Vegetable Beef Lo Mein

There’s something about eating noodles with chopsticks that, to me, has always seemed supremely exotic and fun. I know that sounds provincial, as quite literally half of the world eats noodles with chopsticks as an everyday occurrence and thinks nothing of it.

Growing up in the 80’s though, in suburban New England, films in which New Yorkers ate Chinese take-out straight from the box with chopsticks, always made me want Chinese food. Now, when I find myself in a standard American Chinese restaurant, I can’t pass up the lo mein. But, as with any food, I like to know what’s in it and where it came from, so I like to make my own Lo Mein at home.

This is a colorful dish, great to serve as a main course. The beef tenderizes as it marinates in ginger and soy sauce, resulting in satisfyingly tender chunks of beef. Bell peppers and snow peas add color and the udon noodles offer the perfect tooth.

Vegetable Beef Lo Mein – serves 4-6

1 1/2 lb well-marbled beef sirloin tips, cut against the grain into 1 inch cubes
1/4 C soy sauce
1 T grated ginger
1 8 oz package udon noodles
2 T olive oil
1 red bell pepper
1 orange or yellow bell pepper
1 C snap peas, de-strung
1 onion, chopped

Combine the ginger and soy sauce, and toss with the beef. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles as directed. Drain, rinse and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in the colander. Set aside.

Over medium-low heat, caramelize the onions for 10 minutes. Add the peppers and snow peas. Cook for an additional 10 minutes until the colors become vibrant, watching the heat to be sure not to burn the vegetables. Remove from heat.

In a deep sauté pan or shallow stock pot, bring the olive oil to a shimmer over medium-high heat. Add the beef, lower the heat to medium/medium-low and saute for 10 – 12 minutes, until the juices begin to thicken.

Add the noodles to the beef and toss. Turn off the heat, add the vegetables and toss.

Serve hot.

Beef Empanadas

I made a lovely locally raised, grass-fed top round roast the other day. I should say, it was lovely, until I tragically overcooked it. Horrors, I know.

What do you do when life gives you overcooked grass-fed top round roast? Make empanadas. That’s what I always say.

This is a good recipe for any leftover beef, overcooked or not. But, if the meat is a little on the dry or tough side, the acidity in the vinegar and tomato paste will help to break down it as it rests in the fridge.

It seems a little odd to add raisins to a meat dish, doesn’t it? Go with me on this one though. Raisins lend little bursts of sweetness, while cured black olives – I like oily, wrinkly Gaetas – bring a briny punch. Together as a team, they give empanadas a nice balance.

Beef Empanadas - makes 8

2 C diced roast beef
2 T olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 T vinegar
2 T tomato paste
1 t ground cumin
1 t smoked paprika
1/2 t granulated garlic
2 C all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 C shortening, chilled
1/2 C cold water
1/4 C raisins
10 cured black olives, pitted and minced (the brinier the better)
1 egg, beaten

Sweat the onions and diced jalapeno in olive oil on low to medium-low heat, being careful not to let them brown.

Combine the vinegar, tomato paste and spices in a small bowl.

In a larger bowl toss the meat with the spice mixture and sauteed vegetables. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the pastry: Pulse the flour, salt and shortening in a food processor until it has the texture of cornmeal. Gradually pour the water into the feed tube while the dough spins. Turn the dough out and form it into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and slice into eight discs. Roll each one out to about 7 or 8 inches in diameter, they should be about a 1/4 of an inch thick.

Remove the beef mixture from the refrigerator and toss with the raising and olive (we’re doing this after the big chill to avoid the raisins from macerating).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Working one by one, scoop a slightly heaping 1/4 cup of the beef mixture onto one side of a round of dough. Fold the dough over and press the edges together. Starting from one end, fold the dough over itself along the edge and pinch it slightly to form a seal. Place each empanada onto a greased baking sheet.

Brush each one with the beaten egg.

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until lightly golden in color.

Serve with a nice big dollop of sour cream and a nice big glass of sangria.

Ingredient origins: beef – Maine; egg – New Hampshire; vinegar and flour – Vermont; yellow onion – California; green onion and jalapeno pepper – Mexico; smoked paprika – Spain; olive oil, olives, tomato paste and sea salt – Italy; shortening, raisins, granulated garlic and cumin – unknown

Pan-Seared Lamb Rib Chops

We’ve always been ham people for Easter, and I’d always been just fine with that until the year my parents started serving a spiral cut thing that came with a little packet of high fructose corn syrup glaze. How can you not visualize it spinning on a lathe in a factory? Now that we celebrate on our own, I’ve become slightly more adventurous, if you can call lamb adventurous.

These are great to serve to guests, Easter or not, because lamb rib chops couldn’t look unappetizing if they tried. Propped up on a cloud of mashed tubers or root vegetables, lamb rib chops always look impressive and inviting. We served them with a combination of mashed potatoes and parsnips, which offered a lovely sweetness to complement the lamb’s aromatic flavor. The dish is finished with a piquant wine sauce which is made by deglazing the pan.

Sautéed Lamb Rib Chops – serves 2

1 – 1 lb frenched rack of lamb ribs (8 ribs)
3 T + 1 T olive oil
3 T herbs de Provence
1 t sea salt
1/2 C dry white wine
1 t butter

Dry the rack with a paper towel. Divide into individual ribs by separating them between each bone. Place on a large plate and douse with olive oil, salt and herbs and massage until well coated. Refrigerate 30 minutes to an hour.

Heat the additional tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the chops. Lower heat to medium, being careful not to burn. Sear for 2 – 4 minutes per side depending on preference for doneness.

Transfer the chops from the pan to a warmed platter. Allow to rest in a warm place at least 10 minutes while the sauce is made.

Drain the pan of excess fat. Increase heat to high. Add wine to the skillet and, using a wooden (or metal, just as long as it’s not plastic) spatula, scrape any bits from the pan. Reduce for 1 minute. Lower heat to medium heat and continue to reduce for 4 minutes. Swirl the butter into the wine mixture, and stir into the sauce until well incorporated.

Drizzle sauce over chops and serve with a nice grassy Sauvignon Blanc.

Ingredient origins: Lamb – New Zealand (I know. Not local at all. It’s terrible. I’m sorry, okay?); Olive oil – Italy; Herbs de Provence -Maryland; Sea salt – Maine; Wine – California; Butter – Maine

Corsican-Style Braised Goat

We drove out to the fair hamlet of Rollinsford, New Hampshire on Saturday to hit up the Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers Market. It was a blast and a half. There were winter vegetables, apples, cheeses and meats, along with baked goods, handmade crafts and live music. As tempted as I was to buy a string of sleigh bells for the front door, we stuck to food stuffs: duck eggs from Yellow House Farm in Barrington, Camembert from Brookford Farm in Rollinsford, veal from Kelly Brook Farm in Greenland, a top round roast from the General Butler Farm in Nottingham, pork loin from Lasting Legacy Farm in Barrington and goat from Riverslea Farm in Epping.

Whenever I see goat meat I think of our trip to Corsica, which is known for charcuterie, goat cheeses, and meats raised naturally on wild grass and the fresh mountain air of the island’s interior. This recipe is based on the types of dishes we enjoyed so much on our trip to Corsica. I used herbes du maquis – a combination of herbs commonly found in the Corsican Maquis – myrtle, thyme, rosemary and bay. If you can’t find a jar of herbs du maquis, you can go ahead and make your own from those ingredients.

Goat meat is leaner than other meats, so it’s best braised low and slow. The result is a tender texture and flavor that’s somehow sharp and mellow at the same time. A common side dish for this would be chestnut flour polenta, but if you can’t find chestnut flour (which I couldn’t) corn-based polenta is fine too.

Corsican-Style Braised Goat – serves 2

1 T olive oil
1/4 – 1/2 t salt
1 T herbes du maquis (or a combination of myrtle, thyme, rosemary and bay)
1 lb boneless goat leg meat, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch cubes
1 onion cut into wedges
1 clove garlic, peeled and diced
1 C red wine

Be sure the goat meat is not wet or it will not brown – dry with paper towel if necessary. Toss with salt and herbs.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and meat and sear all sides – this should take less than 5 minutes.

Pour wine into the hot dutch oven to deglaze, scraping up any bits from the bottom. Add garlic. Place in oven and braise, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook another 30 minutes.

Serve meat and onions over polenta or rice and drizzle with the liquid.

Ingredient origins: Olive oil – Italy; Sea salt – Maine; Herbes du Maquis – Corsica; Onion – California; Garlic – New Jersey; Wine – Spain

New England Boiled Dinner

There’s always all kinds of hubbub over corned beef and cabbage this time of year. My grandmother used to make New England Boiled Dinner, which is similar. Made with more winter vegetables, it’s a whole meal in itself, including potatoes, parsnips and carrots.

The cabbage and potatoes take on the corned beef’s brininess, which is complemented by the sweetness of the carrots and parsnips, making this one-pot meal a perfect spectrum of flavor.

New England Boiled Dinner – serves 4 – 6

4 medium boiling potatoes
2.5 lb gray (nitrate free) corned beef brisket
1 small head cabbage
4 carrots
water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place the corned beef brisket in a large oven safe dutch oven and just cover with water. Place on a burner and bring to a simmer over high heat.

Meanwhile peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Cut the cabbage into eight wedges and remove the core.

Cover the beef with the cabbage and potatoes. Transfer the dutch oven to the oven and cook, covered for 1 hour.

Using tongs, gently lift the potatoes out of the liquid and submerge the carrots and parsnips. Cover again with the potatoes, being careful not to crush them. Return to the oven and cook for 1 hour.

Remove the corned beef and transfer to a cutting board. Allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing. Plate with cabbage, potato, parsnip, carrot, and little bit of broth. Serve hot.

Ingredient origins: Nitrate free corned beef – Massachusetts; Parsnips – Massachusetts; Potatoes – California; Organic Cabbage – Mexico, Carrots – California