Braises are great. They are really handy for those really busy days when you just want to throw something in the oven and forget about it. That is, until the aromas start driving you mad and you just have to have a taste….
I recently bought a brasier from Homesense (my favourite store) and I think it was my best purchase so far this winter. It’s not a ‘Le Creuset‘ but it is really heavy and already I have noticed a difference in the quality of my braises. I’m a little embarrassed to admit I had been previously using either a small roaster or a glass roasting pan with aluminum foil on top. The difference, as you can imagine, is amazing!
The original plan for tonight was soy braised beef short ribs with Shiitakes from the most recent Bon Appetite, but that plan fell through when I failed to find shiitakes. Instead, I’ve opted for the previous pages’ recipe: Indian Spiced Chicken Braise. It is supposed to include chick peas but I have no foresight, so my chickpeas are still sitting in the bag in my pantry. Instead, I have decided to add some leftover roasted potatoes from last night at the same time I add the spinach. I didn’t have any fresh chilies or dried flakes so I put in the chili paste that comes in tube form.
The dish was a bit hit with everyone and we decided that it should go on the ‘make again’ list. There are a few little tweaks that I would like to do next time such as decreasing the salt (we don’t use a lot of salt) and putting in some real chilies for that extra hit of heat. We all agreed that the dish was great even without the chick peas.
