Quarantine Stew Recipe
During our Napa Valley shelter in place we decided it would be a good time to dig into our freezer and pantry and make a “shoot from the hip” hearty stew. While we found the local aisles bare of toilet paper, we managed to snag some fresh kale and mushrooms and put together a delicious meal that will last for a few days. Enjoy! — Mark Herold
Pairs well with a Mark Herold Wine
Ingredients
One rack of baby back pork ribs
1 ½ yellow onions
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup Mark Herold
Sauvignon Blanc or any available white wine
2 cups Cannellini beans
¾ cup Pinto beans
½ can tomato paste
5 cloves garlic
2 bunches Dino kale
1 lb. white button mushrooms
1 Tbsp. dried sage
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Directions
In a large stew pot, bring the rack of ribs, 1 c. chicken broth, 4 cups of water and 2 tsp. of salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Quarter 1 onion with skins on and add to the pot along with ¾ c. Pinto beans. Reduce to a simmer approximately 1 ½ hours until meat is tender.
Dice celery, carrots and half an onion for a classic mirepoix. Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil to a new stew pot and sauté with a pinch of salt until tender. Add ½ can tomato paste and all of the minced garlic into the mirepoix and quickly stir to coat. Immediately add 1 cup white wine, 5 cups water and 2 cups of Cannellini beans. Simmer on low for 1 hour or until tender.
When pork ribs are tender, remove from the broth and allow to cool. Use a hand held blender to lightly blend remaining ingredients.
When cooled, de-bone ribs and remove remaining fat and membrane. Set aside the meat. Add the bones and fat back into the blended broth — simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
Strain all liquid through a mesh-sieve into a clean pot. The remaining broth should be slightly thick and opaque.
Shred or chop pork meat. Quarter mushrooms. Coarsely chop kale (you can remove the kale leaves from the ribs if desired). Add these ingredients to the broth along with the entire pot of cooked beans. Add sage, thyme along with salt & pepper to taste. Heat all ingredients together on simmer for 20 minutes.