Spicy Goat Stew

Farmers’ market in a bowl

My weekend trip to the Monterey Bay Farmers’ Market at Cabrillo College led to a marvelous bowl of Spicy Goat Stew. I have been meaning to buy some goat meat for some time and this time, things were in my favor. My last visit, there was none, and the visit before that, I didn’t have enough money. I have eaten goat meat before but never had cooked it. I utilized several other things from my market shopping as well ( celery, carrots, leeks, beet greens, garlic).

Spicy Goat Stew

1 1/2 lb. goat shoulder ( including bones) ( Trim  excess fat, leave some – I didn’t and wished I had)
salt and pepper
1 T. coconut oil ( you could use olive oil)
2 large leeks,cleaned and sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced
3 ribs of celery, diced
3 inch piece of turmeric root, peeled and sliced
about 1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
3 carrots, sliced
handful of kale, chopped
handful of beet greens, chopped
1 T curry powder
1T garam masala
1 small can fire roasted tomatoes with green chilis
using the tomato can, 2 cans of water

Heat the oil in a deep saute pan. Liberally season the meat with salt and pepper. Sear the meat on both sides. Remove from pan and add leeks and garlic ( you might want a bit more oil). Cook until softened. Add the celery, turmeric, and ginger. Cook for a few minutes. Add the meat back in and add the remaining ingredients. Let simmer until meat is falling off the bones. This took mine about 4 hours. The sauce just gets better and better when you do it low and slow.

In retrospect, I wish I would have added about 1/2 cup ( or more) of hearty red wine to this. As I said above, I didn’t trim the fat and there really was too much. Fat is good but this only really made me wish I had some pieces of French bread to dunk in and soak up all that juicy fatness. This stew was good by itself but would be fabulous over polenta. Alas, I am experimenting with the rules of food combining which say that eating protein and starches together is not good for one’s belly as they digest at different rates but when I make this again, I might just have to break the rules.

It was VERY spicy, which I like. If you don’t want it so spicy, use plain tomatoes and add a few pinches of dried red pepper to taste.

I will be having leftovers tomorrow and plan to add some more veggies – more celery and carrot, some parsley, and some more greens.

It is good to try new things. Cooking is all about experimenting, changing things up, “tweaking” recipes to suit your taste and mood.

This post is part of GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister and Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s Real Food Wednesday. Please check out the other interesting posts and blogs.

From the garden

Fresh Arugula Pesto

In my For Life! personal chef business, I really focus on making my clients’ meals from seasonal and local produce and products. Well, you cannot get much more local than one’s own backyard! I don’t have a great place for a garden bed. Where there is room, there isn’t full sun. So, I have a couple small garden boxes. Sadly, only one of them is productive at the moment, but, as always, in the garden, there are plans and time for planting the other one. Today I noticed that my arugula is starting to bolt ( flower) and is getting eaten by some critter, so it needed to be picked and eaten. Not a difficult or painful task. I do eat a salad every day but I wanted to do something a bit more interesting with today’s harvest. Aha! Arugula pesto. The word “pesto” comes from the Latin, meaning to crush. It is Italian in origin though they have a version, called “pistou” in France. It is usually made from basil, but essentially any green herb will do. I have made pesto from basil, arugula,parsley, or cilantro. It is combined with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese. You can substitute any nuts. When I used the cilantro, I used macadamia nuts and it became ” Hawaiian Pesto”. Walnuts are excellent to use in this way, especially if you are a vegetarian and want to ramp up your Omega 3 fatty acids. Originally, pesto was crushed with a mortar and pestle. Thankfully now we have food processors. If I had an Italian nonna ( gramma) by now she would be rolling over in her grave as she sees me moving away from the traditional basil/pine nut blend. I will shock her further by telling you that is is perfectly ok to leave out the cheese and make it dairy free. Mamma mia!

Arugula Pesto

2 cups fresh arugula, washed and dried

1 garlic clove, smashed and roughly chopped

1/4 c. toasted pine nuts ( you can toast them in a dry skillet over medium high heat. Watch carefully, and toss them around a few times. It doesn’t take long)

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil ( use the best organic oil that you can find)

1/4 c. grated Parmegiano Reggiano cheese ( grate your own. it tastes ever so much fresher)

Place all of the ingredients except the cheese in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped and blended. Put in a bowl and mix in the cheese.

Pesto is so versatile. Have it on a salad. It is a great topping for meat ( steak as I did, or chicken, fish). Toss it with some pasta. Use it in an omelet or as a pizza topping. I so appreciate recipes with multiple applications. If that Italian nonna has gotten over her shock, I am sure she would tell us to “Mangia bene!” Eat well, and enjoy the freshness of good healthy local organic food. And don’t worry about garlic breath.

This post is part of GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister and Real Food Wednesdays. Make sure you check out the other participants.