Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

Stewed okra and tomatoes over rice is one of my all-time favorite side dishes, that, I swear, it seems like we ate every week when I was growing up. Surely we didn't dine on this simple Southern dish that frequently, and even if we did, I never tired of it.

For one, I simply adore rice and can eat it at every supper, as we almost nearly did growing up in South Carolina where rice is king. And, even as a kid I always enjoyed okra. Yes, it's slimy, but don't kids like slimy things? I did! Okra was like a toy on the plate. See how long the slime strands will stretch, squish the slimy pod around your mouth. And, best dinner table game ever, race to stab a singular, slime-covered okra seed with the tine of your fork before your brother could. It's not easy.
Then there are the bright, acidic tomatoes that really are the stars of the dish as far as flavor is concerned. Everybody makes stewed okra and tomatoes with fresh okra, but the tomatoes are almost always from a can, because, well, canned stewed tomatoes are picked when perfectly ripe and have all their full flavors preserved. Go ahead, use canned tomatoes, it's perfectly fine.

But what if you used your last can of stewed tomatoes for soup the previous week, and you have just-bought, fresh, local tomatoes on your counter? Roast those fresh tomatoes first to get that sweet, concentrated tomato flavor you'd get from a can.
After you're done roasting tomatoes (or popping open a can of tomatoes), the dish comes together as simply as sauteing some onion, then simmering okra and tomatoes in liquid (water, vegetable broth, or the tomato juice from the canned tomatoes) until the okra is tender.

Serve stewed okra and tomatoes over rice, for sure, and if my memories aren't too hazy, there'd be a pork chop and a side of butter beans on the plate, too. Nowadays, tempeh does the trick for me, though.
Stewed Okra and Tomatoes
serves 4 as a side

3 large tomatoes (or 28-ounce can of stewed tomatoes)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound okra, chopped
1 cup vegetable broth
olive oil
salt
pepper

• If roasting tomatoes instead of using a can of stewed tomatoes: Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Cut tomatoes into eights and place on parchment paper-line baking pan. Drizzle tomatoes lightly with olive oil. Salt and pepper tomatoes. Bake for 3 hours. Cool enough to remove skins, if desired (I leave skins on).
  
• In a medium-sized pot over medium-low heat, add about 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
• To the onions, add okra, tomatoes, and vegetable broth. Simmer, with the pot lid partially covering the pot until okra is tender (depending on the size and variety of okra, this could be any where from 10-30 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  
• Serve warm over warm rice.
  

Chicken Bog

Unless you live in or grew up in South Carolina, you're probably unaware of the state's prominent rice culture. And you've probably never heard of chicken bog, either.

The state's rice culture stems from the fact that state was once a large rice producer. The coastal region has ideal rice growing conditions, and slaves from West Africa were specifically sought out for their rice-growing knowledge and expertise.

Everyone eats rice...all the time. It's not uncommon to have rice at every supper. Plain rice, rice pilau, rice with hash, rice with stewed tomatoes and okra, rice with giblet gravy, and on and on. It's one of my favorite foods and I never tire of it.

So, what is chicken bog? It's nothing but a big ol' peppery pot of rice, chicken, and sausage cooked in chicken stock. Why is it called a bog? Because the rice is a bit wetter — boggy — than a pilau. This dish is great for gatherings because it feeds many. Sub turkey for chicken, and you've got a dish perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers. Chicken Bog
serves 4-6

To the ire of many (Hi, Dad!), I'm vegetarianizing the recipe. If you want to use meat, it's as simple as cooking chicken in water, saving the water to use as the stock, and deboning the chicken before throwing the chicken meat back in the pot. Also, use real sausage.

This recipe is based on my Granddad's recipe. Granddad was an avid beer drinker, so beer found it's way into many of his dishes. Beer is not a traditional ingredient in chicken bog, but I'm keeping the recipe true to my Granddad (well, except the whole meat thing).

1/2 stick butter
1 cup diced onion
1 pound seitan, chopped
1 pound link soy sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
2 cups uncooked rice
5 cups water
1/2 can beer

• Saute diced onions in butter until onions are translucent. Then add seitan, sausage, salt and pepper and cook for a coupe minutes.
• Add rice, water, and beer to the pot. Cover pot and reduce heat to low. Cook until the rice is done, about 20-30 minutes. If mixture is too juicy, cook uncovered until reaches desired consistency. If mixture is too dry (rice absorbed all the water), add another cup of water.
  

Persian Layered Seitan Polo

Last week I made Spanish paella, and this week I made Persian polo. I’m on a one-dish rice kick it seems, which suits me just fine as a single diner. No one to impress with multiple courses, I can curl up with one bowl by myself.

Polo is an Iranian rice dish traditionally including cinnamon, turmeric, other aromatic spices, and dried fruits. Meat is optional, but fish, chicken and lamb are the most common proteins. Variations of polo have made it to other regions and have been renamed. In India, you’ll find “pulao” on menus, in Morocco, “pilaf”, and in Spain, the distant relative “paella.” I'm guessing that the Southern "purloo" stems from these dishes, as well.

I stumbled upon a recipe for Persian polo searching randomly through cookbooks for dinner. I don’t think I’ve ever had a rice dish with the name polo attached to it. I’ve certainly have had pulao, pilaf, paella, and purloo, so I knew sort of what I was in store for. This dish surpassed my expectations with the meaty seitan really rounding out the dish into a meal, the prunes and apricots bursting with sweetness, and the cinnamon and onions leaving my house smelling like Thanksgiving dinner.

Persian Layered Seitan Polo
Adapted from a recipe in The Essential Rice Cookbook
Serves 4

1/2 stick butter or margarine
1 onion, finely chopped
20 ounces seitan, cut into chunks
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper
1/2 cup pitted prunes, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
2 cups spinach, blanched
2 cups basmati or long grain rice

• In a large saucepan, melt 1/4 stick of butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add seitan, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste, prunes, and apricots, then pour in enough water to cover the seitan. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally. Let the seitan stew simmer while preparing the rice.
• Meanwhile, in a medium pot, bring 3 3/4 cups of water with remaining 1/4 stick of butter and pinch of salt to a boil. Add 2 cups of rice. Return to a boil, cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Then turn off burner, keeping lid on, and steam for another 5-10 minutes, or until rice is tender.
• In a large, heavy-based casserole dish or pan with a lid, spread half of the rice over the bottom of the dish, top with spinach, then stewed seitan, and finally the remaining rice. If the rice is dry add a few tablespoons of water. Cover with the lid and steam over low heat for 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and has absorbed some of the juices from the stewed seitan.

Paella with Tomatoes

Paella has been on my list of dishes to make for almost a year now. Like most things on my list, they either get done that second or they get pushed to some time waaay off in the future. Paella got pushed into the future. Way off.

Thoughts of paella were originally prompted by a gift of saffron from Spain, even though I know this traditional Spanish dish is chock full of seafood and other meat goodies that I do not eat. Like most dishes, even paella can be vegetarianized.

A kick in the butt came a few weeks ago when Mark Bittman (man of many food fads in the blogosphere – No-Knead Bread and list of 101 simple meals) posted a recipe a few weeks ago in The New York Times of paella with tomatoes that’s fit for a vegetarian.

I know what you're thinking. What's the point of paella without the seafood? The point is the saffron rice. The other point – of this recipe, at least – is to make use of some of the tomatoes that are overwhelming your kitchen. To bring some of the meaty heartiness of the dish back, I added veggie sausage. I don't think the sausage added to the dish, but it didn't detract, either. For me, this dish is more about the rice.

At this time of year when tomatoes are still abundant, and the weather has cooled off to the point where you no longer fear your kitchen will spontaneously combust if you turn on the oven, this quick, one-dish meal is perfect.

Paella with Tomatoes
Adapted from Mark Bitman’s recipe in The New York Times
4 to 6 servings

3 ½ cups vegetable stock
1 ½ pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into wedge
salt and pepper
¼ cup olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
large pinch of saffron
2 teaspoons paprika
2 cups Spanish or other short-grain rice
7 ounces veggie sausage
minced parsley for garnish

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  
• Warm stock in a saucepan.
  
• Toss tomatoes in a bowl with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
  
• Put remaining oil in a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Make sure the skillet is oven proof, as it’ll be going in the oven later.
• Add onion, garlic, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until vegetables soften.
  
• Stir in tomato paste, saffron, and paprika and cook for a minute more.
  
• Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, for another minute or two.
  
• Add stock and stir until combined.
• Put sausage and tomato wedges on top of rice, and pour remaining juices in bottom of bowl over top of rice.
  
• Put pan in oven and roast for 15 minutes, or until rice is dry and just tender. If rice looks dry but is not quite done, add a small amount of stock and return to the oven until done.
• When rice is cooked turn off the oven, and let the pan sit for 5 to 15 minutes in the oven.
• Remove pan from oven, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.