Tag Archives: Stew

Fesenjoon (Persian Pomegranate & Walnut Stew)

Name: Elizabeth Taeed
Class Year: 2009
Country of Residence: Portugal

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

My husband is half Persian and raised in the Bahai faith, and grew up eating this stew on special occasions. He shared it with me on our first date, we served it at our wedding, and now we make it whenever there is an important holiday, festival or event. I am excited to share it now, as we are between two important Bahai festivals: the inter-calary days Ayyám-i-Há (4-5 days between the last two months of the year, which allow the Bahai calendar to be solar, and happen every year at the end of February) and Naw-Rúz (the Bahai and Iranian New Year, which occurs at the spring solstice). This dish is made and served in Iran on all sorts of special occasions, but is primarily an autumn dish due to its main two ingredients: pomegranates and walnuts. The secret is low and slow cooking to release the oils from the walnuts, and using duck instead of chicken for extra celebration. It is delicious served with saffron basmati rice with a crispy bottom (tahdeeg) and a side of Mast-o-khiar (yoghurt mixed with shredded cucumber, minced mint leaves, and celery salt).

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Cozido à portuguesa (meat and vegetable stew)

Name: Elizabeth Taeed
Class Year: 2009
Country of Residence: Portugal

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

My husband and I had lived in Madrid for two years, and during that time ate a lot of Cocido madrileño, a traditional stew made with vegetables, chickpeas, and about a thousand types of meat. When we moved to Portugal, we were delighted to discover Cozido à portuguesa, a distinctly Portuguese take on our beloved cocido. There are also regional variations, so the recipe below is typical of the Alentejo region, where we live.

The joy of both types of Cozido is that you can have it as one course, or you can turn it into a few, with soup and fideo pasta. The Portuguese cozido uses rice and red beans, versus Spain’s emphasis on just chickpeas, and also adds in turnips or pears, bread sausage and pig ears. It also has a much shorter cooking time than Spanish cocido, but we’ve found that the longer you cook it, the better it is. So while a typical Portuguese cozido may only technically require an hour and a half, we’ve found that stewing it for 4-5 makes for a much tastier, tender-er dish! Whatever method and ingredients you use, there is one guarantee: you won’t be going home hungry, and your belt will definitely need loosening. Enjoy my slightly Spanish take on Cozido à portuguesa!

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La Frigousse du Grand Ordre (Poultry Stew)

Name: Méryem Puill-Châtillon
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: France

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This frigousse is a very old recipe from the Middle Ages, in Britanny, France. The Grand Ordre de la Frimousse is a sort of guild which promotes the culture and the local cuisine.  Forgotten for ages, this dish has been recently renewed by the guild during the XXe century. 

Frigousse is a sort of stew, a fricassee of poultry.  This name is in fact unknowed by most people in France !

It’s a wonderful recipe, so tasty, and it’s great when you have a whole bunch of people for dinner !

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Gabrielle’s Harira (Moroccan soup)

Name: Gabrielle Swinkels
Class Year: 1984
Country of Residence: Netherlands

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

My husband hunts and regularly supplies us with beautiful roe deer. Since I don’t want to waste the leftover parts of the animal I always make stock out of the deer’s bones, for stews and soups like these:

A tasty, warm bowl of comfort food, made of your leftover vegetables and fridge stock and bringing back memories of the beautiful Moroccan landscape and people …

Use for this recipe the ingredients that you have in stock. You can leave out or add greens to your taste. Same goes for spices and herbs: use to your liking.

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Shakshuka (Poached eggs in a tomato sauce)

Name: Micha Heilman
Class Year: 2019
Country of Residence: Netherlands

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

The recipe allows the natural taste from many ingredients to come out so the
dish has a full and rich flavor. I am a fan of hearty breakfasts so I eat this on a
day when I want to be satiated for a long time. I was originally served this by a
boyfriend and was very impressed by the visual presentation and flavor. I have
made it for myself several mornings since and find it irresistible. It is a delicious
and beautiful dish, easy to find ingredients for, and could be made for any meal
of the day!

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Fasolada (White Bean Soup)

Name: Joann Ryding
Class Year: 1976
Country of Residence: Greece

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

Fasolada (white bean soup) was the first local recipe I learned to make when I moved to Greece 30 years ago and my Greek husband still says I make the best fasolada he’s ever eaten. Fasolada is Greece’s emblematic national dish, served through the millennia, and it continues to  be a weekly family staple from Fall through Spring. Although it used to be known as the ‘poor man’s meat,’ sustaining Greek families in times of hardship, it was always recognized as a delicious and healthy source of protein and is as popular today as it’s ever been. 

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Pork-and-Paprika Stew (Leskovaccka Muchkalica)

Name: Anita Pion Selec
Class Year: 1988
Country of Residence: Bosnia Herzegovina

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This is the Serbian answer to the French comfort stew of ratouille.  Like most Serbian dishes, the focus is MEAT, specifically pork.  This is the ultimate fall comfort food, traditionally eaten in the late summer or fall when peppers are in season.  Thanks to the modern food supply chain, I love it in the winter.  The prep requires some time, but don’t cut out the steps, esp. cutting the onion into thin rings, somehow this makes it work better than just dicing an onion and throwing the pieces in.  This is a specialty from the Serbian town of Leskovac. You can eat this dish anywhere, from fine restaurants to truck stops. (The name of the dish is pronounced MOOCH-kah-leet-sa.)

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Carbonnade à la flamande

Name: Jessica Spengler
Class Year: 1995
Country of Residence: UK

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

Belgium has beautiful scenery, amazing medieval architecture and fabulous food. Belgian waffles, chocolates and fries are the obvious examples, but my favorite Belgian recipe features one of Belgium’s other great gifts to the culinary world: beer.

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