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Autumn officially has arrived and the cool, crisp morning air has put me in cooking mode. Each year at this time, I write one of my favorite columns: “Cook on Sunday, feast all week.”
While Edward is watching the Eagles or the Phillies, I brew myself a cup of coffee or tea, turn my radio dial to WRTI to allow Bob Perkins to select the jazz, pull out my pots and prepare a soup, a stew and a roast. I make enough to last all week. All you have to do is change the salads and side dishes for a delicious hassle-free meal.
Through the years I have supplied recipes for all sorts of soups, vegetable, wild mushroom, chicken rice and so forth. While leafing through “Cook This Now” by Melissa Clark, I came upon a recipe for Beet and Cabbage Borscht with Dill. It’s really easy to make.
I often forget pork can be turned into a terrific stew, especially in the fall when root vegetables are plentiful and flavorful. Now that Pennsylvania apples are in the markets, I am having a fun time developing recipes with them, as well as preparing the classic ones everyone enjoys.
I didn’t care for Eye Round until I purchased a top-quality roast at Whole Foods. Be careful not to overcook it, and make sure you purchase one with some fat in it. Eye round tends to be very lean beef.
So pick a Sunday and have fun with these recipes.
Roast Eye Round
Ingredients:
1 4-pound long, narrow eye round
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1-1/2 cups of beef broth
1 cup of dry red wine
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Bring the roast to room temperature. Wipe it dry with paper towels and season with the salt and pepper.
Place the roast in a roasting pan. Roast for 75 minutes. Remove the roast and let cool for 15 minutes before carving.
Place the roasting pan on top of the stove. Add the broth and wine, bring to a boil and using a wooden spoon, loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Pour into a gravy boat and serve.
Serves eight.
Beet and Cabbage Borscht with Dill
Ingredients:
1/2 small head of green cabbage, cut into quarters and cored
4 medium raw beets, peeled and quartered
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
1-3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 cup of fresh dill, chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
Sour cream or Greek yogurt, for serving
Directions:
Pass the cabbage through the feed tube of a food processor fitted with the coarse grating blade. Transfer the cabbage to a large bowl. Pass the beets through the feed tube, and add the grated beets to the bowl with the cabbage.
Heat the butter in a large pot over medium until the foam subsides. Add the onion. Cook, stirring until the onion is slightly softened, for about five minutes. Add the garlic, cook for one minute. Add the cabbage and beets. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, tossing occasionally, until the cabbage is wilted, for about 10 minutes.
Add the broth and 1 teaspoon of the salt to the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Stir in the dill and the remaining salt and vinegar.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.
Serves four to six.
Pork Stew with Root Vegetables
Ingredients:
3 pounds of pork shoulder, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces, wiped dry with paper towels.
Enough Canola oil to coat the bottom of a 5-quart pot
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 large onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
4 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
2 large turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
About 1/2 cup of flour
1 32-ounce package of chicken or vegetable broth
1-1/2 cups of dry white wine
2 large bay leaves
Directions:
Heat the oil over medium-high. Working in batches, add the pork and sauté until browned. Season with the salt and pepper. Remove the pork to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
Add the vegetables, and sauté them until the onion is a bit translucent, for about eight minutes. Return the pork to the pot. Add the flour, and toss well until the flour is cooked, for about two minutes.
Add all of the remaining ingredients, bring the contents of the pot to a boil, lower the heat to simmer, cover with the lid askew and cook for two hours. The pork should be fork tender. You may need to simmer the stew for an additional 30 minutes.
Serves six.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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