Kim Moss’s Provencal Stew

A big storm had been forecast so we headed down the mountain to get groceries and, lo and behold, we woke the next morning to a good amount of snow on the ground and it was still falling. A snow day! I don’t know what it’s like for the rest of you (except perhaps for those of you in the mid west and east who have been hit with storm after storm of ice and wind and snow), but not having grown up with it, in that sort of snow culture that gets used to having snow on the ground all winter, I always get a little giddy at the miracle of snow falling. And, although Kim (see previous post A Very Mini Artist’s Colony in New Mexico) did grow up in New England, he still gets excited about it too. So he decided to honor the day by making a nice pot of stew. What better way to warm up the house than with the good aromas of delicious food simmering on the stove and a loaf of fresh bread baking in the oven? And I thought it was high time you all had a chance to enjoy another wonderful recipe conceived by Kim Moss, this one loosely based on a Provencal classic. So I took notes and photos, just for you. Here you go:

Kim Moss’s Provencal Stew

Ingredients:

1 piece thick sliced bacon

10 oz. sliced crimini mushrooms

2 3/4 lb. boned short ribs

fresh rosemary

1 onion

2The T. olive oil

2 T. flour

1 1/2 C. good red wine

9-10 cloves fresh garlic

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

2 T. dried porcini mushrooms, ground fine in a coffee mill

fresh ground pepper to taste

salt to taste

1 1/2 T. tomato paste

2 bay leaves

water to cover

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Cut bacon into good sized pieces…

… and brown on top of the stove (Kim used a pottery crock but any heavy-bottomed pot will do).

Slice the mushrooms.

Remove bones from the short ribs…

… and cut into chunks.

Remove and save bacon, leaving the fat in pot.

Brown mushrooms in the bacon fat…

… put the bacon back in and remove from heat.

Finely chop the rosemary.

Remove bacon and mushrooms from the pot and return pot to stove…

… chop the onions into fairly large, irregular pieces…

… add olive oil to the pot and saute the onions.

Remove the onions and add them to the bacon/mushroom mixture.

All the while, of course, Kim has been putting together his wonderful Country Loaf  (see previous post How to Make the Perfect Country Loaf). Here it is on its third rise…

[Optional] As an added bonus Kim smoked the beef on a closed grill, over apple wood smoke, until it was just browned…

… and then put it into the pot, sprinkled it with flour and tossed. If you prefer, you can just roll the chunks of raw beef in the flour and then brown them in the pot over medium heat with some extra oil.

Add the onion/mushroom/bacon mixture to the beef in the pot…

… and pour in the good red wine.

Crush the cloves of garlic…

… and add them to the stew along with the fresh rosemary, dried thyme, powdered porcini mushrooms, a few grinds of fresh pepper, 2 bay leaves, and 1 1/2 T. tomato paste (the salt will come later)…

… add water to cover the meat and let simmer for a few hours, stirring and scraping often to keep from sticking and burning to the bottom. *As an alternative, the pot may be placed in a 350 degree oven which helps to eliminate sticking so the stew doesn’t need to be stirred as often. Whichever cooking method you use, check often and add water if necessary. Add salt toward the end of cooking. Meat should be very tender when done.

Remember it’s a very snowy day outside still…

…but we’re all safe inside with a warm fire burning…

… and good food filling the whole house…

… with a sense of warmth and anticipation.

To serve:

Kim cooked the potatoes and carrots separately by dropping them into pans of boiling water until they were just barely al dente and kept them warm in the oven. He then placed them in each bowl…

… and ladled the stew alongside and partly over the vegetables…

… like so…

Then all we needed was to share our feast with two good friends and neighbors who were willing and and able to get up my drive when it was deep in snow. Bon appetit!

Love to you all,

Jeane