Cooking the Chronicle – Feb 21

Some recipes are toddler friendly to make, and some simply are not. When I opened up this week’s paper, I was excited to see a basaari recipe, using one of my favorite cuts of meat—flanken (“Flanken with peas,” Feb 21). Even if I knew searing and braising meat would not entice my three-year old, it entices me, and I was eager to make this for dinner one night.

(A nerdy note! This is the 20th recipe since the start of the Jewish year 5785 and only the third meat recipe. My notes show we have made three meat recipes, six dairy recipes, and 11 parve recipes so far.)

I have cooked with both flanken and short ribs in the past, and personally tend to opt for the leaner short rib, which tends to be cut parallel to the bone, as opposed to the flanked which is cut across bone. A personal preference, for sure, but I was able to stay true to this recipe when I found lean flanken at Murray Avenue Kosher. A little pricier than regular flanken, but not as expensive as short-ribs and it has more meat for a heartier dinner.

The spices initially scared me when I first read the recipe. Allspice is a strong flavor, a spice I usually include in fall baking. Would the whole dish taste like a meaty pumpkin bread?

I should not have worried. Because after adding the cumin and letting all the flavors of the spices and meat blend together, this was not an overpowering flavor. The dish mostly tasted like well-seasoned flanken!

I was also worried (hmm, I seem to have meat-induced anxieties, dear readers) about adding the peas into the recipe halfway through, then letting them cook for another 1 1/2 – 2 hours. That’s a long cook time for those little peas! I was prepared for mush, but they held up really well and absorbed a lot of delicious flavor.

We used about 2.5 lbs of flanken, which was perfect for serving four people. I wish I made more, because this was so good. Easily one of my favorite recipes this year, and I will be adding it to my recipe collection. We served it over rice, as suggested, and roasted brussel sprouts on the side.

You’re ultimately left with quite a bit of the delicious sauce, packed with spices, meat flavor, peas and onions. I couldn’t beat to let this go to waste, so I packed it up. I plan on sautéing ground beef this week and adding the peas and onion sauce to it. I think it will be delicious served over the leftover rice!