3 ms·

Lettuce is not a very good value for the buck in terms of either nutrition or satiating qualities. Neither is an apple, but at least you can make a pork and ap

by downut 4y ago

Lettuce is not a very good value for the buck in terms of either nutrition or satiating qualities. Neither is an apple, but at least you can make a pork and apple stewed dish that is delicious, scales and will freeze amazingly well. US Southerners have a rich culinary tradition of meat and "greens" stews that do the same. When I was at grad school at UF almost 40 years ago the Hare Krishnas cooked vegetarian Indian lunches at scale free for anyone right on the main quad. It was good, we ate it, even though we could afford a burrito (with lettuce) from Burrito Brothers whenever we wanted. If you look at what either José Andrés or the cooks for the Sikh Temple are serving, they cook for the purpose, not for ephemeral desires. My point, I want to emphasize, is that we culinary plebes can cook for the purpose and it be delicious and nutritious, with a freezer and a plan. Ship the difference in fundage to the World Central Kitchen (or wherever) and your karma goes up too. So what to do with hamburger at scale. As it happens... I have a great recipe for ground beef, potatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and stock that everybody I've ever fed it to, including my MIL, gets addicted to. It freezes perfectly. Here's a tip: grill a bunch of hamburgers on a nice hardwood fire, seasoned however you like. Eat a fabulous hamburger dinner with friends (and lettuce). Freeze the leftover burgers, and then... use them in this dish. We call it 4-Layer Dinner. (edited to fix some nits and omissions)

mattcwilson 4y ago
Did you intend to share a recipe for the 4-Layer Dinner?
- downut 4y ago
  Ok so I am laughing because of course the spicing is important, but the important thing to understand here is that there is no correct spicing: it can go in many different ways. That's part of the beauty of these sorts of dishes, you can perturb them and not get burnt out so easily. Oh lemme tell you about regional Indian, but I can't because I am a child there. So... I sometimes send this dish off in a French Provençal direction, or sometimes toward Mexican Sonoran, or even Oaxacan. But you don't need to do that, all you need is some umami, and some basics. We have eaten it many times over the decades with Worcestershire Sauce as the umami (basically anchovies in soy) and the basics are a good grind of black pepper and potentially something sweet, if the tomatoes suck, as they often do. Don't get too fancy: you want to eat this after a frustrating day at work, freezer->microwave->plate. We add whatever chili concoctions we feel like as we like a bit of burn. But you don't need to do that! So: take ground beef, cook if raw, use the fat to saute the vegetable matter, compose layers of beef first, then green matter, tomatoes, and then finally sliced potatoes covering the top. Add stock and spices to fill to just covering the potatoes, cook until as moist as you like. We like it saucy, but not a stew though. The more you make, the more nutritious and tasty comfort food you have for those days when... maybe I'll just order DoorDash. Buen provecho!
  - mattcwilson 4y ago
    So, I made this last night. Having no clue what proportions you typically use, I just winged it. Turned out not bad. Not quite beef stew, maybe more like a soupy shepherd’s pie. I did end up with a considerable amount of unnecessary broth. I made a batch with 5lbs of beef, maybe another pound of veggies, 1.5 lbs tomatoes and 4 large gold potatoes. I filled my dutch oven and my crock pot with the layers and used 4.5 cartons of stock to get the liquid just over the potatoes. So it cooked in the liquid, but barely absorbed any, and I separated out the solids to pack in the freezer, adding back enough of the broth to hit a sloppy-joe ish consistency. If you have a recipe with measurements, would love to compare. As it stands, looking to eat well for the next couple weeks. Cheers!

by downut 4y ago

mattcwilson 4y ago

Did you intend to share a recipe for the 4-Layer Dinner?

downut 4y ago
Ok so I am laughing because of course the spicing is important, but the important thing to understand here is that there is no correct spicing: it can go in many different ways. That's part of the beauty of these sorts of dishes, you can perturb them and not get burnt out so easily. Oh lemme tell you about regional Indian, but I can't because I am a child there. So... I sometimes send this dish off in a French Provençal direction, or sometimes toward Mexican Sonoran, or even Oaxacan. But you don't need to do that, all you need is some umami, and some basics. We have eaten it many times over the decades with Worcestershire Sauce as the umami (basically anchovies in soy) and the basics are a good grind of black pepper and potentially something sweet, if the tomatoes suck, as they often do. Don't get too fancy: you want to eat this after a frustrating day at work, freezer->microwave->plate. We add whatever chili concoctions we feel like as we like a bit of burn. But you don't need to do that! So: take ground beef, cook if raw, use the fat to saute the vegetable matter, compose layers of beef first, then green matter, tomatoes, and then finally sliced potatoes covering the top. Add stock and spices to fill to just covering the potatoes, cook until as moist as you like. We like it saucy, but not a stew though. The more you make, the more nutritious and tasty comfort food you have for those days when... maybe I'll just order DoorDash. Buen provecho!
- mattcwilson 4y ago
  So, I made this last night. Having no clue what proportions you typically use, I just winged it. Turned out not bad. Not quite beef stew, maybe more like a soupy shepherd’s pie. I did end up with a considerable amount of unnecessary broth. I made a batch with 5lbs of beef, maybe another pound of veggies, 1.5 lbs tomatoes and 4 large gold potatoes. I filled my dutch oven and my crock pot with the layers and used 4.5 cartons of stock to get the liquid just over the potatoes. So it cooked in the liquid, but barely absorbed any, and I separated out the solids to pack in the freezer, adding back enough of the broth to hit a sloppy-joe ish consistency. If you have a recipe with measurements, would love to compare. As it stands, looking to eat well for the next couple weeks. Cheers!