FOOD:Stay toasty in the cold season with simple dishes that can easily become part of your repertoire, writes Domini Kemp
MY ASSISTANT, Maisha, and I went on a bender of recipes from the famous Union Square Café Cookbookrecently. The Union Square Café is a restaurant that is seen as a stalwart of American-brasserie cooking. The recipes weren't the short, simple, easygoing ones we tend to favour. No way. Some of them were four, five and six pages long, turning into long-winded cookery sermons that went on, and on . . .
Many of them were never going to become handy recipes that would nestle into your repertoire. These were marathon recipes that became advertisements for the chefs rather than ideas for their patrons. A few of them (including the Italian beef stew, pictured right) worked out really well, but two of the recipes were just plain old, horrid.
We tried to fool ourselves into thinking they might be considered edible, if bathed in enough positive light. But once we reminded ourselves to forget about the labour and washing-up involved and just focus on the flavour in front of us, they were soon destined for the bin.
I have to say, I was bloody furious. A recipe that doesn't work is so frustrating, especially if it takes ages and promises fantastic results. One feels really cheated, so I do apologise if any of our recipes fail because it is an utter waste of time and money.
What we try and do is come up with our own dishes (the beans-and-bacon one outlined on this page is a case in point) or we take ones from books that look promising, then cut out the steps that could be categorised as unnecessary while, hopefully, ensuring the dish remains tasty and simple.
At least that's the idea, but for anyone who happens to cook instinctively, the business of following a recipe is a discipline that's hard to manage. Sometimes, it feels like someone is telling you to go left when you know it's quicker and better to go right.
It may be childish, perhaps, but I much prefer reading about the philosophy or rules a chef likes to cook by, rather than a blanket list of how much and when. Most chefs use books as a way to encourage culinary light bulbs to go off in their heads. It may be a way of presenting a dish, or it might be a way to combine flavours you hadn't thought of using together before.
Whatever way a recipe ends up working for you, the best part is when it makes the leap from the page and settles permanently in your brain to become part of your regular repertoire, without ever having to consult the recipe again.
Beans and bacon (serves 2)
This is very popular in our household. Feel free to up the herb, chilli and garlic quotient as much as you like.
Splash of olive oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
Pinch of caster sugar
200g lardons/ bacon/ chorizo
2 cloves garlic, finely diced.
1 glass white wine
1 tin flageolet beans, drained and rinsed
Sprig of thyme
Pinch of chilli flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
2 heaped tbsp crème fraiche
Heat the olive oil and fry the onion until soft and starting to colour. Add the sugar and the bacon or chorizo, fry until crispy, then turn down the heat and throw the garlic into the mix. Pour the wine in, deglaze the pan and then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix gently and simmer for a few minutes until well blended and piping hot. Season with loads of black pepper (I rarely add salt as the bacon gives it plenty of flavour).
This dish is perfect with a green salad and a hunk of nice bread, and also tastes good with a sprinkle of Parmesan.
Italian beef stew (serves 4-6)
This has a robust tomato flavour and is nice served with some mash, but is even better with some pappardelle. Ask your butcher for beef that's suitable for braising or stewing.
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5kg diced beef, suitable for braising
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 bay leaf
2 good pinches of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp tomato puree
250ml red wine
500g jar/carton passata
Sprigs of sage and parsley, chopped
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees/ gas mark three. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole saucepan. When it is hot, fry the beef until brown. Keep the heat up high and allow 10-15 minutes to do this.
Add the onions, garlic, bay leaf and season well. Mix in the remaining ingredients except for the herbs, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for an hour. Check the seasoning and cook for longer if the meat is still a bit tough. If the sauce is too liquid, remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes. At this stage, you can add the herbs for the final blast of cooking.
This tastes even better if made a day in advance, and reheated. dkemp@irish-times.ie