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Main Course Menu Plan: Week 4 Winter II
Day 1: Pasta with Mediterranean Meat Sauce
Total time: 35 minutes
Sherry and paprika from Spain; olives from Italy, Spain and Greece; feta from Greece; red peppers from France; capers and tomatoes from everywhere... An International dish! If you have ham left from the holidays use that rather than the ground beef - if you like....
Ingredients:
- 8oz (240gr) ground beef (mince) or ham
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup (2oz, 60ml) sherry
- 1/4 cup (2oz, 60ml) beef broth / stock
- 15oz (450gr) whole tomatoes
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/3 cup green and black olives, mixed
- 2 tbs capers
- 3oz (90gr) feta
- 4oz (120gr) linguini or other long pasta
Instructions:
- Cook pasta according to package directions. When done, drain.
- Roughly chop the pepper and onion.
- Mince the garlic.
- Roughly chop tomatoes, reserving all juices.
- Heat 1 tbs oil in nonstick skillet. Add the paprika, onion, pepper, garlic, and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Add the beef and sauté, breaking it up as it browns.
- Add the tomatoes, juices, sherry, stock and herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered until the sauce reduces and thickens, about 20 minutes.
- Pit and roughly chop the olives.
- Cube the feta.
- Stir the olives and capers into the sauce and simmer another minute.
- Remove sauce from heat and gently stir in feta.
- Spoon over pasta and serve.
Day 2: Braised Veal with Olives and Capers on Gnocchi
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Large pieces of tender veal, braised with 2 kinds of olives and finished with capers; all in a simple white wine sauce.
Ingredients:
- 14oz (420gr) veal
- 1 cup (8oz, 240ml) white wine
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 10 black olives I used dry-cured Greek olives
- 10 green olives I used pimento-stuffed olives
- 2 tbs capers
- 2 bay (laurel) leaves
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbs cornstarch (maizena) dissolved in 2 tbs water
- Gnocchi, 8oz (240gr)
Instructions:
- Cut veal into large chunks if needed.
- Peel and slice carrots.
- Roughly chop onion.
- Slice olives in thirds.
- Heat olive oil in medium Dutch oven or other pot with tight-fitting lid. Add veal and brown on all side.
- Add white wine and stir up any brown bits on the bottom.
- Add carrots, onion, green olives and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 60 minutes.
- Dissolve cornstarch in water.
- Turn the heat up under the pot and uncover.
- Add capers and black olives; remove bay leaves.
- Give the cornstarch mixture a stir and add to the pan a little at a time, stirring, until thickened to your liking.
- Gnocchi: Cook according to package directions.
- To serve: Put the gnocchi onto a platter. Spoon veal on top and serve.
Day 3: Turkey Cutlets with Mustard and Onion Pan Sauce
Total time: 25 minutes
Turkey Cutlets with whole grain mustard and onions - simple, but full of flavor.
Ingredients:
- 2 - 4 turkey cutlets, 12oz, (360gr)
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbs whole grain mustard
- 1/3 (3oz, 90ml) white wine
- 1/3 (3oz, 90ml) chicken stock
- 2 tsp white Balsamic vinegar
Instructions:
- Vertically slice onion.
- Mince garlic.
- Cut turkey into manageable pieces if needed.
- Sauté onion in oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- When onion starts to brown, move it to the sides of the pan and sauté turkey cutlets until lightly browned.
- Add garlic and sauté briefly.
- Add mustard, chicken stock and wine. Stir to combine.
- Cover, reduce heat and simmer until done, about 10 minutes.
- Uncover, stir in vinegar, and let cook uncovered until sauce is thick. Serve.
Day 4: Chicken Breasts / Tarragon Mushroom Cream over Pasta
Total time: 30 minutes
Chicken breasts, sautéed with shallots and mushrooms, finished with a luscious Tarragon Cream and served over pasta, simple mid-week meal worthy of your best china!
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 shallots
- 5oz (150gr) mushrooms
- 1 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
- 1 cup (8oz, 240ml) chicken stock
- 6oz (180gr) fresh spinach
- 1 tbs cornstarch (maizena, corn flour) dissolved in 2 tbs water
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120gr) Greek yogurt
- 1 1/4 cups (4.2oz, 125gr) pasta, bite-size, penne, fusilli
Instructions:
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Finely chop shallots.
- Clean and thickly slice the mushrooms.
- Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet.
- Add chicken breasts and sauté about 7 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- Add shallots and mushrooms to pan and sauté until shallots are tender and both are starting to brown.
- Add tarragon and 1/4 cup of the chicken stock, stir to get all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Return the chicken to the pan and add remaining stock.
- Cover and simmer over low heat until pasta is ready.
- Wash spinach if needed and drain well.
- Very roughly chop or slice, just to get big leaves into 2 or 3 pieces.
- When pasta is done, drain and put into a bowl.
- Add spinach to pasta and toss to combine.
- Remove chicken breasts.
- Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to skillet, stirring until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.
- Pour sauce over pasta, toss to coat.
- Thickly slice chicken breasts, arrange on top of the pasta and serve.
Day 5: Coquilles Saint-Jacques
Total time: 30 minutes
If you are getting scallops in their shells, the shells make a lovely presentation. I love scallops but do not like the coral. Remove it or not as suits you. Be careful not to overcook the scallops. This used to be very decadent ... I made it recently and trimmed back the fat a bit. Still... I only do it once a year.
Ingredients:
- 12oz (360gr) sea scallops
- 2/3 cup (5oz, 150ml) white wine
- 2/3 cup (5oz, 150ml) chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 3oz (90gr) mushrooms
- 2 shallots
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 tbs flour
- 1/3 cup (3oz, 90ml) crème fraiche, cream, or Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup (2oz, 60ml) shredded Gruyère cheese
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
Instructions:
- Bring white wine, chicken stock and bay leaf to boil in large skillet.
- Add scallops and cook until just opaque, about 5 minutes.
- Remove and put into two individual baking dishes (scallop shells?) or 1 larger baking dish.
- Boil cooking liquid until reduced by half. Remove bay leaf.
- Mince shallot and slice mushrooms.
- Melt 1 tbs butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté 5 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and sauté until golden, about 8 minutes more.
- Add shallots and mushrooms to scallops, dividing evenly.
- Melt remaining 1 tbs butter in saucepan.
- When hot add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Reduce heat to low and slowly add in reduced cooking liquid, stirring constantly until thickened.
- Add crème fraiche and heat through.
- Pour sauce over scallop/mushrooms in baking dish(es).
- Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese.
- Bake in 375F (190C) oven for 15 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serve.
Day 6: Split Pea Soup
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Traditionally made with a ham bone or ham hock, I made this with a slab of local, dry-cured ham. Regular baked ham would work as well. This will make 4 servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup (8oz, 240gr) split peas
- 6 cups water
- 2 thick slices Prosciutto, (6oz, 180gr total weight) (for most intense flavor) or a meaty ham bone
- 1 large onion plus the 1/2 leftover
- 3 medium carrots
- 2 medium potatoes
- 3 ribs celery
Instructions:
- If using a ham bone, put in water with split peas. If using Prosciutto or other ham, cut into bite-size chunks before adding.
- Bring ham, peas and water to a boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes
- After 45 minutes:
- Roughly chop onion and add to pot.
- Peel carrots. Slice by cutting in half the long way (in 2 or mores sections) then into half circles. Add to pot.
- Peel and slice potatoes to a similar size; add to pot.
- Slice celery, cutting the wide end in half lengthwise and add to pot.
- Cover and simmer until all vegetables are done, 30 - 45 minutes longer.
- Remove ham bone, if using, and cut ham. Add ham back to soup.
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