Buffalo Rising Online

Jan 23rd, 12:24pm By Christa Glennie Seychew

My husband and I rarely agree on anything when it comes to the kitchen. We like to think it keeps us young. We look at food completely differently, have entirely different favorite meals and restaurants, and when it comes to a home cooked meal, well, the kids have chosen sides. You can say the same thing about television. While he watches Family Guy and documentaries about carbon dating, I go for Gordon Ramsay’s stints on the BBC and The Office. But, oddly enough, we seem to have found some middle ground in Jamie Oliver's new show.

I wasn’t a fan of The Naked Chef. Although I loved Chef Oliver’s exuberance and way of making the simplest dishes tremendously appealing, the thin plot woven around the idea of cooking for an impending "event" (which Giada's show does now) really grates on my nerves. “Look, I’m making cookies for my niece’s bake sale--pasta for the local basketball team--nachos for girls’ movie night.” Ugh.

So I caught a few episodes of The Naked Chef a few years ago and that pretty much summed up my knowledge of Chef Oliver. Then I did some reading about his efforts to change the British school lunch program and his London restaurant, Fifteen which takes kids from challenging home situations and gives them the chance to learn the trade (there are three other Fifteen’s now, sprinkled throughout Europe). I have to say I admired him for both of those things, but not enough to watch The Naked Chef again or pay much attention to his cooking.

Now on the Food Network we can see Jamie at Home, where Chef appears to be cooking in his actual home (or at least one of them), using produce from his own garden, sans cheesy plot lines. He’s as chipper and boyish as ever and his cooking is even more enticing and practical than it was before. He recently smoked salmon fillets in a biscuit tin directly on the gas burner of his stove top. You can bet I’ll be trying that one out as soon as I get my hands on some chicken wire. Suffice it to say, three shows in and the hubby and I are both hooked. The husband cooks at home often, but it’s generally off the cuff, nothing planned. He was really inspired by a recent episode and went so far as to track down a recipe online (he hates the computer), do the shopping and assemble this amazing dinner. Lucky me!

This fantastic piece of pork is braised with a variety of peppers providing mild heat and myriad flavors from the use of smoked paprika, fresh sweet peppers, grilled peppers from a jar, and diced fresh chilies. You can play with the heat level, and since we have little ones we really toned it down, but the depth of the flavor was still pretty amazing. Served with basmati rice and topped with a lemony sour cream and parsley mixture, it's a keeper, no doubt about it. Really simple, too. This meal would easily qualify as one of Buffalo Rising's Sunday Suppers.

The local supermarkets couldn’t help the husband with the cut of meat he needed, so he stopped by Frank Zarcone & Sons, a butcher on Grant Street. Not only were they able to easily provide the right cut, but the total cost of the monstrous piece of meat was only $12 and some change. All of the ingredients for this dish are remarkably inexpensive if you’re wise enough to do your shopping in this cozy West Side neighborhood. Guercio’s had everything else he needed; the total cost of this delicious and plentiful meal was well under $25 and would have easily fed 6 adults.

So get cooking! The recipe that follows appears in Jamie's voice, making it a pretty fun read for a recipe. And if you’re not up for peppery pork, snuggle up with your favorite cook and discover one of the many other great recipes featured on Jamie at Home.

Spicy Pork & Chili Pepper Goulash

4 1/4 lbs pork shoulder off the bone, in 1 piece, skin off, fat left on ∙ sea salt and freshly ground black pepper ∙ olive oil ∙ 2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced ∙ 2 fresh red chiles, seeded and finely chopped ∙ 2 generous heaping tablespoons mild smoked paprika, plus a little extra for serving ∙ 2 tsp ground caraway seeds ∙ Small bunch fresh marjoram or oregano, leaves picked ∙ 5 bell peppers (use a mixture of colors), sliced ∙ 1 (10 oz) jar grilled peppers, drained, peeled and chopped ∙ 1 (14 oz) can good quality plum tomatoes ∙ 4 tbsp red wine vinegar ∙ 14 oz basmati rice, washed ∙ 2/3 cup sour cream ∙ 1 lemon, zested ∙ small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped


Preheat the oven to 350°.

Get yourself a deep, oven proof stew pot with a lid and heat it on the stove. Score the fat on the pork in a criss-cross pattern all the way through to the meat, then season generously with salt and pepper. Pour a good glug of olive oil into the pot and add the pork, fat side down. Cook for about 15 minutes on a medium heat, to render out the fat, then remove the pork from the pot and put it to 1 side.

Add the onions, chili, paprika, caraway seeds, marjoram or oregano and a good pinch of salt and pepper to the pot. Turn the heat down and gently cook the onions for 10 minutes, then add the sliced peppers, the grilled peppers and the tomatoes. Put the pork back into the pot, give everything a little shake, and then pour in enough water to just cover the meat. Add the vinegar - this will give it a nice little twang. Bring to the boil, put the lid on top, and then place in the preheated oven for 3 hours.

You'll know when the meat is cooked as it will be tender and sticky, and it will break up easily when pulled apart with 2 forks. If it's not quite there yet, put the pot back into the oven and just be patient for a little longer!

When the meat is nearly ready, cook the rice in salted, boiling water for 10 minutes until it's just undercooked, then drain in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water and pouring it back into the pan. Place the colander over the pan on a low heat and put a lid on. Leave to steam dry and cook through for 10 minutes - this will make the rice lovely and fluffy.

Stir the sour cream, lemon zest and most of the parsley together in a little bowl. When the meat is done, take the pot out of the oven and taste the goulash. You're after a balance of sweetness from the peppers and spiciness from the caraway seeds. Tear or break the meat up and serve the goulash in a big dish or bowl, with steaming rice and your flavored sour cream. Sprinkle with the rest of the chopped parsley and tuck in!

Zarcone & Sons
23 Grant Street, Buffalo 14213
716.886.6553


Recipe courtesy of FoodNetwork.com