MOTHER'S DAY SALE - 20% OFF EVERYTHING - Code: MOM20

French Style Winter Stew | Recipeish | Gustus Vitae

Yield: Serves 4.
Time Estimate: 9 Hours, including 8 unattended.
Storage Notes: May be kept covered & refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Difficulty: Easy.
 

Slow cooked stews and soups are a hallmark of French 'peasant' food, but there is nothing poor about just how rich a few quality ingredients, seasoned properly and gently simmered for the better part of day, smell and taste. We like the depth of flavor that pork lends here, but poultry or game can just as easily be subbed in. Don't skimp on the seasoning - the 8 hours of covered cook time in the oven allow for everything to deeply infused with their complimentary flavors.

Ingredients

  • 4 Boneless pork chops
  • 4 Cups no/low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1 Glass dry white wine
  • Around 1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 Medium carrots
  • 1 Full tin Taste of Bordeaux Seasoning
  • 1 Full tin Hickory Smoked Seasoning
  • 1 Full tin Extra Fancy Veggie Seasoning
  • 2 Bell peppers
  • 1 Tbs tomato paste
  • 2 White onions
  • 1 Shallot
  • 2 Leeks
  • 4 Small yellow squash
  • 4 Small green squash
  • 1 Bunch parsley for garnish
  • Toasted Baguettes to 'Saucer' or mop up
Directions
  • Rinse squash, lop off ends, and cut lengthwise before chopping into half moons.
  • Peel garlic and shallots, and rough chop. Remove green stems and bottoms from leeks, and discarding outermost leaves before finely slicing lengthwise into slivers. Peel carrots, and rough chop.
  • Without trimming the fat, slice pork into 1"x1" cubes.
  • Bring a large sauce pan with about 2 Tbs of olive oil up to high heat.
  • When the oil is just starting to smoke, add in the unseasoned pork, searing each side for around 30-40 seconds, or until well browned. You don't want to cook it though, just add color.
  • Remove pork, return to heat, and add another 2 Tbs of oil, and cook onions and shallot until translucent - around 5 minutes. Remove, add more oil, and cook leeks for 2-3 minutes.
  • Deglaze sauce pan with white wine, scraping up the fond as you do, then pour into a large soup pot.
  • Add in all the veggies and pork, and pour in stock, coming up to just under 1" from the rim.
  • Add in Taste of Bordeaux Seasoning, Extra Fancy Veggie SeasoningHickory Smoked Seasoning, and tomato paste.
  • Stir carefully, crown soup pot with lid, and pop in the oven.
  • After 4 hours, carefully remove from oven, gently fold ingredients, top, and return to oven for a further 4 hours.
  • About 30 minutes before service, pop baguettes and soup bowls in the oven to warm up, and mince a handful of parsley.
  • Remove soup pot from oven, and gently stir once more.
  • To serve, use a slotted spoon to distribute the larger chunks of pork and veggies, then use a ladle to pour over sauce. 
  • Garnish with parsley, serve with baguettes, and devour.