stewy thing + carby thing + creamy, saucy thing
= what we all need right now
Last week (two weeks ago? what is time?), my best friend sent me the link to
’s latest newsletter for Hala’s Spinach Stew, which she aptly describes as a “gift to the family table.” In talking about things Hala cooks that her children love, Clare says: “But of all her dishes, it’s the simplest one—this Sbenekh or Spinach Stew, cooked until sloppy with minced beef, pine nuts, cilantro, and 7-spice—that they request most.”When I realized I had nearly everything on hand to make it, I did just that. I took ground beef and spinach out of my freezer and made the stew for dinner (or an approximation of it, really, seeing as I had no cilantro on hand and eyeballed a variety of spices in place of the 7 spice — I used ground cumin, ground allspice, ground coriander, a tiny bit of cinnamon, and lots of black pepper).
To go with it, I made rice pilaf with long-grain white rice, some orzo, chicken broth, and big strips of zest from the lemon I used for the lemon juice in the stew. With a dollop of Greek yogurt, I was so happy. I ate the leftovers over the next couple of days, all easily warmed up in the microwave.
It was so satisfying, so EASY, so warming and just hit the spot that (a) I wanted to tell you about it and (b) suggest some other variations on this formula (stewy thing + carby thing + creamy, saucy thing) for similarly nourishing + comforting meals.
More notes on the ideas in the chart ^ in just a moment, but first a quick reminder that I am teaching tomorrow and again on Sunday! Come join us!!!
FRIDAY Feb. 14, 6p - 7p EST: A QUICK + SPECIAL VALENTINE’S DAY DINNER [Cosmos + Steak Diane!] / sliding scale starting at $25 / benefitting CORE
SUNDAY Feb. 16, 2p - 3:30p EST: JULIA’S CAESAR! [A Celebration of Caesar inc. Classic Caesar Salad + Vegan Kale Caesar + Caesar Spaghetti] / sliding scale starting at $40 / benefitting GLWD
Also I’m headed to California next week for a few fun events in SF and LA:
My pals at Hudson Grace also put together this really fun page featuring some of my favorites from their store: check it out here!!!
Okay, back to the chart! I have some follow-up notes/recipe links for you. I’ll put it here again so you don’t have to scroll up:
Hala’s Spinach Stew can be found here
This recipe for rice pilaf is more or less how I made mine in the photo above
Here is my recipe for Stewed Chickpeas with Peppers & Zucchini from Simply Julia including the sauce
And here are my Turkey Ricotta Meatballs from Small Victories
My Mushroom Cacciatore from What Goes with What is below for paid subscribers!!!
Mushroom Cacciatore
From WGWWW!
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