Category: Dutch Oven

Easy French Bread.

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My search for an easy recipe for a perfect loaf of French bread started on my trip to Denver last month. My cousin and I were browsing bread recipes and found them all totally convoluted, intense, and just impractical, so I promised that I’d find out the secret to easy French bread and then share it with her on this blog. Well, I’ve found that secret in another gem from my cooking idol, Laura Calder. I’ve switched up a few things from her original recipe: I added a bit more salt and used half whole wheat flour. A word of caution, though: it might be an easy recipe, but it takes a really long time—you might even say, foreverrrr.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 1/2 cups plus 1/4 cup warm water
additional flour or cornmeal, for dusting

DIRECTIONS

Whisk together flours, salt, and yeast. Stir in 1 1/2 cups warm water, and add the 1/4 cup water if needed. The dough should not be dry, and it’s okay if it’s pretty wet–it should be sticky, rather than a firm dough ball.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for at least 12 hours, or at most 24 hours (I let mine sit 16 hours in the oven–keep the oven off, but leave the oven light on).

The dough is ready for the next step when you see little bubbles formed on top, and it will have just about doubled in size. If a brown crust has formed over the top of the dough, just use a spatula to fold it over once or twice to work this crust into the rest of the dough.

Take a tea towel and flour it generously. Place the dough onto the floured towel and turn the dough over so that all sides are floured. Knead it twice, fold the sides underneath it and shape into a dome.

Dust with more flour or cornmeal and wrap dough ball lightly in floured tea towel. Let sit for 2 hours.

Just before 2 hours is up, preheat oven to 450 F with Dutch oven or bread pan inside to heat. The dough ball will have more than doubled in size.

When the oven is preheated, transfer dough, seam side up, into the pan. Shake the sides of the pan to settle dough evenly, and bake for 30 minutes with the lid on.

After 30 minutes have passed, remove lid and let bread finish baking uncovered, about 20 minutes, until nicely browned.

I love this bread with cold butter and orange marmalade, and it makes great garlic bread too. Enjoy it, and be proud of how gorgeous this easy bread turns out!

Borsch.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

Borsch is so misunderstood. It’s a classic in Russian/Ukrainian cuisine, but despite my Russophile tendencies, I avoided borsch for years because I thought it sounded so…awful. But college is a time for experimentation, right? So during my senior year, I finally gave borsch a try, and it totally won me over! It’s a super hearty vegetable and beef stew that gets its characteristic garnet color from its most notorious ingredient: the beet. If you’re not a beet lover, you’ll probably still like borsch (it’s really good, I swear!),  just make sure to puree the cooked beet and tomato mixture before adding it to the broth pot. Old-world peasant cooking at its finest!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 lbs. stew beef, cubed
3 bay leaves
small onion, chopped
3 small red beets, scrubbed clean and cut into bars
14 oz. canned crushed tomatoes
1 tsp vinegar
2 carrots, peeled and cut into bars
2 celery stalks, chopped
large onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded
butter
olive oil
salt
pepper
2 cloves garlic, diced

DIRECTIONS

Fill a large pot or Dutch oven 3/4 of the way full with water and add beef and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.

When boiling, turn down to medium low heat and simmer. Skim off the fatty, foamy impurities that rise to the top.

When you’ve gotten most of the fatty bits out of the broth pot, add the small onion. Cover and simmer for an hour. Then remove the bay leaves.

Meanwhile, add butter or olive oil to a pan and heat over medium. When hot, add beets, crushed tomato, and vinegar. Stir well and simmer for an hour.

Fifteen minutes before the beets are done cooking, start the other veggies. Heat butter or olive oil in another pan over medium flame and add large onion, carrot, and celery. Cook for 15 minutes.

After you start the onion-carrot-celery mixture, turn up the heat on the broth and bring it back to a boil. Add potatoes and cabbage to the broth pot.

When the beets and tomatoes have finished cooking, add them to the broth, along with the sauteed veggies. Add salt, pepper, and garlic, stir well, and simmer for at least half an hour.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with fresh chives or dill. Priyatnogo appetita!

Vichyssoise.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen1 Comment

There is a lovely vegetable soup called vichyssoise, named for Vichy, the spa town in central France. Whether the soup is French at all is up for debate, though; Julia Child claims the recipe is an American creation. Questionable authenticity aside, this potato and leek puree is an easy, elegant dish that’s pretty simple to make. Served either cold or hot, it’s a versatile dish perfect for unpredictable spring days.

INGREDIENTS

2 large leeks (or 3 medium ones), white and light green parts only, sliced and rinsed thoroughly
1 medium onion, rough chop
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 medium potatoes, washed, large dice; peel if desired (I leave the skins on–see below*)
chicken stock or water (I used homemade chicken stock)
salt and pepper to taste
butter
half and half or heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

Heat a Dutch oven or other large soup pot on medium and add a pad of butter. When butter is melted, add leeks, onion, and celery, and cook until softened but not browned.

Add potatoes and just enough chicken stock or water to cover the vegetables. Season with salt, and don’t skimp on the pepper!

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cooking until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat and puree in batches; I like to pour the pureed soup through a strainer so that there are no lumps, just a smooth, thick soup.

*If you left the skins on your potatoes, like I did, you’re getting a second dish out of your vichyssoise! While straining into your soup bowl, reserve some of the potato puree in a separate bowl–say, 3/4 cup. After you’ve strained the soup, all the potato skins will be caught in the strainer. Scrape them out and mix them into the reserved potato puree for leek mashed potatoes!

Back to the soup. Whether you’re serving it cold or hot, there’s one last step before you dig in. Just before serving, stir in a healthy splash of half and half or cream and add a dash of salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley or chives. Croutons would be good, but I was fresh out. Oh well. Bon appetit!

Red Lentil Soup.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen1 Comment

I’m always on the lookout for new healthy, yummy, and portable dishes to bring to work for lunch. This bright and fragrant spiced lentil soup is full of protein and iron, and it’s sure to hold you over until you get home for dinner! And the best part is, dried lentils are so much faster and easier to cook with than many of their fellow legumes, which require soaking overnight. Lentils only cook 20-30 minutes until they’re tender and ready to eat!

INGREDIENTS:

1 large onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups red lentils, picked clean and rinsed
8 cups water or stock (I used homemade chicken stock, but vegetable stock is just as good)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

DIRECTIONS

In a dutch oven or large soup pot, saute the carrot and onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic and cook another minute or two.

Add the washed lentils and water or stock. Then add the cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 20 – 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender. Remove from heat.

A very yummy soup, even if one of your bay leaves is broken...

Discard bay leaves and puree in batches. Garnish with parsley and serve with crusty brown bread and butter.

Homemade Chicken Stock.

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I spent the last few weeks saving and freezing all our leftover chicken bones, carrot peelings, celery leaves and bottoms, and any carrots, onions, or celery that were close to spoiling. I make a lot of dishes that require stock, so it made sense to figure out how to make my own–it’s so much cheaper than buying it pre-made, and it’s a great way to use up the odds and ends you’d otherwise throw away.
Note: the difference between “stock” and “broth” is that stock is made with bones, and broth is made with meat. Stock tends to have a more robust flavor, but as ingredients in recipes, they’re pretty interchangeable.

INGREDIENTS

bones and leftover pieces of 2 chickens
1 1/2 cups carrot, washed and cut into thirds
1 1/2 cups celery stalks, washed and cut into thirds
1 onion, skin-on, washed and halved
4 cloves garlic, skin on
any saved carrot peelings, celery leaves and bottoms, and onion skins or root ends
salt, peppercorns, thyme, and parsley to taste (I use about a palmful of each)
cold water

DIRECTIONS

Place chicken, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and seasonings in a large pot.

Fill pot with water and bring to a boil. Then immediately reduce to a simmer.

Simmer uncovered for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more water throughout the process, keeping the veggies and chicken bones submerged at all times.

After 4 hours, remove from heat and strain out the pieces. Chill overnight and remove any fat that collects at the top.

If you plan to use the stock right away, keep it refrigerated. To use at a later date, freeze the stock in ice cube trays and then transfer the frozen cubes to a bag, to use whenever you need it! Stock should last in the freezer for 3-4 months.

Czech Goulash (Old recipe).

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

For the updated Czech Goulash recipe, click here.

This is my original recipe for goulash. I’ve since updated it, and I really like the new version much better – it’s more potently paprika-ed and also more authentic, in that it’s less like a chunky vegetable stew and more like the slow-cooked, warming, fortifying dish I ate in Prague. I recommend checking out the updated recipe instead, but in case this one tickles your fancy a little more, I didn’t want to delete it!

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp olive oil
3 medium onions, chopped
2 lb stew beef, cubed
3 cloves garlic
4-6 celery stalks, chopped
4-6 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp caraway seed
3-5 tbsp flour, depending on desired thickness (I use all-purpose, but potato flour works just as well, for those with gluten allergies)
8 oz canned crushed tomato
3-5 cups cold water or stock
salt, pepper to taste
marjoram or parsley, sour cream for garnish
2 medium potatoes, boiled and cubed (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil over medium in Dutch oven or other large soup pot. Add onions and cook until transparent. Then add the beef and cook until browned.

Add garlic, paprika, caraway seed, salt, pepper, and flour, if you’re using it. Stir and cook about 2 minutes, careful not to let the seasonings burn. Then toss in the carrots and celery and cook another two or three minutes, until the seasonings coat the veggies and they start to soften.

Add tomatoes and some of the cold water or stock, adding more as needed throughout the process (goulash can be stew-ier or soup-ier, however you like it).

Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. I go for 3 hours whenever I can, and it’s worth it!

Serve with sour cream and parsley or marjoram for garnish. If you’re using potatoes (which we keep separate to avoid making the soup too starchy) add them to your bowl just before serving.