Back to the Past

One of my favourite things to do on a cold, but dry, crisp winters day is to go out for a walk in the woods. The best thing about it is, probably, coming back home into the warmth and wrapping myself in a blanket on the sofa and my hands around a steaming bowl of fresh soup. But even now in summer, with temperatures soaring, I do like a bowl of soup. Fair enough, the bowl of soup contains different ingredients but the principle is the same: stock, vegetables, protein, starch. Perhaps a noodle soup with ginger, spring onions, bean sprouts, chili and chicken. Or maybe a chilled pea soup with lovage and creme fraiche (I know, mom, who ever thought I would eat pea soup...) or a light fish soup with haddock and sweet corn.

What ever soup it is I am making, I do prefer to make a soup with homemade stock. Using a stock cube might seem a like good, quick and easy option but I find they usually lack flavour and just add a lot of salt. Of course, there is something to be said for low-sodium, free-range stock cubes but they are more often than not very expensive.

It used to be common for people to make their own stocks but these days people think it is difficult and time-consuming. But it doesn't have to be. In principle, making your own stock is not more difficult than bringing a pan of water to the boil and letting it simmer and not more time-consuming than cooking your average meal. The benefit of making a big pan of stock is that you can freeze it. It does lose some of its taste but not massively so and if you reduce the stock to concentrate the flavour it is actually a very handy thing to have in the freezer. Besides, stock will last three to four days in the fridge, after which time you can bring it back to the boil and keep it for another 3-4 days, practically indefinitely.

There are various options for stock but the two main categories are: Fond Blanc (white stock) and Fond Brun (brown stock). For white stock you use raw bones and for brown stock you use... You guessed it, roasted bones.  Chicken bones are mainly used for white stock and veal or beef bones are mainly used for brown stock but Fish and Vegetable stock are also white stocks. (Bones,) vegetables and water in a pan + simmering = stock. The vegetables you use for making stock is called mirepoix and consists (usually) of onion, leeks, carrot and celery but for a white stock you would mainly use the white parts of vegetables.

The most time consuming of all the various options for stock is brown stock as the bones need roasting and are then simmered for several hours to get the deep brown colour. The quickest to make are fish and vegetable stock as they only need about 20-25 minutes. 

Brown Stock

Ingredients:

• 500 gram beef of veal bones
• Mirepoix
• 2 chopped carrots
• 2 diced onions
• 2 chopped celery sticks
• 1 tablespoons tomato paste
• Enough water to cover the bones
• Bouquet Garni (herbs and spices tied in a cloth for ease of use)
• Dried thyme
• Parsley stems
• Bayleaf
• Peppercorns
• Cloves

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C
2. Place the bones in a heavy bottomed roasting pan. Drizzle them with a bit of vegetable oil if you like
3. Roast the bones for about half an hour
4. Add the mirepoix to the roasting pan and continue roasting for another half an hour
• Toward the end of the roasting, add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste or dilute the paste with a little water and brush the bones thinly with this before you start roasting them
5. When the bones are thoroughly browned, remove the roasting pan from the oven and transfer the bones to a heavy-bottomed stockpot
6. Add enough cold water to the pot to completely cover the bones, about 1 litre per 500 gram bones
7. Bring the pot to a boil, then immediately lower the heat to a simmer
8. Skim off the scum that rises to the surface with a slotted spoon
9. Add the roasted mirepoix to the pot along with the Bouquet Garni; tie the sachet string to the stockpot handle for easy retrieval later
10. Continue to simmer the stock and skim the impurities that rise to the surface
• Liquid will evaporate, so make sure there's always enough water to cover the bones
11. After anywhere from 4 to 6 hours, once the stock has developed a rich brown colour, remove the pot from the heat
12. Strain the stock through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. Cool the stock quickly, using an ice bath if necessary

Some hints and tips when making brown stock:

• The best bones to use for making stock are ones with a lot of cartilage, such as the so-called "knuckle" bones in the various leg joints. The bones of younger animals also have more cartilage, which is why veal bones are so desirable
• Always start with cold water when making stock. It will help extract more collagen from the bones, which will produce a stock with more body
• Don't let the stock boil, but rather keep it at a gentle simmer with bubbles just breaking the surface. Also, don't stir the stock while it simmers. Just let it do its thing. All you need to worry about is skimming the scum off the top, and possibly adding more water if the liquid level drops too low

Glace de Viande

Glace de Viande is the fancy name for brown stock that has been reduced to an almost syrupy consistency and is used to fortify sauces. A spoonful of glace de viande is a great way to add flavour to other dishes. It stores well in the freezer, so in a pinch you can add water and turn the glace back into stock again.

Here's how to make it:

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the stock (see above) to a boil and then lower the heat to medium
• As the stock simmers, you may see scum or other impurities rise to the surface. Skim these impurities off with a ladle
2. Once the stock has reduced by a little over half, pour it through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into a smaller pot
3. Lower the heat a bit and continue reducing, skimming as needed
4. The glace is finished when the liquid has reduced by about three fourths and the glace is thick and syrupy
• When you stir it, the glaze should coat the back of your spoon
5. Let the glace cool, transfer it to a container with a lid and refrigerate or freeze

It might seem all a bit daunting, but I promise it is well worth having stock to hand like this. Whether it is to make a soup or light broth, a sauce or as a base for a stew, stock is versatile. Whatever you use your stock for:

Enjoy!

Comfort guaranteed

Every now and then I am in need of real comfort food; when I'm ill, when mother nature is wreaking havoc, when I'm sad or depressed. For the last six weeks all of the above have been going on. I've been suffering with severe abdominal pain, money is (as always) very tight and together they are starting to cause mild depression. Comfort food is what I need and crave!

Visits to the doctor and the hospital have concluded that the pain is most likely gynaecological in origin and I am awaiting a referral back (don't ask) to gynaecology for further testing. As the abdominal pain is (probably) caused by mother nature, I thought to look on the internet to see if there are certain foods I should, or should not, be eating. There is plenty of advice on this and I struck lucky... Wheat, red meat, refined carbohydrates, refined sugar and honey, caffeine, chocolate, dairy produce, eggs, fried foods, butter, margarine, lard, soy, tinned foods, anything with additives and preservatives, alcohol. Perfect! All the things I love to eat. Oh, I made a mistake. These are the foods I have to cut out? But, but, but... My idea of a quick snack is a slice of brown bread with butter and cheese. My idea of a tasty breakfast is soft boiled eggs with toasted brown bread. A quick pick-me-up is chocolate. I need some sugar or honey in my tea, at least six times a day. My favourite meal is beef stew with dumplings.

The idea of having to give up everything I love to eat is not a pleasant one but I do think that some of this could help and so I have changed certain things: green tea instead of black tea so I don't need sugar, chicken instead of beef (although I am still going to eat that beef stew tomorrow night...), no white bread or pasta but the whole grain variety, no eggs for breakfast but I will use eggs when baking, butter and lard in moderation, no alcohol (with the morphine that's not wise anyway)...

Tonight's tea? Chicken Chimichangas. A Mexican recipe with chicken, chilli and spices and a firm favourite in this house. Yes, it uses wraps. Yes, they need frying but I am going to bake them in the oven instead. Yes, it uses cheese but I never said I would cut out dairy products. The white sauce that is served with it is traditionally made with stock instead of milk and I am leaving out the sour cream... Below is the original recipe...

Chicken Chimichangas

Ingredients:
For the chicken

• 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets
• 750ml water
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic granules
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 130 gram chopped pickled chillies (red and green)
• 80 gram onion, finely diced
• 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

For the sauce

• 30 gram butter
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 250 millilitre water
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 125 millilitre soured cream
• 15 gram chopped pickled chillies (green) (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

To finish the dish

• oil for frying
• 8 flour tortillas
• 225g Cheddar cheese, grated

Method:
For the chicken

1. Place the chicken breasts into a large saucepan
2. Pour in the water and season with chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic granules, onion powder and cayenne pepper
3. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes
4. After 15 minutes, stir in the chillies, onion and garlic; continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds
5. Remove the chicken, shred with two forks and return to the onion and chilli mixture

For the sauce

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat
2. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute
3. Whisk in the water and stock cube until the water has thickened and the stock cube has dissolved, about 4 minutes
4. Whisk in the green chillies (if using) and the soured cream; season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm

To finish the dish

1. Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or large saucepan to 190°C
2. Place a tortilla onto your work surface, then spoon about 5 tablespoons of the filling halfway between the bottom edge and the centre of the tortilla and flatten the filling into rectangle shape with the back of a spoon
3. Sprinkle some of the Cheddar cheese over the filling
   
4. Fold the bottom of the tortilla snugly over the filling, then fold in the left and right edges. Roll the chimichanga up to the top edge, forming a tight cylinder; secure the ends with cocktail sticks
5. Repeat with the remaining ingredients
6. Cook the chimichangas, 2 at a time, in the hot oil until they are crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Drain on a kitchen towel-lined plate and remove cocktail sticks
7. Top with the white sauce to serve

For some added vibrancy you can serve this with some freshly made tomato salsa and guacamole. If you cannot find pickled chillies try using fresh chillies to taste and add a dash of vinegar.

As they say in Mexico

¡Buen provecho!

or even

Bon appetit!