Cincinnati Burgoo: July 2008

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Breaking a long hiatus...

Now that we've reached mid-summer and I'm bringing home bounty from the local farmer's markets a couple of times a week, I'm having to deal with a few errant fruit flies. The little video that follows gives one method for making a simple fruit fly trap. It's a bit different from my standard recipe (1 cup water, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1 drop of dish soap) but it should work just as well.

Cincinnati Burgoo

I created this dish one day when I was thinking about making something using only ingredients native to the Americas. I thought it was quite original at the time, but later I found it had more than a passing resemblance to both Kentucky Burgoo and Brunswick Stew. I still quite like my version however and have taken to calling it Cincinnati Burgoo:

1 pound ground turkey
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 whole red chilies, minced
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 pound sweet corn, fresh or frozen
1 pound lima beans, fresh or frozen
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes OR
1 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1 cup beef, chicken or vegetable broth
salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté onion and ground turkey in a small amount of vegetable oil until turkey is browned and crumbled. Add the zucchini, garlic and chilies and sauté for about five minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.

I realize the onions and garlic aren't native to the Americas, but they add a nice flavor to the dish. Serve up some cornbread on the side.