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Braised Brisket with Parsley, Mint, and Thyme

By Stephanie on April 29, 2010 in Main Dishes

I’m going to admit to y’all that I did not know you did anything with a brisket besides smoke it until I moved to Austin in 1999. I also didn’t know you could buy one that weighed less than 7 lbs. Where I grew up, brisket = bbq, and that was that.

It took me a long time to come around, but I started coming across recipes for braised or roasted brisket more and more, and finally, this weekend, I bit the bullet and tried it. And you know what? It was still tender and juicy and delicious, albeit with an unusual herb rub giving it quite a different flavor than the smoked brisket I’m used to. I’m recommending a few changes from the original recipe, such as cooking it directly in the roasting pan instead of on a rack (I think it’ll be even juicier this way) and throwing in some mushrooms and carrots that can cook in the juices, like a pot roast. Also, I’m adding crockpot directions for weeknight cooking.

Don’t be afraid of the mint — it’s very subtle. I love the generous amount of herbs used here, because a) they are tasty, and b) I often have a hard time using up all the herbs we get before they go bad, and this is a good way to do so.

Braised Brisket with Parsley, Mint, and Thyme (from Whole Foods)

1 (4-pound) beef brisket, trimmed
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 cloves garlic
1 cup roughly chopped yellow onion
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup diced carrots

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a roasting pan with cooking spray. Season brisket all over with salt and pepper and then place in the roasting pan; roast for 1 hour. Meanwhile, put parsley, mint, thyme, vinegar, pepper flakes, garlic, onion, salt and pepper into a food processor and pulse to make a thick paste; set aside.

After 1 hour, remove brisket from oven; reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Carefully add broth to pan, spread herb paste over brisket, arrange mushrooms and carrots around brisket, cover pan with foil and continue roasting, basting every 45 minutes or so, until very tender, about 2.5-3 hours more.

Transfer brisket to a platter; set aside to let rest for 10 minutes. Skim off and discard any fat from liquid in pan. Trim brisket further, if desired, then thinly slice against the grain (here’s how to do that) and spoon pan sauce over the top.

Alternate crock pot directions

Reduce amount of chicken broth to 1 cup. Spray a crock pot with cooking spray or line with a crock pot liner.

Season brisket all over with salt and pepper and then place in the crock pot. Put parsley, mint, thyme, vinegar, pepper flakes, garlic, onion, salt and pepper into a food processor and pulse to make a thick paste; spread over brisket.

Add broth to crock pot, spread herb paste over brisket, and arrange mushrooms and carrots around brisket. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.

Transfer brisket to a platter; set aside to let rest for 10 minutes. If you want to use the juices as gravy, put them in a saucepan and cook on medium-high heat about 10 minutes, until they reduce a bit and aren’t so watery. Skim off and discard any fat from liquid in pan. Trim brisket further, if desired, then thinly slice against the grain and spoon pan sauce over the top.

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Quinoa loaf with mushrooms and peas

By Stephanie on April 25, 2010 in Main Dishes, Vegan

Anyone else get the Whole Foods e-newsletter? It is always full of great recipes and is how I came across this intriguing dish. It’s a vegan main course, stuffed with quinoa and chickpeas for protein, and mushroom and peas as the main veggie content. As I made it, I imagined that this would be something you could find on the menu in a restaurant in The Haight with this song playing in the background.

Anyway, the chickpeas and rolled oats serve as the binders in this loaf, replacing the breadcrumbs and eggs you usually find in meatloaf-like recipes. The original calls for frozen peas, but of course we use fresh here, and because of that, I recommend blanching them for a few minutes in boiling water before adding them to the mix (frozen peas are already blanched). The Whole Foods site recommends serving leftovers sliced on toasted bread, like a veggie burger. I think that’s going be my lunch tomorrow.

Quinoa Loaf with Mushrooms and Peas (from Whole Foods)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 cups cooked quinoa (how to cook quinoa)
1 cup fresh green peas
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley and/or 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
10 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
1 cup chopped red onion

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch loaf pan with oil; set aside. Bring a large saucepan filled with water to boil. Add peas and cook 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. (If using frozen peas, you can skip this step.) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, put beans, oats and 1/2 cup water into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, bean mixture, quinoa, peas, parsley, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan, gently pressing down and mounding it in the middle. Bake until firm and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Smoky Chickpea Soup

By Stephanie on April 15, 2010 in Uncategorized

I think I have the only toddler in the US who refuses to eat chicken nuggets. An entire pint of strawberries in one sitting? No problem (and so much for that pie I was going to make). But a toddler finger-food staple? Just one bite? Well, that’s just ridiculous.

I’d never even made them at home until last night, when I came across a recipe for chicken nuggets breaded with almond meal instead of breadcrumbs that sounded interesting. They tasted just like regular chicken nuggets, but it was a no-go.

Tonight we resorted to bribery. It went like this:

Us: “Ryan, if you eat your chicken you can have some cake!”
Ryan: “No!”

Us: “Ryan, if you eat your chicken you can have your orange!”
Ryan: “No!”

And so on. It did not work. So tomorrow night, I’m going to serve this soup and hope for better results. If kiddie-style chicken’s not cutting it, we’ll just go with a more adult chicken dish and see what happens.

There’s much to love about this soup. Inspired by several Greenling veggies I needed to use, it’s stuffed with vegetables, chickpeas, and chicken, and gets a wonderful smoky flavor from smoked paprika. It also comes together quickly on a weeknight. It would taste great without the chicken and with vegetable broth for a vegetarian version.

Smoky Chickpea Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 tsp)
1 bunch spring onion bulbs, thinly sliced (reserve the tops for garnish)
1 bunch bok choy, chopped
2 cups finely chopped kale
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
3 cooked chicken breasts, chopped (about 3-4 cups)
1 15-oz can chickpeas
1 15-oz can fire-roasted tomatoes*
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

*ETA: I just got a question about this so I wanted to clarify — you don’t have to actually roast canned tomatoes yourself (unless you are so inclined). Muir Glen is a popular brand of canned organic fire-roasted tomatoes and the only brand I knew of until last weekend, when I spotted an HEB version that’s cheaper. It’s not organic, but it’s a choice. Anyway, on to the recipe.

Instructions

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven. Add onions and garlic and cook about 5 minutes, until onions soften. Add remaining ingredients, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until greens or softened. Garnish with chopped spring onion tops. Serve with crusty bread to soak up the rich broth.

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Local Box Meal Plan: March 29-April 2

By Stephanie on March 30, 2010 in Central Texas Local Box

This week’s box looks awesome. Not that past boxes haven’t been awesome, but we get artichokes this week! A rare treat. I also don’t often see golden beets and celery in the Local Box, so enjoy them while you can.

The entire box will contain:

Artichoke — Martinez Farms
French carrots — Acadian
Red Russian kale — TX Natural (give your kale a sniff before you cook it — it has a lovely floral scent when raw)
Grapefruit, limes, or oranges — G&S Groves
Cilantro — Acadian
Romaine lettuce — Acadian
White mushrooms — Kitchen Pride
Spring onions — Green Gate
Golden beets and beet greens — Acadian
Celery — Finca Pura Vida

I am making:

Basic steamed artichoke dipped in melted butter — This is a great tutorial on how to cook and eat an artichoke if your experience with them (like mine) doesn’t extend past popping open a can of marinated hearts.
Farfalle with golden beets, beet greens, and pine nuts — If you’ve only ever cooked with red beets and hate how they bleed everywhere when you cut them, you’ll find golden beets to be a pleasant change of pace. They don’t drip and stain your cutting board.
Chicken and sausage jambalaya (subbing spring onions for the green onions) — This recipe makes a HUGE pot. I mean a giant stockpot full, so use the biggest pot you have or just halve the recipe. It says it makes 10 servings, but that’s if your servings are ginormous. Jambalaya is not a weeknight meal, but make it on the weekend and you’ll have several delicious meals ahead of you. It’s like chili in that it tastes even better the second day.
Almond chicken salad (adding romaine)
Spaghetti with kale and garlic chips — Christina posted a comment below recommending using kale in this recipe instead of chard, which sounds great to me.
Citrus grove punch — This looks really refreshing. I know we’re only getting either grapefruits, limes, or oranges this week, but I thought you might have some leftovers from past weeks waiting to be used. Like I do.