Glorious One-Pot Meals (13 page)
Read Glorious One-Pot Meals Online
Authors: Elizabeth Yarnell
Adobo Pork
Adobo, or roasted, pork is a staple in Latin America and some parts of Southeast Asia. This is just one version of the Latin American-style dish, made easier as a Glorious One-Pot Meal. Replace the rice and broth with ¾ cup of quinoa and 1 cup of broth for a more authentic South American meal.
Ancho chiles are actually dried poblano chiles, which are rich in flavor and popular for cooking. They’ve been described as looking and tasting like prunes, though certainly with more of a bite. Anaheim chiles are a milder substitute.
You can use boneless frozen pork chops without increasing the cooking time. However, if they are frozen with the bone in, you may need to allow ten extra minutes in the oven. You can also substitute flank steaks or chicken pieces with good results.
I like to add a sliced fresh tomato to this recipe. Layer the sliced tomato on top if there is still space in the pot after adding the green pepper.
SERVES 2
Canola oil spray 1 cup Arborio rice
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable) or water
2 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
¼ large onion, chopped
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
¼ cup fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
½ to ¾ pound center-cut and deboned pork chops, 1 inch thick
One 15-ounce can corn, drained
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Spray the inside and lid of a cast-iron Dutch oven with canola oil.
Rinse the rice in a strainer under cold water until the water runs clear. Tip the rice into the pot. Add the liquid, reserving 1 tablespoon, and stir to make an even layer.
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon of broth with the chiles, onion, oregano, cumin, pepper, allspice, vinegar, and orange and lime juices.
Place the pork chops in the pot and pour half of the mixture over them. Add the corn and bell pepper and pour in the rest of the spice mixture.
Cover and bake for 45 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven. Serve immediately.
The thinner the slice of meat, the more tender the pot roast will be. Ask your butcher to slice it less than two inches thick. Also, go for a better-quality meat for a more tender result, but be aware that it is easy to end up with tough meat if it’s left in the oven too long. For rarer meat, cut the vegetables into smaller cubes (½ to 1 inch) and remove the pot from the oven at the first whiff of the robust aroma of a fully cooked meal.
To speed up your prep time, use frozen green beans and peeled baby carrots. I never peel my potatoes because so much nutrition is in the skin. Just be sure to scrub them well and dig out the eyes. I also think wild mushrooms add a wonderful depth to the meat. Try morels, chanterelles, or shiitakes.
My aunt swears by kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper with beef. Consider both, but remember that kosher salt is more intense, so you may want to use less than you normally do.
SERVES 2
Canola oil spray
2 cups fresh or frozen pearl onions
2 large potatoes, halved lengthwise and cut into ½-inch slices
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ to ¾ pound boneless chuck roast
3 tablespoons tomato paste
⅓ cup broth, preferably beef
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 large carrots, sliced into coins, or
1 cup whole baby carrots
2 cups fresh or frozen cut green beans
4 to 6 mushrooms, thickly sliced
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Spray the inside and lid of a cast-iron Dutch oven with canola oil.
Peel the onions, if using fresh, and drop them into the pot with the potatoes. Mix and lightly season with salt and pepper. Add the meat and again season with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, broth, and Worcestershire sauce until fully incorporated. Pour half of the mixture over the meat.
Add layers of carrots, green beans, and mushrooms and pour in the rest of the sauce.
Cover and bake for 48 minutes for medium/well-done meat and crunchy vegetables, 53 minutes for more well-done meat and softer vegetables, or until the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven. Serve immediately.
Rub the meat with crushed red pepper flakes and white pepper before arranging it in the pot.
Add 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard to the broth mixture.
Omit the Worcestershire sauce and instead add ½ teaspoon each of dried marjoram and dried thyme.
Leave out the entire broth mixture and instead place 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary in the pot. Be sure to remove the sprigs before serving.
The Aztecs worshipped the life-sustaining properties of amaranth in pre-Columbian times. Sadly, it all but disappeared after the arrival of the conquistadors. A grain (like wheat), amaranth is high in protein, fiber, and amino acids. In this recipe you’ll notice the silky beads add yet another exciting texture to this one-pot meal. I find amaranth in the bulk bins at the health food store.
My food processor has a shredding disk, which works well for zucchini; however, sometimes I simply use my grating tower to get the same effect. The shredded zucchini gives this Glorious One-Pot Meal a thick, stewlike consistency that seems especially hearty.
Feel free to swap the amaranth for the same amount of rice (the amount of liquid won’t change).
SERVES 2
Olive oil spray
¼ large onion, chopped
¾ cup amaranth
¾ cup broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable) or water
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ to ¾ pound ground meat (beef, turkey, or meat-substitute crumbles)
One 4-ounce can diced green chiles, drained
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 medium tomatoes, chopped, or one 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Spray the inside and lid of a cast-iron Dutch oven with olive oil.
Scatter the onion in the pot.
Add the amaranth and the liquid. Stir to make an even layer of the grains.
In a medium bowl, mix the beans, meat, chiles, most of the sea salt, the cumin, and the oregano. Drop forkfuls of the mixture into the pot to cover the amaranth.
Top with the zucchini, then the tomatoes. Lightly season with the remaining sea salt.
Cover and bake for 45 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven. Serve immediately.
