CUISINE
One Pot Wonders
They're not Just for Pot-Lucks Anymore
By Tina Miller Photography by Alison Shaw
Sometimes we over-think food and recipes. That a meal needs to be a big complicated undertaking when some of the best, most satisfying, are simple meals that are created with a few good ingredients, all cooking together in one pot. It is The One-Pot Meal.
One-pot meals are time savers and perfect for busy schedules. One-pot meals are ideal for short winter days when having the oven on is welcome warmth or the slow cooker which is quietly filling the house, tempting the senses with the evening’s creation. One-pot meals are also great for holiday parties and potlucks. One-pot meals can be braised, sautéed, simmered even baked. Another aspect of the one-pot wonder is though there is preparation time, once all the ingredients are in the pot together, one can walk away, and when you return, all you have to do is serve and eat.
The one-pot meal may not always be the most sexy- looking. Sometimes these one-pot wonders can look monochromatic from slower cooking, blending colors and flavors. Even quick cooking meals can be less colorful, but there are always ways to brighten one-pot meals. You can always sprinkle fresh herbs or throw in some baby spinach before serving. This will brighten-up these tasty dishes. You can also brighten things up with a hearty salad and bread. Consider serving in a shallow bowl so it does not look like slop on a plate. Just thinking about this, I can picture the woodstove burning on a cold winter’s night.
Winter food can be challenging as the choices for fresh out-of-the-ground food fades, and you wander through the produce isle looking at food shipped from far and wide. The farmstands are mostly closed up and your choices get more limited. Its not all bleak, as there is plenty of island meat and fish around. It is a good time to simplify, fill your pantry and work with what you have. These will be good base ingredients for any one-pot meal.
I make most of my one-pot meals in a beautiful but well-worn copper Dutch oven. Its works on the stove stop or in the oven. It heats evenly without weighing 50 pounds and has a tight fitting lid, a necessity. There are lots of good pans out there, but a good Dutch oven is a must. I also have a slow cooker, which is the new name for an old favorite “Crock Pot.” Mine is the size of a Dutch oven. The thing I find important about the slow cooker is I have to plan the night before, browning or sautéing items and having all my ingredients ready in the fridge for the morning. I just don’t have time in the mornings to get a recipe together for the slow cooker. On weekends I get good use out of the slow cooker. Weekdays it’s the Dutch oven. One thing to consider if you use the all-day slow cooker, you will need less liquid as it produces a lot of its own during a full day of very slow cooking. Maybe I have not mastered the slow cooker and that’s maybe why I prefer a Dutch oven. Either way this is a great way to get through winter. And just because these meals are simple, does not mean they are not complex. Like a good pair of jeans, you can dress these up or keep them simple.
Coconut Shrimp Curry
Serves 4
I do like to keep things as local as possible, but I really enjoy shrimp. Shrimp are available year-round because they come frozen so fish markets usually always have shrimp. This is a lighter stovetop dish and is great served over brown basmati rice. This can be prepped and cooked in less than an hour.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 - onion, diced
2 cups cauliflower florets
3 - cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup diced red pepper
20 - large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on
1 tablespoon curry powder salt & pepper
zest of one lime
1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro leaves
1 - 14 oz can light coconut milk
In large pan heat oil on medium, add onions, stir and cook for 3 minutes, add cauliflower and stir. Add 3 tablespoons of water. Cook another 3 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper, combine and cook a few more minutes. Increase heat and add shrimp, cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side, remove shrimp and set aside. Reduce heat, add curry powder, combine and add lime zest, cilantro and coconut milk. Simmer for 10 minutes. Return shrimp to pan and cook another 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Feel free to add some baby spinach to brighten this meal up.
Lamb & White Bean Stew
Serves 4
There is plenty of island lamb around, it will be frozen but that will not effect the quality, especially because this is a stew, cooked slowly. I love lamb when its cooked fork tender. This is a flavorful dish that requires some prep, but once it is in the oven, your work is done. Serve with a hearty read wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1½ lbs lamb cut into 1 inch pieces, lay on paper towel to dry
1 ½ cups carrots, thickly sliced
1 - onion diced
salt & pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons fresh chopped Italian parsley
½ cup dry red wine
1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 - 15 oz can northern white beans, drained
Preheat over to 350
In a Dutch oven, heat oil on medium high carefully add your lamb pieces to brown. You may have to do this in batches. Once lamb is browned on all sides, add carrots, onions salt and pepper. Combine well and keep cooling. Add fresh herbs, combine and add red wine. Let wine reduce, then add tomatoes and chicken broth. Combine, cover and put in preheated oven. Cook 45 minutes. Add beans. Cover and continue cooking another 30 minutes.
One-pot meals are time savers and perfect for busy schedules. One-pot meals are ideal for short winter days when having the oven on is welcome warmth or the slow cooker which is quietly filling the house, tempting the senses with the evening’s creation. One-pot meals are also great for holiday parties and potlucks. One-pot meals can be braised, sautéed, simmered even baked. Another aspect of the one-pot wonder is though there is preparation time, once all the ingredients are in the pot together, one can walk away, and when you return, all you have to do is serve and eat.
The one-pot meal may not always be the most sexy- looking. Sometimes these one-pot wonders can look monochromatic from slower cooking, blending colors and flavors. Even quick cooking meals can be less colorful, but there are always ways to brighten one-pot meals. You can always sprinkle fresh herbs or throw in some baby spinach before serving. This will brighten-up these tasty dishes. You can also brighten things up with a hearty salad and bread. Consider serving in a shallow bowl so it does not look like slop on a plate. Just thinking about this, I can picture the woodstove burning on a cold winter’s night.
Winter food can be challenging as the choices for fresh out-of-the-ground food fades, and you wander through the produce isle looking at food shipped from far and wide. The farmstands are mostly closed up and your choices get more limited. Its not all bleak, as there is plenty of island meat and fish around. It is a good time to simplify, fill your pantry and work with what you have. These will be good base ingredients for any one-pot meal.
I make most of my one-pot meals in a beautiful but well-worn copper Dutch oven. Its works on the stove stop or in the oven. It heats evenly without weighing 50 pounds and has a tight fitting lid, a necessity. There are lots of good pans out there, but a good Dutch oven is a must. I also have a slow cooker, which is the new name for an old favorite “Crock Pot.” Mine is the size of a Dutch oven. The thing I find important about the slow cooker is I have to plan the night before, browning or sautéing items and having all my ingredients ready in the fridge for the morning. I just don’t have time in the mornings to get a recipe together for the slow cooker. On weekends I get good use out of the slow cooker. Weekdays it’s the Dutch oven. One thing to consider if you use the all-day slow cooker, you will need less liquid as it produces a lot of its own during a full day of very slow cooking. Maybe I have not mastered the slow cooker and that’s maybe why I prefer a Dutch oven. Either way this is a great way to get through winter. And just because these meals are simple, does not mean they are not complex. Like a good pair of jeans, you can dress these up or keep them simple.
Coconut Shrimp Curry
Serves 4
I do like to keep things as local as possible, but I really enjoy shrimp. Shrimp are available year-round because they come frozen so fish markets usually always have shrimp. This is a lighter stovetop dish and is great served over brown basmati rice. This can be prepped and cooked in less than an hour.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 - onion, diced
2 cups cauliflower florets
3 - cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup diced red pepper
20 - large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on
1 tablespoon curry powder salt & pepper
zest of one lime
1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro leaves
1 - 14 oz can light coconut milk
In large pan heat oil on medium, add onions, stir and cook for 3 minutes, add cauliflower and stir. Add 3 tablespoons of water. Cook another 3 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper, combine and cook a few more minutes. Increase heat and add shrimp, cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side, remove shrimp and set aside. Reduce heat, add curry powder, combine and add lime zest, cilantro and coconut milk. Simmer for 10 minutes. Return shrimp to pan and cook another 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Feel free to add some baby spinach to brighten this meal up.
Lamb & White Bean Stew
Serves 4
There is plenty of island lamb around, it will be frozen but that will not effect the quality, especially because this is a stew, cooked slowly. I love lamb when its cooked fork tender. This is a flavorful dish that requires some prep, but once it is in the oven, your work is done. Serve with a hearty read wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1½ lbs lamb cut into 1 inch pieces, lay on paper towel to dry
1 ½ cups carrots, thickly sliced
1 - onion diced
salt & pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons fresh chopped Italian parsley
½ cup dry red wine
1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 - 15 oz can northern white beans, drained
Preheat over to 350
In a Dutch oven, heat oil on medium high carefully add your lamb pieces to brown. You may have to do this in batches. Once lamb is browned on all sides, add carrots, onions salt and pepper. Combine well and keep cooling. Add fresh herbs, combine and add red wine. Let wine reduce, then add tomatoes and chicken broth. Combine, cover and put in preheated oven. Cook 45 minutes. Add beans. Cover and continue cooking another 30 minutes.