One Pot Dish

Porterhouse Stew

Ages ago, I used to make everything from scratch: stock, meat glaze, flavored butter, you name it. I competed with like-minded friends outdoing each other with elaborate meals. We lived in a large apartment which had an octagonal foyer where I once gave a sit-down dinner for thirty people

Today, I try to get as much help as I can from ready made foods, and Ottomanelli’s* Porterhouse Stew suits me just fine. To make sure that the meat is tender, I cook it for an additional hour, adding red wine as needed. The stew contains a fair amount of potatoes, celery, and carrots. But, since I like lots of vegetables, I steam some additional carrots, turnips and add some defrosted frozen white pearl onions which I sauté till lightly browned. I incorporate the cooked vegetables into the stew, add a strip of orange peel, and continue to cook the stew.

I usually prepare the dish a day before serving because it helps the flavors to macerate. When ready to serve, I heat the stew, adjust the seasoning and remove the orange peel. I ladle the stew into two big bowls, sprinkle the top with chopped parsley, and serve it with chunks of bread.

Menu

Porterhouse Stew
Wine: Côtes-du-Rhône, Saint Esprit 2007 Delas
Dessert: Chocolate
Madeira

Recipe

1 quart ready-made Porterhouse Stew
2 carrots, cut into bite-sized portions
2 turnips, cut into bite-sized portions
½ package frozen white pearl onions
1 strip of orange peel
Red wine, salt and pepper as needed
Chopped parsley for garnish

Left Over Stew

There’s always stew left over for a second meal. Since it's boring to serve the same dish twice in a row, I put the left over into the freezer and defrost it when ready to use. To change the flavor, I add ½ can of stewed tomatoes and, to give it some pizazz, I serve the stew in a scooped out ciabatta role.


*Ottomanelli
www.ottomanellibros.com