5 carrots, finely chopped
7 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
2 TBS unsalted butter
1/2 TBS black pepper, freshly ground
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 1/2 TBS dried oregano
1 tsp nutmeg, ground
1 star anise, whole
3 dried bay leaves, whole
3 big cans (32 oz) San Marzano tomatoes
1 cups beef stock
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bunch fresh basil, finely chopped
2 inches of parmesan rind
7 anchovy fillets
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan, freshly grated
2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
salt, to taste

Gnocchi

2 pounds russet potatoes
2 1/2 TBS salt
1 1/2 cups "00" flour
2 egg yolks

Instructions

Ragù

In a large-heavy bottomed deep skillet melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium high heat. When the butter starts foaming (don't wait any longer otherwise it will brown and then burn) place the short ribs and oxtail in the pan and brown the meat for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Do not overload the skillet with the short ribs and oxtail. You risk reducing the heat in the pan to the point where the meat will not brown and will become greasy. Instead, work in batches if you have to.
Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Add olive oil to the same skillet and scrape off the burnt pieces of meat. Toss in chopped onions, leeks, celery and carrots (mirepoix) and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions become translucent, about 10-12 minutes. Add crushed garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.
In the meantime take a large cast-iron dutch oven and melt the rest of the butter over medium heat. Add the browned meat and season with half tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper. Add milk and let it cook while you take care of the mirepoix and wine reduction.
When the mirepoix is tender pour it over the meat and milk mixture. In the same skillet that you used to brown the meat and sauté the mirepoix add wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add oregano, nutmeg, black pepper, anise and bay leaves and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for about 5-7 minutes.
Pour the wine mixture into the dutch oven and add one cup beef stock. The milk, mirepoix, wine and beef broth mixture should cover the meat by 1-2 inches. If not add more stock to completely cover the meat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the dutch oven and simmer for an hour.
Remove the lid from the dutch oven and pour in the San Marzano tomatoes. Set the heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil. Add the rest of the beef stock, thyme, basil and Parmesan rind, reduce the heat to low and let the sauce gently simmer (it will bubble very slowly). Cover the dutch oven and cook for about 4-5 hours. Every half an hour or so check the sauce, gently stir and make sure nothing is burned and stuck to the bottom. It shouldn't be the case if you're simmering it on low heat and using a cast-iron dutch oven, but check it just in case. You don't want to burn your sauce after spending so much time and money on the ingredients.
After 4-5 hours the meat should already be falling off the bones. Remove the bones and discard them. Add the anchovy fillets. You're almost there. Set the burner to minimum heat, stir in the parmesan cheese and simmer uncovered for another hour. If you're making the gnocchi, now it's the right time to start preparing it.
Add olive oil to a medium size skillet, add gnocchi and sauce to your liking, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Gnocchi

Put potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Add a tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer (medium heat) and cook potatoes for 15-20 minutes depending on the size. When pierced with a fork the potatoes should feel very tender.
Drain potatoes and run them under cold tap water. Remove peel (they should slip off easily) and pass them through a potato ricer, food mill or grater. I don't have the first two kitchen tools so I grated the potatoes on a small hole cheese grater.
Sprinkle potatoes with the flour, add the egg yolks and half tablespoon salt. Knead well until the ingredients are mixed well and the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes. Cut the dough into 5 pieces, sprinkle flour on the rolling surface and roll them out into long ropes (about 3/4 on an inch thick). Cut dough into thumb size pieces (or smaller if that's what you prefer) and place them on a piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle with flour and let them rest.
To cook, bring a large pot of generously-salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi to the pot making sure you don't over fill it. Work in batches if you have to. Stir gnocchi and let them cook for about 1 minute until they float to the top. Remove them from the water using a sieve.

NOTES

If using a non-stick dutch oven for the ragù, the cooking times may reduce a bit. I prefer the cast-iron though because the heat is distributed evenly and the temperature swing is minimal.