Friday, February 26, 2010

Chili


Chili is a spicy meat stew, which originated in the North American southwest, probably in Texas, but possibly in Mexico.  Texas makes claim to chili con carne, literally “peppers with meat,” and their legislature has designated it as the official state dish, so let’s give Texas the credit for inventing it.  Mexico’s claim on chili is supported by the fact that most of the peppers used in chili came from Mexico, but the dish is not part of their culinary tradition, and, therefore, the nod goes to Texas.

Chili is made with chilies, peppers from the nightshade family, and most often from the genus Capsicum, which include a pungent chemical, capsaicin, which gives chilies their heat.  The capsaicin is primarily concentrated in the chilies’ seeds and placenta, the white pithy membrane that bears the seeds.  By removing these seeds and the placenta, the heat of the pepper is greatly diminished.

Chili is one of those dishes that people love to argue about, particularly about what ingredients one uses in their chili.  In Texas, chili is made without any beans or tomatoes, which many people believe to be an intricate part of any good chili.  In Texas the chili may contain no other vegetables besides the peppers and the beef, either cubed or ground, however it also commonly includes onions, garlic, and cumin, and frequently masa, used as a thickening agent.  Outside of Texas, it is not uncommon to find that beans, usually red kidney beans, are added, and most people also associate the inclusion of tomatoes as a staple in any good chili recipe.  By some accounts, beans were added by Cincinnati cooks, and many popular chili recipes now include beans as a standard ingredient.  You might get incarcerated in Texas if you include them, so pick your chili fights carefully.

The meat used in most often beef, however venison is not unusual in rural areas, and turkey and chicken are used in concert with great northern beans for while chili.  Mexicans make a chili verde, a green chili, which includes pork stewed in a chicken broth with tomatillos, garlic and roasted green chilies.  Vegetarian chili may contain such items as tofu or some textured vegetable protein, but corn and beans combine to form a whole protein, so their inclusion is fairly common, although many other vegetables show up, including squash, mushrooms, carrots, beets and/or parsnips. 

Most northern people tend to use chili powder as the seasoning in their chili, although dried chilies are available and enterprising cooks will seek them out for use in chili.  If you choose to do so, or use fresh chilies during their growing season in the summer, protect yourself by using gloves to handle the peppers.  A small amount of capsaicin, which is oily and hard to wash off surfaces, whether your hands, knives or cutting surfaces, left on your fingertips can cause immense irritation if rubbed in the eye, so be careful. 

You can control the heat of your chili when using the peppers by removing the seeds and the placental tissue.  If you like it hotter, leave them in.



Beef & Sausage Chili
20 Servings

¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lb. Onions, coarsely chopped
1 lb. Italian sausage, removed from casings
4 lb.  Beef chuck, ground
2 tsp. Pepper, ground
1 12 oz. can Tomato paste
1 ½ Tbl. Garlic, minced
1 ½ oz. Cumin seed
2 oz.  Chili powder
¼ Cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbl.  Basil, dried
2 Tbl.  Oregano, dried
3 lbs.  Canned Italian-style tomatoes, drained
¼ Cup Burgundy wine
1/8 Cup Lemon juice
¼ Cup Fresh dill, chopped
¼ Cup Italian parsley, chopped
1 ½ lb  Red kidney beans, soaked and cooked
5 oz. Black olives, pitted

Heat the oil in a large kettle.  Add the onions and sauté over low heat for 10 minutes.  Crumble in the sausage meat and ground beef and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the meats are well browned.  Skim off any excess fat.

Lower the heat and add the black pepper, tomato paste, garlic, cumin seed, chili powder, mustard, salt, basil, and oregano.  Add the drained tomatoes, Burgundy wine, lemon juice, dill, parsley and the cooked kidney beans.  Stir well and simmer 15 minutes.

Correct the seasoning and add the olives, simmering 5 more minutes.

Garnish with sour cream, chopped onions and grated cheddar cheese.  Serve with beer.


Friday, February 5, 2010

Poutine


Poutine is the French-Canadian dish that is comprised of French fried potatoes with cheese and rich gravy.  What type of French fry, what type of cheese and what type of gravy is where different purveyors and devourers of this “heart attack on a plate” find room for individuality, to say nothing about what additions one can include under the same name.

First off, it seems that poutine is a Quebecois invention, originating in the Montreal area in the 1950s.  Various stories abound about the combination of French fries and cheese, but it seems that the gravy was added later to keep everything warm. 

Traditionalists will tell you that the French fries need to be a standard cut from Russet potatoes.  No steak fries, no shoestring potatoes, no curly fries or wrinkle cut, and no frozen fried potatoes.  Pommes de terre frites are made by deep-frying the potatoes in 325 degree oil for 3 to 4 minutes before draining them and allowing them to cool.  At this point they are limp, uncolored, but cooked through.  When all the potatoes have been precooked, the oil is reheated to 375 degrees and the potatoes are fried a second time until golden browned and crisp.  After draining on paper towels, they are lightly salted while still warm.  These fried potatoes are crisp on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside.

Next is the question of the cheese.  In Quebec the fresh cheddar cheese curd is the standard.  This cheese is so fresh it squeaks when you chew into it. Ideally it is not more than 1 day old.  If this curd were to become standard cheddar, the curd would be salted, packed into molds, and aged in a cave for a number of months before being released for sale.  Some poutine purveyors use mozzarella, Cheese Whiz, shredded cheddar, American, Swiss or Gruyere. 

Last is the question of what type of gravy one uses.  The standard is chicken or turkey gravy, mildly spiced and seasoned with pepper.  Some places use veal gravy, which has a more neutral taste but greater mouth feel, or duck gravy.  Usually beef or pork gravy is avoided (unless you are at a Tunbridge Fair French fry cart). 

In Montreal they like to take poutine to another level, so some restaurants offer it with bacon, the Tunisian lamb sausage merguez, Montreal-style smoked meats, shredded turkey and peas.  The real fancy places take it way over the top with foie gras, caviar and even truffles. 

Other cultures have their own variations on the poutine theme.  In Italy they add a meat and tomato sauce to fried potatoes.  Sometimes they add sausage.  In Greece they top their potatoes with vinaigrette, feta cheese and gravy, and in Mexico they have carne asada fries consisting of shoestring potatoes, carne asada (roasted beef cut into strips), guacamole, sour cream, cheese and pico di gallo, the condiment made of chopped tomato, onions, hot chili peppers and lemon juice.  In NY they have “Elvis fries” with mozzarella and brown gravy and cheese fries are usually made with American processed cheese or mozzarella.