In his book, Hearty Country Cooking, Mark Sohn, says: “To ‘pot-roast’ is to braise. Using several cups of liquid and a covered pot, I steam a poor cut of beef slowly until it is tender. The moist heat inside the closed pot will draw out every drop of natural juice. I solve the problem of a dry roast by slicing the roast thinly and across the grain and then moistening it with gravy. In addition to the potatoes, carrots, and onions that I use in this recipe, consider adding cabbage, tomatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes, and celery. For flavor, add whole cloves of garlic, ground cinnamon, leftover coffee, green peppers, and hot banana peppers.” Mark calls the recipe “lazy day” pot roast because you may do half of the work the first day. But he adds, when rating the recipe as easy, moderate, or difficult, “No doubt, however, I also think this recipe is rather difficult.”
From Marvin Woods’ book titled The New Low-Country Cooking, we have Country Captain Chicken. He says, “This dish, my updated version, exemplifies the influence of eastern India on the cuisine of the South. Like many Indian dishes, this chicken dish utilizes yogurt, curry, and mint in the marinade before it is grilled. (I also give directions on how to oven-fry the chicken.) As to how its name came about, there seem to be several theories. One is that it originated with an Indian officer who introduced a sea captain to this dish, who then brought the recipe to the United States.”
Bob Warden’s Great Food Fast, subtitled Bob Warden’s Ultimate Pressure Cooker Recipes, has a recipe called Dirty Rice with Spicy Pork Sausage. Bob says, “While true Cajun Dirty Rice is made with chicken giblets and livers to get its brown color, I make mine with spicy pork sausage (to most people’s relief). But just because I don’t follow ALL the rules, doesn’t mean this doesn’t pack a ton of Cajun flavor!” He adds in a note, “To cut the fat: As this is great with pretty much any kind of sausage, ground turkey sausage can be used to cut the fat. You can even use sliced low-fat kielbasa or chicken sausages.”
Emily Meggett’s Fried Zucchini that we found in Gullah Geechee Home Cooking serves 6 to 8 and looks wonderful. She says, “I think of Fried Zucchini as vegetable chips. I slice my zucchini thin (but not TOO thin, as you’ll want to taste the vegetables, not just the breading), and season them with some salt before dipping them in a light batter and dropping them into the frying oil. You should fry these until they’re golden brown and serve them immediately. When you are going to fry anything, the oil must be hot enough so that whatever you put in there does not absorb the oil, but not so hot that it smokes.”
POT ROAST
(LAZY DAY POT ROAST)
From: Mark F. Sohn’s
Hearty Country Cooking
One 5-pound rolled and tied bottom round or chuck roast
2-1/2 cups beef broth
10 large carrots, peeled
10 medium potatoes, peeled
4 medium onions, peeled
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
Yield: 10 servings
1)Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the roast in a very large roasting pot.
Add the broth, cover, and bake for 4 to 7 hours. Add the carrots, potatoes, and onions, cover, and bake another 1-1/2 hours. Separate the vegetables, roast, and stock. Cool and refrigerate. 2) The next day, or when the roast is cold, make the brown gravy. Remove and discard the fat from the stock. Pour the broth into a measuring cup, and if needed, add water to make 3 cups. In a small bowl, make a cold roux by moistening the flour with broth, adding 1 tablespoon of broth at a time. Do not add more broth until the flour is smooth. Continue adding cold broth to the flour until it is as thin as tomato juice. Add this back into the broth, and pour into a saucepan. Boil for 1 minute, and remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream. 3) Lay the chilled roast on a cutting board, and slice it across the grain, about 1/4-inch thick. Cut the potatoes in half and the carrots into thirds. Arrange on a platter, top with half of the gravy, and reheat, covered in the microwave or a warm oven. Reheat the remaining gravy, and serve.
Healthy choice alternative: Omit the sour cream.
Note: This is a meal in one pot. Serve on a platter and offer rolls, real butter, and a green salad. For a big group, add green beans and corn bread.
COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN
The New Low-Country Cooking
by Marvin Woods
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh
mint leaves
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
One 4-1/2- to 5-pound chicken, cut into pieces, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup vegetable oil (for oven-fry method only)
1) In a large bowl, stir together all of the ingredients except for the chicken and the oil. Add the chicken and toss to lightly coat with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to 48 hours. 2) To grill or broil: Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess run back into the bowl. Grill or broil the chicken for 12 to 15 minutes per side, turning occasionally, until it is cooked through and the juices run clear when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. 3) To oven-fry: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting the excess run back into the bowl. Add the chicken to the skillet skin side down, one piece at a time. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the chicken and brown the second side for 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until it is cooked through and the juices run clear when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.
DIRTY RICE WITH
SPICY PORK SAUSAGE
Recipe from GREAT FOOD FAST,
Bob Warden’s Ultimate Pressure Cooker Recipes
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces spicy ground pork
sausage
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups long-grain white rice
(uncooked)
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2-1/4 cups chicken stock or broth
1) With the cooker’s lid off, heat oil on HIGH or “brown,” until sizzling. 2) Place the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and celery in the cooker, and sauté until sausage has browned, about 5-7 minutes. 3) Stir in garlic, rice, oregano, chili powder, paprika, and papper, and sauté 1 additional minute. 4) Add the chicken stock and securely lock the pressure cooker’s lid. Set for 4 minutes on HIGH. 5) Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before performing a quick release to release any remaining pressure. Depending on the salt content of the sausage and chicken stock, you may need to salt to taste before serving.
EMILY MEGGETT’S
FRIED ZUCCHINI
Recipe from Gullah Geechee
Home Cooking by Emily Meggett
3 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds about 1/8-inch thick
1 tablespoon salt
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk, whole or 2-percent
1/2 cup self-rising flour
2-1/2 cups vegetable oil
1) Sprinkle the salt evenly onto the zucchini (use more salt if you like veggies a bit more salty). Set the salted zucchini aside. 2) In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg and milk. Add the zucchini slices, and make sure that every slice is coated in liquid. 3) Place the flour in a large paper bag (a grocery bag will do). Remove the zucchini slices from the wet mixture and add them to the bag with flour. Close the top of the bag and shake, shake, shake! Toss the ingredients back and forth, enough to where all of the zucchini slices are coated in the flour. 4) In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, heat the cooking oil to a high temperature. Drop each zucchini slice carefully into the hot oil, make sure there is enough oil so the zucchini slices will float; cook in batches. Brown the zucchini on both sides until crisp. This should take no more than 5 minutes total. 5) Line a plate with two paper towels, and place the zucchini on the paper towels to allow the oil to drain. Serve immediately.
