SWEET BRAISED WHOLE SCALLIONS
From All About Braising
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound scallions (about 5 bunches, or 3 dozen)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon or 1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lemon
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Using about 1 1/2 teaspoons of butter, generously butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. Trim the root ends and 1 1/2 inches off the green tops of the scallions. Arrange half of the scallions in the baking dish so the bulb ends are lined up at one end and the greens are toward the middle. Place the other half of the scallions in the opposite direction, so you end up with a double layer of scallion greens across the center of the dish and a single layer of bulbs and each end of the dish.
3. The braise: Pour the water into the dish. Cut the remaining butter into slivers and dot it over the top of the scallions. Season with the tarragon or parsley, salt, and pepper. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and slide onto the middle rack in the oven. Braise undisturbed until fragrant and tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
4. The finish: Remove the foil from the dish, and increase the oven heat to 450 degrees. Roast the scallions for 10 minutes, then shake the pan back and forth to coat the scallions with the glaze that will have formed. Continue roasting until the liquid evaporates and the edges of the scallions are beginning to brown, another 5 minutes or so. Squeeze over a few drops of lemon juice to taste, and serve hot or warm.
Yield: Two servings, at the most.
CARNITA SALAD
For the carnitas:
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or country-style ribs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large onion, diced
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup tequila
2 tablespoons lime juice, from one lime
salt to taste
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 2 to 3 hours until the meat is tender, the onions have melted into the stew, and the broth is evaporated. (If necessary, turn up the heat near the end of cooking to evaporate the rest of the broth.) At this point, you may optionally refrigerate the carnitas before continuing. They will keep several days in the fridge.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carnitas and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are heated through and well-browned, even burnt or crispy in places, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately with suggested accompaniments.
For the salad:
1/2 medium head napa cabbage, shredded
juice of 1/2 lime
Frank’s Red Hot Xtra Hot Sauce or other hot sauce of your choice
Stir together lime juice and hot sauce to taste. Toss the cabbage with the lime juice mixture and divide into two bowls. Top each bowl with about 1/2 cup hot carnitas and serve.
Yield: Two servings, with lots of carnitas left over for tacos
I think the pork shoulder and Boston butt are just about foolproof. Instead of broth, we use water plus a dash of Liquid Smoke. And I’m a big fan of the Dutch oven. The Mario Batali model seems to be just as hardy as the Le Crueset, for less than $100. Plus it has those self-basting spikes that may or may not work!
Hooray for Frank’s Red Hot! I like the flavor better than Tobasco, and at first I was disappointed that my usual grocery store only carries the enormogiant bottle of Frank’s (huge fridge footprint!) but now I realize that we go through it so fast it’s probably better this way.
I don’t refrigerate my Frank’s, and have never had a problem, if that helps.
[...] wanted to braise shallots ala molly stevens for some time now and the final push came via the spilled milk podcast (have you listened to it yet? it’s a fortnightly riot, i tell you). i took in the concept of [...]
Love your podcast! It’s the only thing that keeps my sain on my long commute to work. Any chance you can do an upcoming topic on stews or soups for winter?
Winter is already over in Seattle, but I think there’s about a 100% chance we’ll cover that topic this fall.
i’m making this tomorrow night! i even batted my eyelashes and asked the butcher to cut my pork into cubes for me. couldn’t find the frank’s extra hot sauce, but i know i love the traditional. the bagger said he preferred the mild version, which i’ve never seen, and when i told him i was making a salad dressing with the hot sauce and lime juice, he said he’d been thinking about making a buffalo sauce style salad dressing too. i just love food talk – thank you so much for this podcast. it’s delicious.