Normandy Style Seafood Stew

Normandy is one of our favorite areas in France. The abundance of fresh seafood, butter, Calvados and ciders made us just want to go back to our farmhouse and cook. The halibut, scallops and mussels are wonderful with the fennel and Calvados.

Normandy Style Seafood Stew
Makes 8 Servings

11/2 pounds mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1 medium sized yellow onion
1 cup dry white wine
10 sprigs of parsley plus 1/4 cup chopped
2 cups leeks, white and pale green part only, finely chopped
2 cups diced fennel bulb
2 tablespoons butter
13/4 pound halibut fillet, skin removed and cut into 11/2 inch pieces
10 ounces fresh sea scallops
1- 8 ounce bottle clam juice
24 ounces fish stock
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup Calvados (apple liquor)
1 cup heavy cream

• Combine mussels, 11/4 cup chopped onions, wine, and 6 sprigs parsley in a 6-8 quart Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Cover and cook until mussels open, shaking pot often, about 5 minutes, Using a slotted spoon, transfer mussels to a large bowl to cool (discard any mussels that do not open). Strain cooking liquid into a bowl or large measuring cup; discard onions and parsley in strainer. Add 1 cup water to the mussel broth and set aside.

• Meanwhile, melt butter in the same Dutch oven over medium heat. Add remaining 11/4 cups onions, leeks, and fennel and sauté until leeks are soft, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Add your reserved mussel cooking liquid, 4 parsley sprigs, clam juice, fish stock, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Simmer uncovered until vegetables are tender and liquid has been reduced by 1/3, about 25 minutes. Add halibut and scallops to broth and simmer until just opaque in center, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer halibut and scallops to a bowl. Discard parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves.

• Serve in warm bowls with a crispy baguette and serve with your favorite bottle of white wine.

Keeping your Dutch Oven in Tip-Top Shape!

To ensure a long life for your pot, remember these basic guidelines:

1. Just rinse it out with a little soapy water and a soft sponge. To remove any stuck particles from your Dutch oven, soak the pot in hot, soapy water and scrub with a plastic scouring pad. Never use heavy abrasives or metal scouring pads.
2. On the stove top, cook over low to medium heat. Never use our Dutch oven over high heat for searing,g, or the enamel will crack and chip.
3. Don't leave an empty pot on a hot burner - the enamel will crack.
4. Please take care not to drop or bang your Dutch oven, as the enamel coating can chip. However, shipping does not make it unsafe to use.
5. Dutch ovens are ovenproof; however, the knobs and handles get hot and stay hot! Be careful! Always use two thick oven mitts when handling your pot.
   

Baked Short Ribs with Pasilla Pepper Sauce

This recipe turns out great when slow-cooked in a Dutch Oven. One of the "holy trinity" of peppers, the pasilla is a dried chilaca chile, and is one of my Mom and my favorite peppers to cook with. It's wonderful in moles and sauces. Its smoky yet mild flavor gives this dish an exceptional depth.



Baked Short Ribs with Pasilla Pepper Sauce
Makes 6 to 8 Servings

1 dried pasilla pepper, rehydrated, seeded, stemmed, and finely chopped (To rehydrate the pasilla pepper, place it in a bowl, cover with boiling water and soak for 5 minutes)
4 pounds beef short ribs (boneless), rinsed and patted dry, excess fat trimmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup pureed roasted red peppers (if using canned roasted red peppers, be sure to drain and rinse them before pureeing)
One 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
2 whole star anise
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
2 bay leaves

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• To prepare the ribs, season with salt and pepper on both sides. Put a 12" cast iron skillet over medium heat, then add the ribs, fat side down. Cook turning once, until browned on all sides, for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a plate and reserve.
• Meanwhile, in a 5 1/2-quart Dutch oven add the oil butter and heat over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until they start to soften, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pureed roasted red peppers, pasilla pepper, tomato sauce red wine, star anise, cinnamon, five-spice powder, and bay leaves. Add the short ribs back to the pot. Wrap the lid with a slightly damp kitchen towel, pulling tight, placing the corners on top of the pot. Do not let the towel fall into the dish.

• Put the Dutch oven in the preheated oven on the middle rack. Cook until the meat falls apart easily with a fork, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Serve on a plate with buttered egg noodles.

This recipe is from my cookbook:
The Dutch Oven Cookbook: Recipes for the Best Pot in Your Kitchen
Click Here for details.

Dutch Oven 101

The Dutch Oven is my Mom and my favorite pot. Made of cast iron and often enamel-coated, it's the perfect partner to the cast iron skillet - our favorite pan. Dutch Ovens have loop handles and flat bottoms, and always come with lids. They are approximately 4" - 5" deep and range in capacity from 2 - 13 quarts. The name "Dutch Oven" is believed to have originated in the eighteenth century, when the cookware was manufactured in England and brought to the US by Dutch traders.

Historically, the pot was used primarily outdoors. During the pioneer days in the western United States, for example, Dutch Oven cooking was the most important cooking method used. Today, a strong following still cooks with Dutch Ovens over a campfire.

A heavy pot, the Dutch Oven slow-cooks tough meats and melds flavors together to produce melt-in-your mouth tender bites. Use medium to low heat to attain the best results. We prefer the Dutch Oven to Crock-Pot cookery because it slow-cooks without accumulating excess moisture. (See my previous blog article, Cast Iron 101, which talks about pans that "sweat.")

So, grab your Dutch Oven and a sense of culinary adventure - let's make some mouths water!