New Versions of Chili, Pilaf for Grains Lovers

I am not against health food. But, to be utterly candid, I am not for it either. What’s more, many of the organic viands that natural food buffs choose for subsistence (like tofu, tempe and alfalfa sprouts) leave me colder than the proverbial cucumber.

My prejudice against conspicuously joyless consumption harks to the late 1960s when flower children bloomed like crab grass and everyone’s karma was rumored to have a direct link to the alimentary canal.

But, as an experiment in 1968, I gave up all the foods I usually ate (like meat, fish, fowl, eggs, cream, butter and cheese) for a week’s regimen of grains and greens.

The meals were all taken at an urban commune (in New York’s East Village) and prepared by a group of post-adolescents who viewed my age with ill-concealed mistrust.

Exploring Dropout Cookery

What was I doing there? Hoping to make money, frankly. I had been persuaded by a publisher to look into the possibility of a cookbook for dropouts. Because, as he succinctly put it:

“Kids nowadays don’t trust what their parents eat. Matter of fact, they don’t even trust their parents.”

What I recall best of that seven-day exercise in self-denial is not the meals but the attitude of my fellow diners. Everyone ate what was placed before him without salt, pepper or genuine relish, like denizens of a correctional facility.

Since food is not (and never was) a penance to me, I renounced the idea of a cookbook for the health-minded, forever. Or so I thought.

To my surprise, however, two decades later I find myself something of a cult figure to “natural-foodies.” It all started when I wrote a book called “Greene On Greens.” Although most definitely not a vegetarian tract, this book drew a loyal band of vegetarian followers, all of whom apparently forgave the author his non-leafy lapses.

‘Everything Else Works’

Recently, I spent an afternoon in an enclave of strict vegetarians and asked one of the group why my book was held in esteem. The answer received was genuinely gratifying.

“Anyone can come up with meatless dishes,” a young woman told me. “But very few cookbooks explore ways to flavor and combine vegetables so uniquely. Or, for that matter, offer so many possibilities for those on special diets.

“It’s really no hardship to omit or substitute a verboten ingredient when everything else works in a recipe.”

Taking that advice to heart, I will confide to my newest fans that I have been hard at work on a sequel to “Greens” to be called: “Greene On Grains.” But not for complex carbohydrate lovers only. My aim is a cookbook of healthful dishes that are so seductive to the tongue that no one will ever guess they are therapeutic.

For a preview, consider the following recipes.

Clearly not for vegetarians, this tasty dish is still one of the healthiest versions of chili con carne.

BARLEY-BLACK BEAN CHILI

1/2 pound dried black turtle beans

1/2 cup diced salt pork

2 cups cubed cooked smoked ham

3 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 hot green chile, seeded, deveined and minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 cups cubed raw pork

2 tablespoons chili powder

1/4 cup dark rum

1 tablespoon Hungarian hot paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil, or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

4 1/2 cups beef broth

1 cup pearl barley

1 tablespoon finely chopped pickled jalapeno chiles

3/4 teaspoon crushed dried hot red chiles

Salt, freshly ground pepper

1 hard-cooked egg, chopped

Place beans in large pot and cover with cold water. Heat to boiling and boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 2 hours.

Cook salt pork in boiling water 2 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Saute salt pork in large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until lightly golden. Raise heat slightly and add ham cubes. Continue to saute until salt pork is crisp and ham is lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to bowl.

Add 2 chopped onions to pot and cook over medium-low heat 1 minute. Add garlic and minced green chile. Cook 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl with ham and salt pork.

Add olive oil to pot and saute pork pieces over medium-high heat 1 minute. Sprinkle pork pieces with chili powder and cook 3 more minutes. Stir in rum, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Add paprika, cumin, oregano, basil, reserved ham-onion mixture, 4 cups beef broth and reserved black beans. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, 1 hour.

Add barley and remaining 1/2 cup broth to bean mixture. Cover and bake at 350 degrees 35 minutes or until barley is tender and all liquid has been absorbed. (Remove cover for 10 minutes if too thin.) Add chopped jalapeno and crushed chiles. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bake 10 minutes longer. Serve with chopped egg and remaining 1 onion. Makes 6 servings.

A purist could substitute strong vegetable broth for the mix of beef and chicken stock in the following recipe with no appreciable loss of flavor or savor.

TRIPLE THREAT ONION PILAF

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 medium leeks, trimmed, washed well and finely chopped

1 shallot, minced

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 cup bulgur

2 1/2 cups beef stock or 1 1/2 cups beef stock with 1 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Salt, freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat butter with olive oil in large heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook 1 minute. Stir in leeks, shallot and garlic. Reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, 30 minutes.

Add bulgur to onion mixture, tossing to coat grains. Add stock. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until bulgur is almost tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn off heat and toss in parsley. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fluff bulgur with fork. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings.