A 'POTEE' is a huge french-style winter brothy stew usually made with a whole green cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnips, some onions and various pork meats and many variations of this dish exist throughout France.

It’s also usually a quite large dish because a cabbage is a big thing and you have to slice it up into at least 8 wedges but once you add everything else it becomes a monstrously large dish and very difficult to serve unless you have a large table and the appropriate serving dishes and usually the guests just serve themselves directly at the table . . .

I like to serve my guests (because I don’t even have a dining table). All I have is the living room low table with two leaves that extend upwards for more comfortable eating and the kitchen/bar area.

It was a cold Sunday morning and I decided to make my version and invite the neighbors over so we’d be 8 for a neighborly Sunday dinner (and anyways, the chocolate cherry hearts that I made a few days before were ready so I didn’t need to make dessert).

The trick is using small vegetables that will remain whole (less slicing and messy serving) using brussel sprouts to replace the cabbage and mini versions of larger vegetables and of course the various meats which are sliced after cooking but before serving. Everything can be kept warm in the oven (so you can clean up your kitchen while everything stays warm and serve everything hot (without making a mess again) by reheating the broth and pouring it over everything …

That’s my story, it’s a classic traditional winter dish that I love and usually only make once a year, revisited and reinterpreted for easier preparation and simplified serving and the recipe can also easily be downscaled for only 2 or 4 servings … just do the MATH !!!

have

a great weekend . . . :)

big & easy ‘potée’ stew (for 8) with mini vegetables

17.02.2017

8 ingredients

vegetables :

875 grams (40) brussel sprouts (brown stems cut)
275 grams (8) baby yellow potatoes (unpeeled)
275 grams (8) baby red potatoes (unpeeled)
250 grams (8) baby carrots (ends removed)
175 grams (8) small onions (peeled)
150 grams (4) small golden turnips (ends removed)
150 grams (4) small white turnips (ends removed)
25 grams (8) small garlic cloves (unpeeled)

meats :

400 grams salt-cured pork belly slab
400 grams (1 large) smoked morteau sausage
400 grams (4 small) smoked montbéliard sausages
400 grams (4 small) other smoked regular sausages

seasonings & aromatics :

6-8 tsp vegetable bouillon (vegetable stock) powder (or use 3-4 cubes)
1 bouguet garni : thyme & bay & parsley stalks tied with string
½ tsp (black (or mixed) peppercorns
½ tsp (8-12) whole cloves
½ tsp (10) whole juniper berries
½ tsp (10) whole allspice
½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
½ tsp brown mustard seeds
*extra salt (at the end and only if needed)

instructions

wash your vegetables well, cut off the brown stems/tough ends from the brussel sprouts, peel onions and remove the ends from the turnips and carrots and leave garlic cloves with the skin on (or simply slice off one end like I did)
boil 2 litres of water with 2 tbsp coarse sea salt and 2 tbsp white vinegar and add the brussel sprouts, when the water comes to a boil, let the brussel sprouts boil for only 2 minutes, remove immediately and plunge into very cold water then drain and set aside (discard the smelly water and leaves that have fallen off)
re-boil 2 litres of fresh water and add the whole slab of salt-cured pork belly, let boil for 5 minutes, then add all the whole sausages and let boil for another 5 minutes, then remove all the meats, set aside and discard the scummy water
use a very large casserole that can contain everything, lay all the meats on the bottom (prick several holes into the sausages), then add all the tougher vegetables like the turnips, potatoes and carrots, cover with 3 liters of water, add the vegetable bouillon, the herbs, the spices and cover, bring to a boil (this will take 30 minutes) then reduce the heat to medium and let simmer with a cover for 30-45 minutes, then add the peeled onions in which you inserted 1 or 2 whole cloves and let boil for another 10-15 minutes and finally add the blanched brussel sprouts and let boil for another 30-45 minutes until tender (yet not falling apart and you can add more water if necessary)
turn off the heat and carefully remove all vegetables in one large dish and all the meats in another smaller dish, strain the broth and remove all loose leaves and herbs (which you will discard so you end up with a clear broth) and place the broth back inside the large casserole (adjust to your taste)
slice up the pork belly slab into 8 pieces, slice the large morteau sausage into 8 diagonal slices, slice the remaining smaller sausages into half or quarters
place the whole vegetables and the sliced meats in a 100°C preheated oven
and when before serving, bring the broth to a boil, pour some broth over the warm vegetables and meats in the large dishes (to moisten them)
to serve easily, in 8 individual bowls, place 2 potatoes, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, 5 brussel sprouts and the various sliced meats, add 1 cup of broth and serve with bread and some grainy mustard on the side …

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big & easy ‘potée’ stew (for 8) with mini vegetables

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big & easy ‘potée’ stew (for 8) with mini vegetables

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