Recipe: Stews, Chowders, Gumbos - 11 Recipes (1-6-98 Recipe Swap - updated)

11 RECIPES FOR STEWS, CHOWDERS, GUMBOS
Recipe Swap - January 6, 1998

RECIPES IN THIS FILE:
Hungarian Barley Stew
Kale and Chick Pea Stew
Frankfurter Stew
Ratatouille (Mediterranean Vegetable Stew)
Beef Burgundy (France)
Fish Chowder
Basic Chowder
Chicken Chowder
Chicken and Corn Chowder
Vegetable Gumbo (2)

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HUNGARIAN BARLEY STEW

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained, chopped
3 cups water
2/3 cup Medium Quaker Barley, uncooked*
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon caraway seed (optional)
Sour cream (optional, for serving)

in 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, brown meat in oil. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is tender; drain.

Stir in remaining ingredients except sour cream. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer 45 to 50 minutes or until meat and barley are tender, stirring occasionally.

op each serving with sour cream, if desired.

*To use Quick Quaker Barley, brown meat, onion and garlic as directed above. Stir in remaining ingredients, except barley and sour cream. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer 30 minutes. Stir in 1 cup quick barley. Continue simmering 20 minutes or until meat and barley are tender, stirring occasionally.

Makes 8 servings (1 cup each)
Source: Recipe booklet: Quaker's Best Barley Recipes, 1992 The Quaker Oats Company

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KALE AND CHICK PEA STEW
From: Dawn/nys

1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
10 cups water or chicken broth
1 large onions, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds kale, stems removed
1 red pepper, chopped fine
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
Hot cooked couscous or rice (for serving)

In a large pot, cook the onions and the garlic in the oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden.

Add the red pepper, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 10 minutes.

Add the chick-peas with the cooking liquid, kale, chili powder, thyme, oregano, cumin, and the bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a boil, and simmer the stew, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Discard the bay leaf, season the stew with salt, and serve the stew on the couscous or rice.

Makes about 14 cups, serving 8 to 10

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FRANKFURTER STEW
From: PS/WA

The kids will love it. Sausage which is browned, cooked thoroughly and drained before adding to soup could be substituted for the franks if a more sophisticated soup is desired. But this is fun.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large onions, chopped
3 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 celery ribs, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
2 large potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups water
6 frankfurters, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
Chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

In large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, carrots and celery; cook until slightly golden.

Add the flour and cook 5 minutes more, stirring often.

Add potatoes. Gradually add 2 cups water, stirring constantly to incorporate the flour. Bring to boil, cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add frankfurters, milk, corn, parsley, salt and pepper and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until frankfurters are hot. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

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RATATOUILLE (MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLE STEW)
Source: Vegetables on the Side by Sallie Y. Williams
From: Pat, CT

The author recommends letting it cool to room temperature before serving. After smelling it for 45 minutes, I never let it get that far! We like it with pasta. This is SUPERB with fresh summer veggies, but winter stand-ins will suffice and comfort you that summer will be back.

1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions cut into 1/4-inch dice (Summer Vidalias are superb)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or more!)
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
3 or 4 small zucchini, trimmed and sliced thickly
1 medium eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes (when using fresh summer eggplants, I leave skin on - it's better to peel tough winter eggplants)
4 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and cut into chunks (2 cans stewed tomatoes will suffice in winter)
salt, fresh pepper to taste
1 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tablespoon dried)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dried)
1/2 cup wine (your favorite)

Heat olive oil in large saucepot with a tight-fitting lid over low heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

In layers, add the bell peppers, zucchini, then eggplant, then tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and herbs. AUTHOR'S NOTE: "The specific order of layering the vegetables is important. The vegetables that need the most cooking are on the bottom."

Pour in wine, cover and simmer over low heat until very tender but not mushy, 35-45 minutes. Stir occasionally, gently, after 30 minutes.

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BEEF BURGUNDY (FRANCE)
Source: Memorex Library, International Recipes
From: Margaret, MA

1/8 lb. salt pork, diced
1 onion, chopped
3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 lbs. stewing beef
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef broth
12 small white onions, trimmed and peeled
1/2 lb. mushrooms

Fry salt pork until crisp and brown. Drain on paper towels.

Add chopped onion to fat and cook to a light golden brown. Remove from pan.

Mix flour with salt and pepper and dredge beef cubes in it. Brown the beef.

Add herbs, wine and beef broth. Return salt pork and fried onions to pot. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Add small onions and cook 20 minutes, then add mushrooms and cook 10 more minutes.

Fish Chowder
Source: Classic Cooking with Coca Cola
From: SueA, CA

I haven't tried this yet but I am always fascinated by Coca Cola recipes

1 1/2 cups onion, diced
1 strip bacon, diced
1/2 cup butter
1 cup Coca-Cola
1 1/2 cups hot water
5 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 cup sugar
2 large cans whole tomatoes
5 cups coarsely diced potatoes
1 to 2 boneless skinless mullet fillets (or any oily fish)

Saute the bacon.

Add the butter and onions and saute until tender.

Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the potatoes, and bring to a boil, then add the potatoes and cook until done, approximately 3 hours. The longer it cooks the better it is.

Good with French bread.

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BASIC CHOWDER
Source: James Barber's The Urban Peasant
From: Velma TN

It forms the basis for his other chowder recipes.

4 oz bacon bits
1 carrot, thinly sliced
2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp pepper

Fry the bacon in a large pot and remove.

Add the carrot and celery and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Add the onion, bay leaf and whole cloves of garlic. Stir and add the pepper.

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CHICKEN CHOWDER
From: Velma TN

I've only made this recipe as a subset of the Chicken and Corn Chowder below, not on its own yet. The curry powder and cream (or milk as I used) gives it a really interesting, translucent yellow-orange color.

1 chicken, cut up
3 cloves
8 cups water
dill
3 medium potatoes, diced
butter
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup cream
1 glass sherry or rye
parsley, chopped

Add to the Basic Chowder the chicken, cloves, water and dill. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for a further 15 minutes. Meanwhile melt a lump of butter in a fry pan, add the mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Add the flour, curry powder and cook for 3 minutes. Stir the mushrooms into the chowder and let cook for 2 minutes. Add the cream and sherry or rye. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

VARIATION:

CHICKEN AND CORN CHOWDER:
*1 can corn (creamed or whole kernel) or fresh corn scraped from the cob. Cook as for Chicken Chowder but substitute the corn for the 3 diced potatoes.

I made this with a couple chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken, and found they came out somewhat tough, so I don't recommend this approach. We also didn't have any cloves or dill (or alcohol) when we made it, so while it turned out ok, it was far from a party on our tastebuds. I do intend to try it again with at least the cloves and dill, and perhaps a splash of whiskey. Stuart Reichman has suggested that Paul Prudhomme has an excellent recipe for Chicken Corn Chowder in his cookbook Seasoned America.

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VEGETABLE GUMBO
From: PS/WA

1/2 cup white grape juice
1 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp vegetable bouillon granules
1 lb okra, sliced, fresh, frozen
1 lb tomatoes, fresh, or canned
2 cups corn, fresh, frozen or canned*
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp minced fresh basil or rosemary
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/4 tsp paprika
Vegetable coating spray

In a large heavy stew pot, place grape juice, onion, green pepper, celery, garlic and bouillon; cook until tender, 5-7 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients; cook over low heat, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking to bottom. Cover and simmer gently until corn and okra are done (or simmer in crockpot on LOW 6-7 hours)

*Cut fresh corn from cob with a sharp knife, then scrape the remaining corn off the cob. Four ears will make about two cups.

Makes 6 servings

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VEGETABLE GUMBO
From: Leslie WA

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cups tomatoes, diced
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup cooked Lima beans
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1 1/2 cup sliced okra*
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 cup cooked brown rice (optional)

Saute the onion and garlic cloves in oil until onions are soft. Remove the garlic.

Add green pepper, and stir over medium heat for several minutes. Then stir in the tomatoes. Bring mixture to a boil, turn down heat, and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring soup to a boil again, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add rice if desired.

*If you are using frozen okra, it should be partially thawed and then sliced.

Makes 9 servings