Ultimate warm comfort meal
Serve pot au feu in two courses as they do in France. First, a cup of the rich broth with a chunk of good bread. Then, a platter of the cooked meats and vegetables to enjoy with condiments. n January, I dream of warmth. Sunning on the beach in Tulum, Mexico, a stroll through the Rosedal garden in Buenos Aires, sitting by the waterfront in Key West. This year, I’ll make my own heat by lighting the fireplace, wrapping myself in soft wool and simmering something rich on the stove.
Working at home yields time to tinker over a simmering vessel. I’m thinking of the classic French pot au feu — a boiled dinner of beef, chicken, sausage and vegetables. The time investment yields a super-rich, meaty broth and tender proteins.
All boiled dinners, such as pot au feu and corned beef and cabbage, scale up and down easily. I make enough to have planned leftovers. The boiled beef and chicken make great warm sandwiches. Leftover broth (which freezes well) welcomes the additions of rice or pasta for a hearty soup and can become the base of a pot of risotto.
The recipe here easily makes eight servings (you can halve the recipe if you like; cooking time will be about the same). It takes little time to assemble as there is no browning before the simmer. You can choose from beef shank (rich and tender), chuck roast (flavorful and easy to find) or lean brisket. I like bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for their flavor and moisture retention. If you like a hint of smokiness, add a chunk of bacon. Fresh sausage, likewise, adds flavor.
I serve the one-pot meal in two courses as they do in France. First, a cup of that rich broth with a chunk of good bread. Then, a platter of the cooked meats and vegetables to enjoy with condiments such as pickles, mustard and garlicky mayonnaise. The ultimate warm comfort meal.
The simmering pot reminds me of pho — that hearty, highly seasoned Vietnamese rice noodle broth bowl. It’s easy to steer the pot au feu in that direction by adding star anise (for a bit of licorice flavor), the warmth of cinnamon and a sprightly hint of fresh ginger. Turns out, all these ingredients permeate the meats in a beautiful way, too.
To make a speedy bowl of soup reminiscent of the warmth and flavors of pho, simply slice up the cooked proteins and vegetables, and add them back to the broth
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6 main-course servings Boxed Vietnamese inspired pho beef broth, such as the Simply Asia brand, can be substituted for the homemade broth.
Instead of the homemade boiled beef, chicken and sausage, you can swap in shredded roast chicken and sliced fully cooked chicken sausages. You can also thinly slice raw beef sirloin and add it to the simmering broth to cook briefly.
2 quarts beef broth, from recipe above 1 tablespoons each: soy sauce, fish sauce
2 teaspoons each: grated fresh ginger, Asian sesame oil
1 serrano pepper or other hot green chile, very thinly sliced
Salt to taste
1 box (1 4 ounces) uncooked thin rice noodles
3 to 4 cups thinly sliced beef, chicken and sausage, from recipe above
4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced 1 cup fresh basil leaves
cup each, fresh: mint and cilantro leaves Sriracha hot sauce
Lime wedges
broth with soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, sesame oil and chile in a medium saucepan to a simmer. Season with salt to taste. Let simmer while you prepare the rest of the soup.
noodles into a large bowl. Cover with very hot or boiling water. Let stand until noodles are nearly tender, about 1 0 minutes. Drain well.
noodles among 6 deep soup bowls. Top with the thinly sliced meats and green onions. Ladle broth into each bowl to cover all the ingredients. Pass basil, mint and cilantro leaves for guests to add. Pass Sriracha and lime wedges to add to broth as desired.
426 calories, 8 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 5 9 mg cholesterol, 5 5 g carbohydrates, 1 g sugar, 3 3 g protein, 1 ,7 4 3 mg sodium, 2 g fiber