Gastroanthropology

Chicken Pot Pie + Winter Slaw

Was it me mourning the sudden death of summer? Chicken pot pie and colorfully delicious root veggies in season, along with cold temperatures outside - so, its actually enjoyable to stand near a hot stove - why was I dreading winter? Actually, the torrential downpour that soaked my summer-tan gone to pale skin in the three-block-walk from the tube stop to my apartment summed it up last night. 

Well, it is our second winter here in London, and as it gets dark at 4PM we are reminded how far north we really are. Curling up on the couch with loads (so English, I mean "lots"!) of books, woolen blankets, and hot chocolate season has officially started for me. Fall is actually the time when English farmers markets shine with seasonally grown products. Homegrown root veggies from beets...

to carrots...

are at their best. Not to mention alliums from leeks to garlic to shallots to onions are also at their peek. Having fattened up all summer, meat, game, and poultry are also ready for slaughter. Huge numbers of locally caught fish and shellfish are in season as well, which is the best time to eat them to preserve fish stocks. Lastly, my favorite winter fruits - apples, pears, and quince - are gorgeous right now. Fall is definitely and English cook's dream if you are trying to avoid imports.

CHICKEN POT PIE

This chicken pot pie uses the meat from a previously roasted chicken. Since leeks are in season, I've used tons of leeks for their delicious mild onion flavor. Use the recipe as a guide and substitute with what you have, what you like, and what is in season for you. Making a pot pie is a great way to use up leftovers, especially after Thanksgiving. Turkey for chicken, a bit of brussels sprouts, mashed sweet potato, cranberry, etc. all mixed up with gravy and covered with a bit of puff dough - yum!

I haven't noted specific amounts because this is not a time for measuring - make as much as you need. Just make sure you have enough puff dough to cover your pot pie.

• Roast Chicken meat (cooled and shredded)
• Leeks 
• Corn
• Green beans
• Celery
• Butter
• Flour
• Chicken stock (and drippings if you've saved from the roasting)
• Heavy cream
• Salt + Pepper
• Parsley
• Puff Pastry dough
• Egg wash

METHOD

All vegetables used should be cleaned, seasoned, and pre-cooked. Toss together shredded chicken and vegetables. Make a gravy - start by making roux with the butter and flour, add drippings, add chicken stock and finish with a small amount of cream. Pour over the chicken + vegetable mixture and toss together. Add chopped parsley and salt + pepper to taste.

Place in a baking dish (large or individual - whatever you fancy (so English, I mean "whatever your like"!). Place thinly rolled puff pastry over the top of the mixture. Dock the dough to let steam escape. Brush with egg wash and cook in a 350F oven until the puff dough is cooked through and golden brown.

Serve alongside a winter slaw - the more colorful the better. 

WINTER SLAW

• 1 c shredded beets
• 1 1/2 c shredded carrots
• 1 c shredded cabbage
• 1/2 c thinly sliced celery
• 1 small handful of parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 c pomegranate seeds
• salt to taste
• 1/4 c freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 c walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

METHOD

Shred and cut as needed. Toss all ingredients together. You can make this ahead of time, but add walnuts just before serving.

Everything used in the pot pie recipe was locally sourced. For the slaw there were four exceptions - olive oil, oranges, pomegranate and walnuts. But, oranges, pomegranate, and walnuts are in season in other parts of the world! If you are in England and want to be totally local - omit the pomegranate, orange juice (substitute freshly pressed apple juice), walnuts (substitute toasted pumpkin seeds), and olive oil (use rapeseed oil).

Also, if you can, try and visit a farm. When you see how the foods you eat are grown and reared, the choice for organics and sustainability is easier to make. Support farmers who practice better treatment of animals and that are stewards of the land they grow on. If you can afford organics, buy them, and hopefully, with time, that will help others afford organics as well.

Turkey Burgers + Sweet Potato Sticks

When I was working as a pastry chef in San Francisco I also worked as a private savory chef. I created healthy meals for a wonderful couple, who found themselves eating out and gaining weight because they just did not have time to cook during the week. My turkey burgers were often requested. The vegetable farmer at my local market told me this was probably the last week for sweet potatoes so I had to make some baked sweet potato sticks to go alongside.

I use a combination of ground turkey breast and thigh meat. Zucchini is added for moisture and to stretch the ground turkey out a bit. I find that for these "healthier" burgers, smaller patties are more visually appealing, easier to cook, and you can have more than one! A little heat from the jalapeno and flavor from the grated onion allows you to cut back on the salt. I typically use a nonstick grill or fry pan to cook these. A drop of olive oil and a hot pan should give you great browned color and no sticking! 

Use small, soft whole-wheat dinner rolls as buns. If you have trouble finding small rolls, get the large buns and use a biscuit cutter to cut out smaller buns. Save scraps for breadcrumbs. Toast the buns before serving and spread with a little mustard and ketchup (or whatever condiment combo you like) and load up with little red and green lettuce, tomatoes, and grilled onions. The tomatoes available to me at this time of the year are absolutely tasteless so I went with avocado.

TURKEY BURGERS

• 800g (about 1 3/4#) ground turkey meat
• 1 c shredded zucchini  
• 2 jalapeno, minced 
• 1/2 red onion, grated 
• salt and pepper 

This recipe makes about 12 small patties, serving 4 very hungry people, or 6.

Mix by hand till ingredients are just combined. Form into 12 small patties. Cook with a touch of olive oil in a hot pan. Once both sides of the burger have been browned, reduce the heat a bit to make sure the turkey is cooked through. Medium-rare is great for beef burgers, but not so much for turkey burgers. 

SWEET POTATO STICKS 

For the sweet potato sticks, peel and cut into wedges or sticks. I cut them quite thin so I can cook them quickly and crisply in a very hot oven. Toss with olive oil, ground pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on thickness, in a 425F / 220C oven. 

Again, a bit more spice means under-salting goes unnoticed. The more liberal you are with the olive oil, the crispier your potato sticks will be. If I'm eating sweet potato sticks they have to be crispy. So, on days where I'm trying to cut back on fats I just go with a baked sweet potato and a little hot mustard and spare myself from eating soft sticks. 

Dragon's Breath Mustard.

I found this mustard a few months ago when a torrential downpour on a drive from Canterbury to London forced me to pull over. We pulled into a farmhouse shop and they were selling all sorts of things, but I loved the name of this mustard so I had to get it. I absolutely love the burnt orange color and this past weekend finally opened it and tested it out. Aside from the normal mustard ingredients, this mustard is complemented with paprika. A fabulous find and a great smoky, spicy, mustard. I suppose it's kind of like what you'd expect dragon's breath to be like.

The Educated Once-A-Week Carnivore + The Ginger Pig

I'm always amazed at how much trust we put in the food system. We'll pick something off a grocery store shelf, put it into our mouths, chew and swallow. We generally assume that everyone along the food chain has done their due diligence and what we buy is safe. Sometimes the system goes wrong - E. coli on spinach, salmonella in tomato and peanut butter, melamine in milk, dioxin in pig feed, etc... But, for the most part the food we eat is safe, right?

Traceability is much easier with a short chain, less middlemen to make a mistake, overlook a problem, and place the blame on someone else. Traceability is especially important when choosing meat. Everything the cow, pig, or lamb ate, the way it was treated and slaughtered - it's all in your body when you take a bite. I try to limit my consumption to one portion each of meat and poultry a week for two reasons: a little bit is good, but too much does harm, and meat production is the most input and carbon intensive thing you can eat. So for me its eat less meat, but eat better meat.

If you live or are passing through London check out The Ginger Pig. They are farmers and butchers that control everything from the breeding, feeding, and slaughter of their livestock. The Ginger Pig uses a number farms in the North Yorkshire Moors to rear their lamb, cattle, and namesake - The Ginger Pig. 

The Ginger Pig is actually the copper-colored Tamworth. They don't yield as many piglets as most conventional pig farmers want, and The Ginger Pigs get to live a little longer on feed made of barley, oats, and wheat grown on the farm. Longhorn cattle and Dorset sheep are raised and allowed to meander through pasture, spending their days under the sun (well, it is the UK so I'm not sure how many UV rays they are catching, but they are outside!), grazing at their own leisure. When it comes close to their final days they eat on-site grown barley.

At The Ginger Pig butcher shop you see certain whole carcasses hung as part of the natural tenderizing process. They show you how to break down the meat, or do it for you. They tell you how they treated the meat and suggest how you might use it. The butcher's can't shut up about this, that, and the other thing about their pigs and other meat - and that is a very good sign. If you ask your butcher about how and who reared the meat you are about to buy and he is more than happy to talk and share - great. If he hasn't got a clue, it's time to find a new source for meat. 

In Lincolnshire, poultry is raised for The Ginger Pig. They produce these lovely fresh eggs.

Yes, its more expensive to eat meat and poultry where animal health and welfare is important. But, that's a perfect excuse to buy it less often. Less meat is better for you and the environment. Choosing meats that are traceable from farm to fork means you are more educated about what you are putting into your body. Meanwhile, you are more than likely to be contributing to a sustainable farm system. At The Ginger Pig, the butchers, who are a wealth of knowledge, are also happy to be working there. Remember, holistic farming and ranching should also consider the social sustainability of those who work the land, rear the animals, and sell the goods.

The Ginger Pig - Click here for multiple London locations.