77: Braised Goat Neck / Roasted Asparagus / Wild Black Rice

I shop at many a place to find my meat, veggies, and fruit. I was surprised to find goat neck slices at Safeway, but I was more than intrigued with what I could do with the cut. Goat is generally a leaner meat, incredibly low in fat, so you can’t sear it with salt and pepper, or it dries out in a bad way. I knew I wanted to braise it to soften up what can be a tougher texture if only sautéed. Goat is practically made for slow cooking. The result is tender, succulent, and mouthwatering.

I looked around the pantry, and I found a box of wild rice. I also spied some asparagus in the fridge. Thus, I found compliments to go with the goat.

Ingredients and Directions:

2 goat neck slices, bone in, fat trimmed

1/2 shallots, thinly sliced

1/2 carrots, diced

1/2 cup celery

3 cloves garlic, minced

Bouquet garni (parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme)

1 cup hearty red wine

1 cup beef stock

1 cup fire roasted tomatoes

1/2 cup cultivated wild rice

Olive Oil

Salt + pepper

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven. Brown the neck slices for 4-5 minutes per side. Remove to a plate, and add more olive oil to the same pan. Sauté the shallots, carrots, celery, and garlic, with salt and pepper for 6 or 7 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in the red wine, bring to a boil, add goat slices back, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. The wine should have reduced by half at this point.

Now add the tomatoes and its juices and beef stock to the pot with the bouquet garni, and stir well to mix everything together, pushing the bouquet garni down into the juices. Bring to a boil once more, reduce heat as low as you can, cover and cook for 90 minutes. The end result should be incredibly tender veal and a somewhat thick sauce. Cook a little longer if need be.

Cook rice according to package. It should take about 50-60 minutes, so time it against the dutch oven. Roast asparagus spears in salt and pepper 6 minutes before plating the meal.

Enjoy!!

27: Curry Goat Stew

I love goat meat. I picked up some goat meat cut for stews from my farm club, Arganica. Goat meat is very popular in Africa, Jamaica, and the Caribbean. It’s similar to lamb, and it’s a little stringier in texture. Goat is also lower in fat than chicken and higher in protein than beef. In other words, start eating more goat!

This recipe draws on some West African influence in my quest to cook more outside my box of New American cuisine. I served it over rice, but you could probably find some nice roti bread to go with this. Ask your butcher to cut the goat meat into cubes for a stew.

Ingredients and Directions:

1 lb goat meat

1 lemon

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

1 medium onion, diced

Curry powder

Cayenne pepper (or paprika)

Allspice

1.5 cups beef stock (I used a bouillon cube)

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Rice

Season the meat with a healthy amount of curry powder, juice of one lemon, and salt and pepper. Let it marinade for at least one hour. In a sauce pot, lightly brown the meat with olive oil. Now add in the carrots and onions, and cook until onions are wilted. Pour in the stock, more curry powder, and a healthy pinch of cayenne pepper and allspice. How much curry powder you add to the sauce will determine how spicy you want the dish to be. Bring dish to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer for 90 minutes. Cook rice according to package.

Serve and enjoy!

18: Steamed Mussels / Herbed-Champagne Broth with Smoked Sausage & Fennel / Squid Ink Linguine

You might recognize this recipe as similar to the mussels dinner last night, but the flavor profiles of the broth are completely different. Tonight’s broth was champagne-based, which makes for a lighter sauce. I substitute smoked sausage and mushrooms for the tomatoes and saffron, creating a less acidic and more savory sauce. Additionally, the bread is replaced with fresh squid ink linguine I bought from a local farmer through my Arganica Farm Club membership. Squid ink gives the pasta a subtle sea flavor. I think you’ll like both styles, and, really, it’s just a matter of preference. You could always make both, even on the same night, and let me know which style you like better.

Ingredients and Directions:

-1/3 cup diced onion

-3 minced cloves of garlic

-1 cup champagne

-1 cup seafood/fish stock

-half of a medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced

-mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded (important - google it!)

-1 smoked sausage, diced

-3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

-1 big handful of pasta

-olive oil

-parsley and basil, chopped

You'll want to de-beard your mussels before you do anything else, if necessary.

You’re going to need a pan deep enough to hold two cups of liquid, plus veggies. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Sauté the onions on medium heat until soft, just a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute or so. It should start smelling really good now. Now add the fennel, and cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently. Start pasta water while fennel cooks (You may need to start the water sooner if you’re cooking dry pasta). Add the mushrooms and sausage, and cook for two minutes more. Turn the heat to high, add the champagne, fish stock, and herbs. Bring to a boil, and then bring heat to low to simmer for 10 minutes.

Turn the heat back to high on the sauce, and add the mussels. Cover the pan, bring the heat down to medium, and cook for about five minutes. Drop fresh pasta in water for two minutes, drain. Throw away any mussels that haven’t opened.

Serve in a bowl with the broth and all and enjoy!