Monday 5 October 2009

Recipe #13: Black-Eyed Bean Stew with Lamb Sausage


This stew is perfect for a cool evening.  It does take a bit of prep-work but the flavors are bold and it's very filling.

As a side note, I am always frustrated by bean soup recipes because they always require that the beans be soaked overnight - and I'm not much of a recipe planner so this rarely works for me.  I've realized since beginning this experiment that I'm going to have to be more prepared.  So, if you're wanting to cook this, start the night before.  Get those beans out, cover them in plenty of cold water and let them soak.

Black-Eyed Bean Stew with Lamb Sausage
(Printable Version)
Serves 4-6
  • 1 cup dried black-eyed beans, soaked in cold water overnight
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced along the grain
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped and bruised
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 5-6 thin spiced lamb sausages
  • 1 cup white wine 
  • 2 14 oz cans of peeled tomatoes
  • chopped parsley
  • salt
  • freshly ground pepper
Drain the beans and place in a pan with plenty of cold water.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute before reducing heat to a simmer.  Allow to simmer for about 25-30 minutes.  Drain, rinse well under cold water and remove any loose skins.

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the onion, garlic, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds.

Saute until onions and garlic are soft and aromatic.  Meanwhile remove the sausage from its casings.  Once onions and shallots are soft, add the sausage and saute until cooked through.

Add the beans and stir through.

Next pour in the wine.

And add the tomatoes along with any juices in the can.

Allow mixture to come to a simmer and then reduce heat to maintain simmer but not allow a full boil.  Cook for 25 minutes or until beans are completely cooked through.  You may have to top up the liquid with water several times during cooking so keep an eye on it.  Once done, taste for seasoning and if necessary add some salt and pepper.
Serve in bowls topped with chopped parsley.  It's also a nice touch to add a dollop of sour creme or creme fraiche.


©2009 Rebecca Manor

Thursday 1 October 2009

Recipe #12: Lemon Chicken with Crushed Red Pepper



I first had a version of this chicken over at Joe and Amanda's.  The great thing about it is that it is easy and the chicken turns out so flavorful and moist!  It's really basic and has traditionally Turkish ingredients so I'm posting it here - although I'm pretty sure it's not authentic.

Lemon Chicken with Crushed Red Pepper

  • boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 per person)
  • olive oil
  • juice from 2 lemons
  • salt
  • crushed dried chili peppers
Place the chicken in a large ziplock bag.  Drizzle in olive oil (about 1/4 cup for 4-6 breasts), lemon juice, salt and chili pepper.  I'm not putting measurements because it will depend on how many chicken breasts you're going to be marinating.  Basically you want to have a good amount of the marinade and it should be well salted.  Seal the bag and squish it around so that the marinade mixes and the chicken is thoroughly coated.  Let marinate for 1-4 hours.  You'll notice that the chicken starts to turn opaque from the lemon juice but that is fine.

Once you're ready to cook the chicken, simply dump the contents of the bag into a heated pan.  Simmer until chicken is cooked through.  Remove from pan and serve.  It's a little boring looking at this point so I topped mine with a little fresh parsley.  You could also transfer the cooked chicken to a hot frying pan and brown the outside quickly before serving.