Paleo Kabocha & Lamb Shepherd's Pie

Happy November folks!  We had our neighbors over for dinner recently, and this is the perfect recipe for entertaining.  One pot meal, easy to prepare ahead of time, and although the picture doesn't reflect it, it does present really well! 

This is one of those epic fall meals... warm, filling, and full of all of the flavors that you crave when the leaves turn.  Since I live in southern California I have to have true seasons vicariously through the internet, so I just google pictures of fall foliage or check out my non-California friends Facebook pages.   But make no mistake, I love surfing, not owning an umbrella, and eating al fresco year round, so I have no complaints. 

This take on traditional Shepherd's Pie was inspired by Sunset Magazine, where one day I hope to grace even a tiny corner of their magical, inspirational (if somewhat unrealistic) pages.  Yay for life in the West! 

Paleo Tunisian Beef & Meatball Stew

This recipe for T'fina Pkaila came from Saveur, and it's perfect for a rainy day.  With beef ribs and meatballs, you get a double dose of bovine, and the color from the carrots and spinach make it a gorgeous dish to serve.

Meatballs:

olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 lbs ground veal (or ground beef)

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs pepper

2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

Heat oil in a large pot (I used a dutch oven), and cook onions until trabsulcent.  Transfer to a bowl and mix all remaining ingredients together (using your hands works best), then form the mixture into balls.  Add a little more oil to the pan, and brown all sides of the meatballs - this will probably take a few batches.  Put meatballs on a plate and set aside.

Stew:

Olive oil

2 lbs beef short ribs* 

4 gloves garlic, mined

1 large onion, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and cubed

5 cups beef stock

10+ oz spinach leaves, roughly chopped

salt & pepper

Season beef with salt and pepper, browning the sides.  Remove from pan and add onions and garlic and cook about 5 minutes.  Return beef to pot, add stock and carrots and simmer on low (covered) for about an hour.  Add meatballs and cook about 10 more minutes, add spinach about 5 minutes before serving so it stays green and doesn't get too soggy.

*When I was at the market there were 2 beautiful beef shanks/osso bucco on sale so I bought them instead of splurging on the short ribs. 

Fall at the Farmer's Market

Nothing says "Sunday" like bribing your beloved with breakfast in bed so he'll go to the farmer's market with you. It was a typical beach morning, with a thick layer of coastal fog and the distinctive chill of fall in the breeze, so we put our jeans on, grabbed a coffee and the dog and off we went.  We  - who are we kidding - I was ecstatic when we got a farmers market  a few blocks from our house this summer, and within weeks it had such a phenomenal variety of vendors, it rivaled some nearby ones that have been around for years.  Recently, with the change of seasons we're seeing some great fall produce come in and there was a plethora of sunset colors - reds, oranges, deep purples - in everything from fruit to flowers.

Another great reason to support your local market is to chat with the vendors.  You can learn so much about what's in season, where it comes from, great ways to prepare it, and even some great stories.  We chatted for a bit with the cheese guy, and he knew about every wedge he had in his case. 

I think it's absolutely magical that you can walk a few blocks away and buy a 1/4 of a grass fed cow, some purple artichokes, a homemade tamale, a wedge of chapparal cheese, brownie cookies, dinosaur egg pluots, gluten free gelato, and a lovely bouquet.  All on a quaint street in Newport Beach

All photos courtesy of Patrick Flynn, who braved a very bitter honey vendor to capture these beautiful shots. 

Engaging Your Senses & Arabic Beef Stew

As I very carefully removed the kabocha from the oven, it reminded me that how you plate and present your food can make a substantial impact on the overall enjoyment of your meal.  When you focus on colors, smells, textures, presentation - it engages all of your senses and as those neurons fire sending messages up to that big brain, it amplifies all of the excitement about what's in front of you.  

If you take time to plate your food and note what's going on with all of your senses, you might get more out of your meal than you expected, you might get an experience.  Mireille Guiliano, former Veuve Cliquot CEO and author of "French Women Don't Get Fat" suggests using linens and sitting down at the table for even the most mundane of meals.  You'll enjoy it more and actually eat less.  

A Kabocha is also called a Japanese pumpkin, and is a variety of winter squash that makes a fantastic, tasty vessel for all of your cool weather stews.  This adaptation was made paleo friendly by yours truly after I saw a recipe in Sunset on unusual spice blends.

Heat 1 tbs oil in a large dutch oven and brown about 1 lb of beef stew meat.  Remove the beef and add 2 very large diced shallots, 1/2 diced yellow onion and 1/4 cup beef broth.  Cook until shallots and onions are browned.  Return meat to pan and sprinkle with baharat*.  Add 2 more cups beef broth and stir.  Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for about an hour.  Stir in grated cauliflower, 1 diced tomato, 1 chopped rutabaga, 1 chopped carrot, and 1 chopped zucchini.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375.  Cut and hollow out the kabocha just as you would a pumpkin you're about to carve on Halloween.  Brush the interior with olive oil, prick it in a few places with a fork, and put it on a baking sheet.  Fill the squash with as much stew as it can hold and replace the top. (the rest can be left to simmer on the stove, or placed in the oven in a baking pan covered with foil). The recipe says to bake for 70 minutes, I had mine in for 90 minutes - but just make sure the squash is tender.

Remove squash very carefully - this was a 2 person job - and stir in 2 heaping tbs of sliced chives. When you're serving the stew, be sure to scrape some of the kabocha out with it. 

*What the heck is baharat you ask?  It's an arabic spice blend that I had trouble finding and didn't have time to order online so I had to make it.  I used a combination of allspice,  pepper, cinnamon, fresh grated nutmeg, 1 ground clove, 5 ground cardamom pods, cumin and paprika.  While these are the correct spices in the blend, I'm unsure of the ratios, so I had to wing it.