"Egg"cellent Quiche With Spinach, Onions, Thyme & Cheese

We recently decided to start buying the organic, pasture-raised (which is even better than free-range!) eggs that Eatwell Farm offers through their CSA. Although they're a bit more expensive, people rave about them so we figured that half a dozen every two weeks was probably a worthwhile investment.

I've been enjoying reading about Eatwell's relatively new chicken operation for the past year on their blog and was eager to see what kind of eggs "the girls" (as they call their flock of roughly 2,500 laying hens) are producing. Here they are enjoying their first day in a brand new pasture of cover crop (according to the farm's blog, they just love new pasture!)

Some of the relative advantages "the girls" enjoy over most egg-laying hens in the U.S. are:

• Plenty of room to roam, scratch and peck as they please
• 100% organic vegetarian diet -- a mix of grains, rejected organic produce from the farm and whatever bugs and other good things they can forage on their own
• Comfortable, roomy homes (which they call "chicken palaces" on the farm) for laying and sheltering from bad weather
• Shade screens and plenty of fresh water during the summer
• They get to keep their beaks, unlike many commercial hens
• No antibiotics or hormones, of course
• Protected from predators of all kinds by Daisy, who is quite possibly the world's cutest guard dog. (The picture below is of her as a puppy in the pick up truck on her way to her new home on the farm. She's all grown up and trained now but wasn't she adorable?!)

With perks like these, how could the chickens help but lay extra delicious, extra nutritious eggs? According to the farm's web site, the eggs not only taste better but are also better for you with lower levels of cholesterol and much higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and other micronutrients.

Since these are extra special eggs, I felt they deserved an extra special recipe. And as we'd invited some friends over for Sunday brunch, I thought that perhaps a quiche would be appropriate. This was my first quiche ever and I have to say I was pretty darn pleased with the way it turned out!

In addition to the Eatwell eggs, I used some of the delicious spinach we'd received in our produce box, along with onions, fresh thyme, heavy cream, and cheddar and parmesan cheeses. The crust I made was a typical pate brisee though you can also use pretty much any pie crust (homemade or pre-baked).

As long as you don't have to make the crust from scratch, this is actually a pretty quick dish to prepare. A lot of cookbooks recommend making extra pate brisee and freezing it in single crust-sized portions and I think that'd be a good way to go (or you can buy the prepared pie shells.) Since the fillings are totally flexible (goat cheese, gruyere, sun dried tomatoes, asparagus, ham, bacon, etc.,) you can just use whatever you happen to have on hand. Bon appetit!

-- print recipe --Spinach, Onion, Cheese & Thyme Quiche

Ingredients

* 3 large or 4 medium-sized eggs, lightly beaten (reserve some of the egg yolk for brushing the pie crust)
* 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* 1 small onion, sliced
* 1 head of spinach, stems removed, with the leaves washed, dried and coarsely chopped (if leaves are large)
* 2 tsps butter
* 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, washed, dried and chopped
* 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (sharp)
* 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
* 1 chilled pâte brisée dough or other prepared pie crust, enough for a 9 1/2 inch pie crust
* You will need a 9 1/2 inch pie or tart pan.

Directions

1. Prepare the pie crust. Preheat the oven to 375. If using a crust you've made from scratch, you will need to pre-bake it for a little while to prevent it from getting soggy - this is called "blind baking". Using a rolling pin, roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface until it is 1/8 of an inch thick and will fit your pie dish or tart pan. Drape the dough loosely in the pan, making sure that it fits into all the corners, then gather the edges together with your fingertips to make a solid and even crust (you can crimp it with your fingers or use the tines of a fork if you prefer that pattern.) Brush the dough with the egg yolk, prick the bottom in several places with the tines of a fork -- this is to allow air to escape and prevent it from ballooning up while it pre-bakes, alternately, you can also weight the pie crust down with metal pie weights, raw beans in parchment paper, or by simply placing another pie dish inside it to keep it tamped down. Bake for 10 minutes then remove and let cool.

2. Make the filling: saute the onion in butter until it is nearly translucent. Add the spinach and cook until thoroughly wilted. Season with salt and pepper. If the spinach/onion mixture seems wet, squeeze the excess water out (mine did not require this step.) Add the cream to the eggs and stir well to combine. Throw in the spinach and onions, chopped thyme and season with salt and pepper.

3. Assemble the quiche. Begin by scattering half the cheese on the bottom of the pan then pour in the egg mixture with the veggies. Top with the remaining cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes, until the egg custard is set all the way through. Remove and let cool slightly before serving. This goes very nicely with a green salad.

You may also like:

• Caramelized Onion & Apple Slab Tart
• Sweet Pepper & Sausage Frittata
• Frittata with Chèvre, New Potatoes & Herbs

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How To Make Pâte Brisée

This is a classic french pie and tart dough with a crumbly texture and buttery flavor. It can be made by hand or in a cuisinart or kitchen aid. You can also freeze it for later use which is a helpful time-saver. There's nothing quite like having a ready-made pie crust in your freezer.

-- print recipe --Pâte Brisée


Ingredients

* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
* 2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening (if you don't have this on hand, you can also just use an entire stick of butter, instead of mixing the two types of fat)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* pinch of sugar
* ice water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, blend the flour, the butter, the vegetable shortening, and the salt until the mixture resembles meal. You can do this with a pastry cutter or two knives or you can do this whole process in a food processor.

2. Add 3 tablespoons ice water, toss the mixture until the water is incorporated (or pulse if you're using a food processor), and form the dough into a ball.

3. Knead the dough lightly with the heel of your hand against a smooth surface for a few seconds to distribute the fat evenly and re-form it into a ball. Dust the dough with flour and chill it, wrapped in wax paper, for 1 hour or longer.

4. Once it's chilled, roll out and bake however the recipe you're using directs. Alternatively, you can freeze the dough in crust-sized portions so that you have it on hand for future baking projects. 

You might also like:

• Pat in the Pan Butter Pie Crust
• Galette Dough
• Roasted Butternut Squash Pie - A Rich, Sweet Treat for Fall & Winter

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EatWell Recipe 10: Stir-Fried Winter Greens With Garlic Shrimp & Rice

When I picked up our produce box last week, I spotted a bag of stir-fry mix and a small bunch of green garlic sitting in the "share pile" where other CSA members leave things from the box they know they won't use for others to take. The stir-fry mix includes two kinds of baby kale, baby chard, some collard or mustard greens, and spinach. The green garlic is what you get when you yank up garlic at this time of year--instead of a head of garlic you get a garlic-y tasting baby leek-like thing.

I snatched both things up immediately and added them to our box of goodies. But it was not until I got a hankering for Asian-style food that I decided what to do with them -- then it all fell into place quite nicely.

We stir-fried the greens and green garlic along with some carrots and onion, as well as a generous dose of regular garlic and ginger for added flavor. I wanted some protein so we added some shrimp (apparently of the eco-friendly variety) to the mix though I decided to stir-fry them separately to avoid any sogginess or overcooking. I flavored the greens with a mixture of rice mirin, black soy sauce and oyster sauce and sprinkled everything liberally with chopped fresh cilantro. It was really delicious, if I do say so myself!

A few notes on stir-frying that will be a big help if you don't already know them:

* Prep all your ingredients ahead of time. Once you get the wok fired up, you really won't have time to do anything besides add things and keep them moving around to ensure even cooking so it's important to cut everything up, prepare your sauce, and have it all close by and easy to grab before you begin frying.

* Slice mindfully. Since stir-frying uses very high heat to cook food quickly, it is essential that you slice things thinly enough to allow for this quick cooking time. It's also important to cut different foods into the correct sizes to ensure equal cooking time. For example, carrots and onions need to be sliced thinly while snowpeas probably don't need to be cut at all.

* Pay attention to the order of operations. It's crucial to add things to the wok in the order of the amount of cooking time needed. Things (like spinach or other greens) that will cook quickly should be added later in the process than veggies like carrots.

* Start with the "aromatics." Begin by frying the garlic, ginger and chili peppers in oil briefly--not long enough for the garlic to burn but just long enough so that all three of these delicious ingredients have time to release their oils into the oil, flavoring it for all the ingredients to come.

* Don't forget the cornstarch. I remember making a number of really soupy stir-fries in college. To be honest, they were kind of gross. But simply adding a teaspoon or two of cornstarch to your sauce will prevent you from creating a "wok bog." The cornstarch will thicken all the liquids in the dish, leaving you with a stir-fry that is nicely coated in sauce but not swimming in liquid.

Okay, enough notes! On to the recipe.

Stir-Fried Winter Greens With Garlic Shrimp & Rice
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 1 lb shrimp, heads, tails and veins removed and washed and dried
* 1 large bag of winter greens, washed and dried (if you don't have this luxurious mix of baby greens on hand, you can also use a large bunch of spinach, chard, bok choy, etc., instead)
* 3 large carrots, thinly sliced
* 1 onion, thinly sliced
* 1 bunch green garlic, sliced in small rounds (white part only)
* 4 large cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
* 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
* Pinch of chili flakes or a tsp of chopped jalapeno pepper
* 2 tsps black soy sauce
* 2 tsps rice mirin
* 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
* 1 heaping tsp corn starch
* Few grinds of white pepper
* Pinch of sea salt
* 3 Tbsps chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 cups basmati or short grain brown rice
* 4 Tbsps peanut oil

Directions

1. Start the rice. Since it will take a little while to cook, you should start it well before you get into any stir-frying to ensure that everything will be ready to eat at the same time.

2. Prep all your ingredients. Once everything is washed and chopped, make the sauce by mixing together the soy sauce, rice mirin, oyster sauce and cornstarch and stirring well to combine. By the time you've finished doing all that chopping and mixing, it's likely the rice will be done. Fluff the rice and remove from the heat.

3. Prepare the shrimp. Heat 1-2 Tbsps of the peanut oil in a wok over high heat and swirl to coat the wok's sides. Add roughly one quarter of the minced garlic and ginger you've prepared (the rest will be used for the greens) and a pinch of the chili flakes to the oil and stir-fry for 30-45 seconds. Toss in the shrimps and stir until they are cooked through (they should turn pink) --about 3-4 minutes depending on the strength of the flame you're using. Turn the wok off, scoop the shrimp into a bowl, sprinkle with a few grinds of white pepper and a pinch of sea salt and set aside.

4. Prepare the greens. Wipe the wok out with a paper towel to prevent everything you're about to cook from tasting like seafood. Turn the heat back on high and pour another few Tbsps of peanut oil into the wok. Swirl to coat the wok's sides evenly with the oil.

5. Toss the remaining three quarters of the garlic and ginger into the oil, along with another pinch of chili flakes and stir-fry for 30-45 seconds to flavor the oil, stirring to prevent the garlic from sticking or burning. Add the sliced onion, green garlic and carrots and stir for 3-5 minutes or until beginning to soften.

6. Pour in the greens and stir to ensure that they get coated with oil and come into contact with the wok's searing hot sides. Stir-fry until they are wilted and softened to a point you like--some people prefer them more raw than cooked and others prefer them really cooked. Regardless, it is truly amazing how much the greens cook down in just a few minutes.

7. Pour in the sauce and stir well to ensure that it coats all the veggies. Turn off the heat and remove the stir-fried veggies to a bowl or plate (sitting in a wok after cooking can turn food black as the metal oxidizes.) Serve the stir-fried greens/veggies and shrimp over rice, sprinkled liberally with the chopped cilantro.

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Risotto With Roasted Butternut Squash

Another produce box, another butternut squash. It's that time of year. Luckily, our CSA newsletter featured a delightful-sounding recipe for saffron risotto with butternut squash. Although I have been unsuccessful in finding saffron threads so far, I forged ahead with this yummy and seasonal Italian comfort food.

Risotto is one of my favorite foods - it's delicious when you first make it and even better a day or two later because it keeps soaking up the flavors of whatever you've cooked with it. It's also incredibly filling and a great thing to make for a crowd of people. It goes well with many different additions, asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, peas, pesto, etc. As long as you follow the rules-- sautee the rice first, use plenty of onions, don't skimp on the butter, use good stock, and stir, stir, stir--you really can't go wrong!

Below is an adapated recipe that I created using the Joy of Cooking's basic risotto recipe (risotto in bianco) with some additions of my own. You can roast the squash ahead of time if you like, it will keep for several days. I added some fresh herbs which add a lovely flavor that sets off the rich, gooey rice and the sweet roasted squash really nicely.

-- print recipe --Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
* One butternut squash (2 lbs), peeled, de-seeded, and cut into 3/4" cubes
* One large onion, chopped
* 2 Tbps olive oil or butter
* 7 cups chicken or vegetable stock
* 2 cups arborio rice (risotto)
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
* 2 tsps fresh Italian parsley, chopped
* 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
* Sea salt
* Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cubed squash with the olive oil, salt and pepper and turn out onto a heavy baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until soft, turning once, half-way through. Remove and set aside to cool.

2. Heat the stock in a saucepan (you'll want to position this right behind whatever burner you plan to use for the risotto pan since you're going to be ladling stock into the pan continuously during the cooking process.) Cover the stock and leave it on low at a simmer (it will need to stay hot the entire time you're cooking the risotto.)

3. In a large, heavy bottomed pan (there are special risotto pans but although nice, they're not necessary) melt the butter and cook the onion on medium-low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains with butter. Sautee the rice for 2-3 minutes until the rice becomes chalky and you can see a white dot in the center of each grain. Then add the wine and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until it's been absorbed.

5. Now the fun begins (by the end of this, your arm will be ready to fall off!) Add one cup of the hot stock to the pan and stir until it has all been absorbed by the rice (if you don't stir and cook until the liquid is absorbed with each addition, the rice will get very gummy).

6. Continue to add stock, one cup at a time, stirring constantly until the rice has absorbed the liquid and starts to seem dry before adding more stock. Once you've added 6 cups of the stock, you should start adding 1/2 cup at a time. Keep doing this until the rice is cooked through but still a little al dente, about 30 minutes total (you may not end up using all of the stock but it should be pretty close -- if you run out of stock, you can substitute hot water towards the end.)

7. Turn off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes, chopped herbs, and parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper, mix well and serve.

You might also like:

• Wild Ramp & Lemon Risotto
• Butternut Squash Ravioli With Sage & Pine Nuts
• Roasted Butternut Squash & Red Peppers With Rosemary, Garlic & Parmesan

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Cauliflower Curry With Spinach & Ginger, a.k.a. Gobi Masala: Eatwell Project Recipe 8

I first tasted curried cauliflower at the home of a good friend when I was about 15. When she was just a little girl, her family had spent several months living in Mysore, India, studying yoga and Indian music, and developing their love of Indian food. Among the many things they brought home with them were an enhanced understanding of spices and the knowledge of how to prepare ghee (the Indian version of clarified butter.)

Although I admit I was skeptical at first since nothing in my life up to that point had prepared me to appreciate cauliflower and it may have been the first time I'd ever tried Indian food, all my doubts vanished at the first bite. What a wonderland of flavors!

This dish manages to be both hearty and delicate at the same time. The mix of ginger, garlic and various curry spices give it pizazz and complexity, the cauliflower is surprisingly sweet, the potato makes it feel hearty and substantial, and the spinach lends freshness.

So when I opened up our produce box yesterday (a feeling I find akin to that of unwrapping a Christmas present) and found a beautiful white cauliflower staring up at me, it was the first thing that popped into my head. We also received a huge bag of fresh, green (if muddy) spinach in the box and this curry sounded like a perfect way to use two produce box ingredients in one yummy dish.

If ghee is not available you can use either clarified butter, instead (or canola oil if you don't have time to clarify butter. )You can make this curry as mild or spicy as you like by simply adjusting the amount of chilis you use. I've included directions for toasting some of the spices whole as that will provide the best flavor but you can also use the powdered versions. And you can also shorten the cooking time by steaming the potatoes and cauliflower ahead of time if you prefer, just remember not to add as much (or maybe any) water as it won't be required to help them cook.

It goes very well with basmati rice, naan, or chapatis and a bowl of raita (Indian spiced yogurt and cucumber sauce) to cool it off.

-- print recipe --Curried Cauliflower With Spinach & Ginger

Ingredients

* 3 Tbsp clarified butter or ghee or, if you follow a vegan diet or are in a rush, just substitute vegetable oil
* 1 cauliflower, washed, dried, and cut into bite-sized pieces (you can use the stem as well as the florets, just cut off the ends and anything that seems too tough and cut into pieces)
* 2-3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 large onion, thinly sliced
* 2 tomatoes, washed and diced
* 1 bunch of spinach, washed, dried, and with stems removed
* 2 tsps minced garlic
* 1 tsp chopped or grated ginger
* 1 tsp chopped jalapeno pepper or a pinch of dried chili flakes (optional and to taste)
* 1 tsp black mustard seeds
* 1 tsp whole cumin seed
* 1 tsp ground coriander
* 2 tsps garam masala
* 1/2 tsp turmeric
* Sea salt
* Cilantro as garnish
* 1 - 1 1/2 cups water or stock, as needed

Directions

1. If you do not have ghee on hand, prepare the clarified butter (see directions here.)

2. Toast the whole mustard and cumin seeds over medium heat in a small cast iron skillet with a little oil. Cook, stirring occasionally for a few minutes, until the mustard seeds begin to pop. Remove from the heat and transfer the toasted seeds to a mortar and pestle and grind into a powder (this should not be very difficult.) Combine with the other spices.

3. Heat the clarified butter/ghee/oil in a wide sautee pan over medium-high heat. Throw in the onion, season with salt and sautee until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, and chilis and saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 3-5 minutes until they begin to fall apart.

4. Add the ground spices to the pan and stir well. Throw in the potatoes and the cauliflower, add the water or stock, cover and cook for another 10-12 minutes until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender.

5. Add the spinach leaves and cook until wilted. Taste the curry and adjust the seasonings as needed - you can add more garam masala, ground cumin seed, salt, etc. Serve garnished with cilantro.

You might also like:

• Curried Quinoa Cakes with Spinach
• Roasted, Spiced Cauliflower with Cucumber Raita
• Cumin-Scented Quinoa with Grated Beets & Quick Curried Chickpeas

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Making Clarified Butter

Clarified butter is one of those things that sounds much more intimidating than it actually is. I tried it for the first time a year or two ago when I was making a potato rosti that called for it and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was!

All you're doing is separating out the milk solids and water in the butter from the fat so that only the butterfat remains. Clarified butter has two main advantages over regular butter:

• It has a longer shelf life
• It has a higher smoke point

Therefore, it won't burn as quickly as un-clarified butter will, making it easier to cook with, particularly if you're sauteeing. It also makes it a good choice for countries where refrigeration is not widespread since it will last a while unrefrigerated.

In India, the butter is cooked a bit longer until all the liquids have evaporated and the milk solids caramelize a bit, giving the butterfat a nuttier flavor -- the resulting butterfat is called "ghee." They use the same process in the middle east where they call it "samnah." Both ghee and samnah can last longer than clarified butter does unrefrigerated (a good thing in hot countries). You can buy it in either jars or tubs in Indian or middle eastern markets here in the U.S.

But enough background, here's how you make regular old clarified butter.

Making Clarified Butter

Ingredients

* Unsalted organic butter
* You will also need a small saucepan, a spoon, a fine sieve or cheesecloth lined strainer, and a clean glass jar with tight fitting lid to store the clarified butter in.

Directions

1. Gently melt unsalted butter over low heat (you can use a double boiler if you have one) until the butter breaks down and three layers form. The top layer will be a white foam or froth (the whey proteins) and should be skimmed off with a spoon. The milk solids will drop to the bottom of the saucepan and form a milky layer of sediment. What's left in the middle is a pure golden-yellow liquid - this is the clarified butterfat.

2. Once you've skimmed all the white foam from the surface of the clarified butter, and it has stopped bubbling, remove the saucepan from the heat. Let the butter sit a few minutes to allow the milk solids to settle to the bottom even further then strain the mixture through a fine sieve or a cheesecloth-lined strainer. The liquid you collect is the clarified butter (butterfat.)

3. If you've made more than you need to use right then, just pour it into a glass jar, cover it and store it in the fridge (it may turn a bit grainy but should be fine.) Just scoop out a spoonful whenever you need it and melt it in a frying pan to get cooking.

Beef Stew, Classic Winter Comfort Fare

A good friend recently emailed me to ask "where's the beef?" In her search for a good main course for a Shabat dinner, she'd noticed that my archive of meat recipes did not include a single beef recipe. What a shanda! I decided that I should rectify the situation post haste.

Since the weather here has turned quite "wintry" (meaning rainy, chilly, and windy), today seemed like a perfect time to make beef stew, a classic winter comfort food.

The recipe below is my own interpretation of a basic beef stew based on a few different cookbooks' versions and a recipe from the December '08 issue of Gourmet. Although this dish does not take a ton of hands-on time, it does require several hours of cooking time to make correctly. That's because the beef must be first browned in fat (see photo below) and then braised in liquid for several hours in order to become delightfully tender.

Although it may sound like extra work (or at least it always does to me!) adding the mirepoix of diced carrots, onions and celery at the beginning will produce a much richer flavor at the end. And you can avoid overcooked veggies and preserve a fresher flavor by simply adding the carrots, potatoes, onions and herbs closer to the end of the process. The recipe below includes some orange zest and cloves which lend it a slightly exotic, Moroccan flavor.

Stew is pretty flexible so if you have other veggies on hand (string beans, mushrooms, etc.), they would be a welcome addition. I strongly suggest that you seek out organic, grass-fed beef if at all possible and that you use organic veggies if you can get your hands on them.

Beef Stew
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

* 2 lbs boneless stew beef (chuck, short rib meat, or bottom round - you don't want to use too lean a cut since it should have some fat in it), cut into 2-inch cubes
* 2 Tbsps olive oil, butter, or bacon fat
* 1 small onion, diced (for the mirepoix) and 1 large onion, chopped
* 1 carrot, diced (for the mirepoix) and 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 ribs of celery, diced (for the mirepoix)
* 3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
* 4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
* 3 Tbsps tomato paste
* 1 28-oz. can of crushed or diced tomatoes
* 2-3 cups dry red wine
* 2 cups beef stock or broth
* 2 tsps balsamic vinegar
* 4-5 small strips of orange peel
* 2 tsps fresh Italian parsley, chopped
* 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
* 2 bay leaves
* 6 whole cloves
* Sea salt
* Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Season the cubed meat generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil, bacon fat or butter in a dutch oven over a medium flame then cook the meat until brown on all sides. You may need to cook the meat in two batches to avoid crowding.

2. Add the mirepoix (the diced onions, carrots and celery) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sautee until softened - about 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic about halfway through. Then stir in the tomato paste and the balsamic vinegar.

3. Add the wine, beef stock, crushed tomatoes, orange peel, bay leaves and cloves. Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low and cook for 2-2 1/2 hours to braise the meat (you can also braise the meat in a 350 degree oven if you prefer that to the stovetop.)

4. Add the cubed potatoes, sliced carrots and onion. Make sure that they are submerged in liquid (if you need to add more stock to cover them, do so now.) Simmer, uncovered, for another 35-40 minutes or until softened. About 20 minutes into the simmering, add the chopped thyme and stir.

5. Taste the stew to determine that the veggies are fully cooked and to adjust the seasonings as needed (you may want to add more salt and pepper.) If you feel that it's too liquidy, thicken with a paste made of a few teaspoons of flour mixed into a tiny bit of water and stir in quickly and thoroughly to avoid lumps, then continue to simmer with the lid off until you are satisfied with the consistency. Garnish with the chopped parsley.

This stew goes nicely with a salad and either a loaf of crusty bread with butter or some herbed Israeli couscous.