by: Kamille Scellick | www.reedemingthetable.com
I view cooking as an art. Like any art form, you’re allowed some liberties, but only once you’ve established foundations. It’s why we can see great artists, musicians, chefs pull the rabbit out of their hats, while breaking the rules. They know the rules, the fundamentals. They bend & wield spices, flavors, cuisines to create those, “Oh my gosh,” moments for their recipients.
An incremental part of this is taste. One of the best pieces of advise I received in becoming well-versed in the kitchen is, “taste your food.” Too often, we want to know how to become fabulous, or we try a million recipes, only to find that we are still hearing the low hum, “Will I ever get the hang of this?”
I believe most people don’t trust their taste buds. Sure, some of us have more refined palates than others, giving us an advantage in culinary prowess (isn’t the same true in the gym, or anywhere?); but, the more you utilize your sense of taste & smell, I have confidence you will find niche in the kitchen. When I wrote about my birthday salad hitting on all the flavors (salty, bitter, sweet, sour, umami), it’s recognizing these components only through multiple tastings throughout a meal. Today, I am going to walk you through this by not necessarily giving you a recipe to follow. Ready for some fun!
Grass-fed Beef Stuffed Acorn Squash
When looking for an idea for dinner one afternoon, I wanted to utilize what I had in my pantry & fridge without going to the store. I knew I had ground beef in the deep freezer and acorn squash in the cool basement from the Fall. I had seen recipes talking about stuffing squash with meat or some grain, most of them calling for both. I set out on a mission to figure out my flavor profile of a typical meat sauce (heavy on the meat). What I fail to do many times, is write down my ratios, which isn’t very helpful when your blog is in part about recipes. I know what I put into the recipe, I just don’t remember how much of every spice, which is how you will get to work on those tastebuds today (it’s a win-win).
The Players (aka: ingredients):
- 3 lbs grass-fed beef
- 3-5 garlic cloves, minced
- fennel, whole
- dried basil
- dried oregano
- sea salt
- fresh ground pepper
- red chili flakes
- 28-oz can of stewed tomatoes, I used whole stewed tomatoes
- four to five acorn squash
- ghee or coconut oil
- coarse salt for squash
Game On (aka: directions):
There are so many variations to a meat sauce. When making a meat sauce for spaghetti squash type of meal, I begin using a mirepoix (carrots, onions, garlic minced trio) to create a nice aromatic base. However, I didn’t feel like spending an afternoon chopping vegetables; plus, I wanted the meat stuffing to appear more like stuffing, and less like sauce. I was imagining Italian sausage (fennel, chili flakes, basil, oregano, salt).
I put a large enough pan over medium heat to toast my tablespoon of whole fennel. I kept mixing the pan around to prevent over browning or burning the fennel. After about 45 seconds to a minute, or when the fennel is becoming fragrant & slightly colored, I removed them from the pan.
Add the meat. Begin to break it down and cook it, add about 1-2 tsp of sea salt or kosher salt. (Word on salt, begin with a conservative amount, because you can’t go back) When most of the meat was browned & cooked, I added back the toasted fennel & minced garlic. Once your meat is completely cooked, taste it. What do you notice? Maybe you’re thinking it’s pretty flat. Take note of the fennel & salt. Is it the salt pulling out any of the flavors yet? Is the fennel adding that nice licorice, anise to the meat?
Drain the fat from meat as best as possible. Return to the burner. When adding the stewed tomatoes, I drained some of the tomato liquid, because I was aiming for a stuffing, not a sauce. Add the drained stewed tomatoes to the meat. Mix them all around & mash them up if they’re whole. Now, you get to add some herbs.
When adding dried herbs to any soup, sauce or meat stuffing, you should put them in your hand so you can crunch them up, in order to release the oils within. Begin with your basil, start with 1 tsp. Crumble in your hand, sprinkle on top. Go to the oregano, crumble, sprinkle & mix. Taste the meat stuffing. Does it need some salt? Great way to tell is if all you taste is meat flavored tomatoes, add a little salt, starting small with 1 tsp at a time. Taste.
Preheat your oven to 400.
Okay, move on to the red chili flakes. This is a matter of preference. I normally add anywhere between ¼ tsp to ½ tsp per pound of meat, due to my kids. Taste. Is it starting to come together? Add another 1 tsp of whole fennel, mix & taste. Now, STOP. Lower the heat to a simmer, put a lid on it if you like and walk away for about 20-30 minutes. The longer the better. As the meat is simmering, prepare your acorn squash.
Cut them in half, clean out the seeds & inside. Lightly coat the exposed squash (not the skin) with some fat (ghee, coconut oil, etc) & lightly sprinkle with coarse salt. Put on a parchment or aluminum foil lined sheet pan, skin sides down. Roast for 45 minutes.
Before your squash is done, after the meat has been simmering, taste it. It should have a nice savory, slightly acidic from the tomatoes, and sweet from the fennel & basil taste. Beginning at the tip of your tongue you’ll taste the sweet & salty spots, while it moves toward the sides evoking the sour (acids) and finishing in the back with the bitter found in the herbs. Add a bit more salt if you feel it needs it. You will be putting this into your sweet acorn squash, so the more acidic will balance well with the squash.
As the squash is done, lower the temp on the oven to 325. Stuff the meat into each squash. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Serve hot & eat.
**If you want to add some dried parsley. If you have fresh herbs, please use them. You could drizzle with a bit of nice extra virgin olive oil, just a bit.
The Jan 7, 2012 Jogo Run for Water Crew
Confronted with Defeat
