Dark Days Week 14: Italian Stew (or, What to do When Rice is Not Local)

I consider recipes for ideas, but pressed towards the suppertime rush, I was just planning to make my Dark Days meal by the recipe and shamefacedly apologize for the rice in it. (Unfortunately, I still need to confess that I used a non-local onion: I have looked hard, but there are no more root-cellared onions and I haven't figured out a reasonable substitute. But next year? I'm going to buy a truckload when they're in season and freeze their butts. Yes, I am irritated.)

But I got an idea: I cooked and chilled polenta (or mush, as my forebears called it) and broke it into squares to replace the 3 cups of cooked rice in the Bounty Rice from Simply in Season.



Here's the recipe as I made it. Everything is local and organic except for the dried herbs and (drat it) that onion; well, the cornmeal wasn't organic, just local.

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Italian Stew

Brown together in a large pot or Dutch oven:
a few slices bacon, chopped
1/2 lb. ground beef
1-2 onions, chopped

Add and stir. Get it hot.
4 c. canned tomatoes and their juice (break 'em up with your hands if you want)
several teaspoons Italian herbs - I used basil, oregano, marjoram
something hot, if you wish (I used red pepper flakes)
salt and pepper to taste

Stir in gently:
4 c. shredded cabbage
3 c. cooked, chilled polenta in 2" pieces

Allow to cook together for a few minutes, so that cabbage is still crisp tender. Some of the polenta will dissolve, but some will be lumpish.
Stir in, again gently:
1/2 c. plain yogurt

Sprinkle top with 1 c. grated cheese (I used a local raw milk smoked cheddar) or sprinkle individual servings. This will be rather soupy after all.


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We really liked the stew. My almost-2 year old had three helpings! We ate ours with a green salad of watercress, arugula, butter lettuce, and shredded turnip topped with homemade French. This is standard to our table right now because the greens are so available. I think the Italian stew would be nice with a hearty bread too, to dab up the juices.