Meat Stew

The typical recipe is using veal (a young cow) but if you have difficulty finding veal you can also use other meats such as pork, rabbit, chicken and lamb

Ingredients

800g veal shanks
2 onions, halved
2 carrots, chopped
half lemon
100g butter
20 pcs white pearl onions
250g brown mushrooms
2 tbsp flour
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup cream
flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 bouquet garni (6 parlsey stalks, 2 celery stalks, 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns, 3 thyme sprigs, placed inside muslin and tied)
salt
freshly grround black pepper
water

Method

1. In a pot add veal, onions, lemon, bouquet garni, 1 tbsp salt and enough water to cover meat.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Add carrots and simmer for additional 15 minutes.
4. Now remove onions, lemon and bouquet garni.  You can thorw this away as we will not be using them anymore.
5. Using a colander, separate broth and meat.  Set aside.
6. Heat up a heavy pan and put 25g butter, add pearl onions and mushrooms.  Pan fry for 4 minutes then set aside.
7. Add the remaining butter and flour, mix until it thickens (becomes roux), add around 600 ml of stock and mix well make sure its free of lumps, bring to a boil then add the cooked meat, carrots, mushrooms and pearl onions.  Simmer for 10 more minutes.
8. Now add the cream and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for additional 2 minutes.
9. Turn of heat and add egg yolks and give it a good mix, serve with chopped parsely on top.

Mahogany Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed, cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon(wine)
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 bay leaves
•  
• 1 pound carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into 1-inch lengths
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh italian parsley
•  

Preparation

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Add meat to pot; sauté until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Push meat to sides of pot. Reduce heat to medium; add 2 tablespoons oil to pot. Add onions; sauté until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Mix meat into onions. Add 1 cup wine, tomatoes with juices, hoisin sauce, and bay leaves. Bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and 1 cup wine. Cover; simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, increase heat to high; boil until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes longer. Reduce heat to medium, add cornstarch mixture and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Season stew with salt and pepper. 
  DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Bring to simmer before serving, stirring occasionally.
• Transfer stew to large bowl. Sprinkle with parsley; serve.

Peasant Stew......

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds), skinned
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeño peppers and spices, undrained
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Preparation

• Combine cumin, salt, and pepper; sprinkle over chicken.
• Place chicken in an electric slow cooker; stir in onion, tomatoes, and chiles. Cover with lid; cook on high-heat setting for 3 hours. Stir in beans. Cover; cook on high-heat setting 1 hour.
• Place 1 chicken thigh in each of 6 soup bowls; ladle 1 1/4 cups stew into each bowl. Top each serving with 2 teaspoons cilantro and 2 teaspoons sour cream.

Bean and Sausage and Stew

A warming, simple one-pot meal that’s perfect for chilly late-winter evenings. You can use any flavour sausage you like; the texture works wonderfully with the tender beans and rich, hearty tomato sauce.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 4

12 good quality sausages (use two packets of six)
1 onion, chopped
2 x 300g pots fresh tomato and herb sauce
540g jar large butter beans, rinsed and drained
freshly chopped herbs, to garnish

1 Put the sausages and onion in a pan and cook until the sausages are beginning to brown, turning them occasionally.
2 Stir in the sauce. Fill one pot with water and add to the pan. Bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.
3 Add the drained beans and simmer for a further 5 to 10 minutes or until the beans are heated through, the sausages are cooked and the sauce is the required consistency. Garnish with herbs.

Per serving: 980cals, 73g fat, 27g saturated fat, 54g carbohydrate 

W&h Tip
Make a day ahead and chill. Reheat thoroughly, adding a little extra water.

Weight Watchers Ratatouille....stewed vegetables

Ratatouille is a traditional French stewed vegetable dish that contains tomatoes, onions, zucchini, eggplants, peppers and herbs. It can be served as a meal of its own (accompanied by rice, potatoes, or French bread), or as a side dish.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
1 cup chopped onions
1 large eggplant
3 medium zucchini
2 large green peppers
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
2 cups crushed canned tomatoes
fresh ground pepper

Preparation
1. Heat oil in Dutch oven or large saucepan, cook garlic and onions until tender.
2. Cut vegetables into 1-inch pieces.
3. Add the eggplant, zucchini, pepper,oregano, parsley and stir well.
4. Saute for about 5 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, cover and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes.
6. Serve hot or cover mixture and refrigerate to serve chilled.

WW POINTS per serving: 2
Nutritional information per serving: 113 calories, 0.9g fat, 9.5g fiber

Chickpea Stew with Chorizo and Meatballs

Chickpea Stew with Chorizo and Meatballs, 

For the chickpeas:

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight or quick-soaked

1 bay leaf

6 ounces Spanish chorizo, sliced

For the meatballs:
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
10 ounces ground pork
1/4 cup grated onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
sea salt and pepper
extra-virgin olive oil

For finishing the stew:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon smoked sweet Spanish paprika
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
sea salt and pepper

Prepare the chickpeas by placing them in a large pot and covering them with 2 inches of cold water. Bring the soaked chickpeas to a boil over a high heat. Add the bay leaf and then reduce the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. If the water level gets really low, add some extra water to the pot.

After 1 hour, add the sliced chorizo to the chickpeas and continue cooking until the chickpeas are tender but still have a bit of bite to them, around 30 minutes longer.

While the chickpeas are cooking, make the meatballs by putting the bread into a small bowl and covering the slices with cold water. Let the bread soak for 5 minutes, then drain and squeeze out the excess liquid. Finely crumble the bread and place it in a large bowl with the pork, onion, and egg. Gently knead the meatball mixture with your hands until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper.

If the meatball mixture is too moist to form into meatballs, stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. Shape the meat mixture into meatballs the size of a cherry tomato. Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan and in batches, cook the meatballs until they are browned on both sides and pretty much cooked through. Remove the meatballs from the frying pan and set them aside until later.

In the pan with all the meatball drippings, cook the onion, carrots, and garlic over a medium heat until they are soft but not browned, around 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes then cover the frying pan, and let everything cook for another 5 minutes. Finish by stirring in the paprika.

By now, the chickpeas should be ready. There will still be some water left in the chickpea pot, and if you think it is too much, remove some of the cooking juice and reserve it in case you need to add it back later to the stew.

Add the tomato mixture to the chickpea pot and cook the stew over a simmer until the chickpeas are very tender, around 15 to 20 minutes longer. Add the meatballs at the end and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Taste the stew and season with salt and pepper as needed.

To serve the stew, chop up some fresh parsley to sprinkle on top and enjoy.