Pollo guisados -- Stewed chickens, a Pinedo recipe

I have to admit that I love stews.  They are generally easy to fix, can contain a lot of flavors, feed a crowd, and can be made in advance.  This Pinedo recipe, on page 207, checks all those boxes.  

Her Recipe

My Translation

I also have to admit that I don't have any pigeons on hand, so I have to make this one with just chicken.  I noticed she didn't say to cut the birds up, but I assumed they were.  I chose to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs (a favorite).  But look at all the ingredients that make up the sauce!  

My Redaction

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 cloves garlic

7 ounces onion

1 1/4 pounds tomatoes

16 large, pitted black olives

4 ounces mushrooms

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon flour

2 cups boiling water

1/8 cup fresh oregano leaves

olive oil for cooking

Everything but the chicken.  Its picture is further down. Not the olive oil, either.

First, heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven.  I put enough in to lightly cover the bottom of pan once it was hot.

Add the chicken thighs and brown them over medium heat.  You can do this in batches if you want them to be more brown.  I did one batch.  Note:  I interpreted "half fried" as "brown them."  After they cooked on one side, I turned them to brown the other side.

While the meat is browning, chop the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, oregano, and mushrooms.  Also, slice the onions and olives.  I had a big bowl nearby and I placed each ingredient in the bowl once it was chopped or sliced.  Add the raisins, too.

Once the meat is browned, add all the ingredients from the bowl into the Dutch oven.  Stir them well.

Add the boiling water, salt, and pepper.  The sprinkle the flour over the top.  The goal is to avoid lumps and clumps of flour.  Stir well.

Bring the whole mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.  

Simmer over that low heat for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve by placing one thigh with a scoop (or two) of sauce over the top.

This is a bit crowded for standard browning, but I didn't worry about it.

Everything in the bowl, as viewed from the top.

The bowl, as viewed from the bottom, after added to the chicken.

Stirred well.  Note the herbs are not finely chopped.

Now it is everything.  See how the flour was sifted with no clumps?

Stirred and starting to bubble.

Ahh, done.

My Notes

Miss Pinedo suggested using flour or toast.  By that she probably meant toasted or dried bread crumbs, which is a time-honored method of thickening a liquid.  I chose flour because it was convenient, although I do have copious amounts of dried crumbs that I store in my freezer.  Either works.  I have learned that with stews, bread crumbs seem to make a more "gooey" sauce, meaning thicker with more body.

For my low heat, I used 1 or 2 out of 10 on my stove's settings.  I was looking for just a little bubbling in the middle; that's all.  Slow cooking will get the meat very tender.

I judged the amount of water to use by how high the level in the Dutch oven was -- it was almost as high as all the ingredients together.  And that was 2 cups.  

The house smelled so good while the stew was cooking, and continued to smell good afterwards.  Yum!

The Verdict

I kept the meal simple:  stewed chicken, toasted onion rolls, and wine.  Don't forget the wine!

The chicken was tender.  I never used the knife because the meat broke up easily with a fork.  The meat was not dry, either.  

The sauce:  Oh, the sauce!  Full of flavors, textures, and surprises.  My guest taster, who didn't know all that I put in it kept saying, "Are these raisins?" and "There are mushrooms!" and similar comments.  He loved all the ingredients he discerned while eating.  

Overall, we both loved the sauce.  It was complex in its flavor profile, but no one flavor stood out.  I consider that a win.  I got the balance right, even for the amount of salt and pepper.  The tomatoes cleared formed the basis of the sauce but it was not a "tomato-y" sauce.  It was fun to taste different ingredients along with a bite of chicken.

The toasted roll came in handy for sopping up the sauce once the meat was gone.  

My guest taster had seconds.  That is also a win!

Success!

The leftovers were just as good reheated.  

Did the flour really thicken the sauce?  I will say, "Probably not" but the long cooking with the lid off reduced the sauce and it did thicken up a little.  How much was from the flour, I cannot tell.  Would bread crumbs have been better?  I've used them in stews before and I think it would be thicker.  But with only one tablespoon, maybe not.

It just occurred to me that Miss Pinedo's tablespoons were probably two of ours - so it could have been thicker had I thought of that earlier.  I realized that after reviewing her table of weights and measures on page 274:  she said, "A tablespoon measures an exact ounce."  Our standardized tablespoons measure one-half ounce.  I need to keep that in mind for future experiments.

Schinkenfleckerln - Austrian Ham-and-Noodle Casserole

This is a casserole I have been making for 35 years, so technically it is a Most Favorite recipe.  But I did not want to wait until December to write this post.  So here it is!  Bonus Most Favorite!

I found it in my Betty Crocker's International Cookbook, published in 1980.  I've used this book so many times that the binding is cracking and pages are falling out.  I can't really say how "authentic" her recipes are -- they might have been adjusted for the American palate of the 1970s -- but they are fun to peruse and explore.

ISBN 0-394-50453-4

This recipe is on pages 154 - 155.  The book gives the English name of the recipe first, with the ethnic name after it in parentheses.  There is a guide in the back of the book (pg 350) on how to pronounce schinkenfleckerln:  shink-k'n-fleck-airl'n.  My mouth has fun trying to say "airl'n."

Schinkenfleckerln

8 ounces uncooked wide egg noodles

1/4 cup margarine or butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup dairy sour cream

2 cups diced fully cooked smoked ham (about 1/2 pound)

1/2 teaspoon caraway seed (optional)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

Paprika

Drop noodles into 6 cups rapidly boiling salted water (4 teaspoons salt).  Heat to rapid boiling.  Cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes.  Cover and remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes.  Drain.

Stir margarine and onion into noodles.  Stir eggs into sour cream.  Stir egg mixture, ham, caraway seed and pepper into noodles.  Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly in greased 2-quart casserole.  Pour noodle mixture into casserole.

Sprinkle with paprika.  Cook uncovered in 350 degree oven until mixture is set, 40 to 45 minutes.

Serve from casserole or unmold onto heated platter.  To unmold, loosen edge of noodles around inside rim with knife.  Place inverted platter over casserole; invert noodles onto platter.  Garnish with parsley if desired.

Serves 4.

My Notes

There is no way I am adding 4 teaspoons of salt to the noodle water.  Adjust to suit your own tastes, but I used 1/2 teaspoon.  Note that the ham and butter already have salt in them.  

This was the '70s, so margarine. I used butter and always have.  It helps to slice the butter into thin slices then spread them over the hot noodles.  That way they melt easily and are distributed around the noodles well.

I have always used the wide egg noodles until today.  I had rotini in my cupboard and that is what I used.

The beaten eggs and sour cream combine to form the sauce for the casserole, so mix them well before adding to the noodles.  I add the sauce last.

I do not find the caraway seeds to be "optional."  "Mandatory" is my thought because I love their flavor.

I have never unmolded the casserole to serve it.  The breadcrumbs should help with that, but I don't know.  I still always butter the dish and spread the breadcrumbs on it before adding the noodles.

It is your choice on how much paprika to use.  When my family was young, I used just enough to add some color.  Now I use more because I like the flavor.

In order:  the cooked noodles.

Butter and onions added to the noodles.  Stir well.

One sauce to rule them all and in the oven, bind them.

With the ham and spices added.

Pour the sauce on last.

Stirred, not shaken.

I admit: those are not evenly distributed.  But the surface is covered enough to work.

I made that ceramic bowl!  (It has a lid, too.)  I was pleased it fit the recipe just right.

I used about that much paprika.  Ready for the oven.

The Verdict

It smells so good!

This is pure comfort food.  Serve it warm so the flavor of the ham and onion come through and the noodles give good support.  Be careful not to overcook it or it gets dry.

First helping.

I enjoy this every time I make it.  I wished I had added more caraway to this, and maybe a bit more pepper.  (Why does that make me think my tastebuds are getting old???)  

My guest taster thought it was fine but I got the sense he didn't think it was exceptional.  Just enjoyable.  He said he would eat it again if I fixed it.  One thing he noticed right away was the onion flavor.  You see, the onion is not precooked, so it has a bit of a tang and a distinct - but not strong - onion presence.  I think it surprised him because he is so used to the onions in a casserole being cooked before mixed in.

The next day we had some for lunch, and I think he liked it better.  He did add some seasoned salt to it, because he is more of a salt eater than I am.  I sure like it hot, not warm.  The flavors come through better and I did not want more seasoning this time.  Of course, casseroles are always better the next day, like stews.

Success!

In the 1990s, I tried making it more low fat.  My notes say that leaving out the butter worked well.  But translating the whole thing to low fat (by also substituting plain yogurt for the sour cream) was not a good idea.  You need some fat in it to keep it moist.

I have also tried it with cooked chunked breakfast sausage, which is a good substitute for ham.

Unless your table guests are big eaters, I would say this serves 6 to 8, not 4.

Showing off that casserole dish!