Carbonnade Beef and Beer Stew

When the days are cold, dark, and damp, all we really want to do around here is to curl up with a nice big pot of stew. Known as “Carbonnade a la Flamande”, this Belgian beef stew is made with hearty Belgian ale and plenty of onions. The flavor is a little sweet and sour, the sweet from the onions and either a little added sugar or tomato paste, and the sour from a touch of mustard or vinegar.

Since I first posted this recipe I’ve made a few adjustments to the recipe itself, and we’ve received several recommendations for which ale to use (check the comments). The general view is that you should try to use a Belgian ale for this stew. If you can’t find a Belgian ale, or a Belgian-style ale, you can try Newcastle Brown Ale or Anchor Steam (the last two recommended by Cooks Illustrated for their carbonnade).

We found a couple American ales made in the Belgian style at our local Whole Foods and for our most recent batch of stew used a bottle of Ommegang Abbey Ale. Apparently it is also traditional to include some beef liver with the stew. We passed on this, but if a stew exists that could hold up to the strong flavors of liver, this one would be it. Wonderfully hearty, flavorful, and filling.

Carbonnade Beef and Beer Stew Recipe :

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 3 hours, 30 minutes. Yield: Serves 6.

 

You are trying to achieve a sweet and sour flavor with this stew. So, you can swap out the sugar for tomato paste and you can use cider vinegar instead of mustard if you want. You can also brown the meat in vegetable oil instead of butter, though it will be more flavorful with the butter. You can also use a couple slices of bread, instead of adding flour, to thicken the stew.

 

Ingredients :

• 3 1/2 lbs chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 3 medium yellow onions sliced about 1/4 inch thick (about 8 cups)
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken or beef broth
• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz bottle) Belgian beer
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Method:

1 Pat beef dry with paper towels, then season well with salt and pepper. On the stove top, heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large heavy bottomed dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot, almost smoking. Working in batches, brown the meat, without stirring, about 3 minutes on each side (do not stir, give the meat an opportunity to brown well). Transfer browned beef to a separate bowl.



2 Add 2 tablespoons butter to dutch oven; reduce heat to medium. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; cook until onions are browned, about 15 minutes. Add flour and stir until onions are evenly coated and flour is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits; stir in beer, thyme, bay, browned beef with any of the accumulated juices, and salt and pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a full simmer. Reduce heat to low, partially cover, let cook for 2-3 hours until beef is fork tender. (Alternatively can cook in the oven at 300°F.) Stir occasionally, scraping up anything that is sticking to the bottom of the pan. About half an hour before it finishes cooking, add the mustard and brown sugar. Adjust seasonings to taste.

3 Discard thyme and bay leaf. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste and serve. Can serve plain, with potatoes, over noodles, or over French fries.

Whatever ale you have used in the cooking makes for a great drink accompaniment to the stew.

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Beef Brisket Pot Roast Recipe

Beef brisket is a fabulous cut of meat. The brisket is located between the shoulders and the forelegs of the steer; these muscles get a work-out, and they are also well marbled with fat. So they are highly flavorful and perfect for slow braises. Long cooking time is needed to melt the connective tissue. Upon serving, the meat is cut against the grain, helping it become fall-apart tender.


This recipe is fairly classic, a slow braise with lots and lots of onions. You can do so many things with brisket. One of my favorite beef brisket recipes is just simply slathering it with a BBQ sauce mixture and cooking it forever in the oven. There are versions with ketchup, onion soup, or even cocktail sauce with horseradish. With our recipe, please feel free to mix it up a bit. You could easily use other root vegetables such as parsnips, turnips, or rutabagas. You could use wine or beer instead of the beef stock. Think of this recipe as a starting point for experimentation, or just a good, basic pot roast brisket.

Beef Brisket Pot Roast Recipe :

Prep time: 35 minutes. Cook time: 4 hours, 15 minutes. Yield: Serves 8-12

 

Ingredients:

• 4-5 pound beef brisket
• Salt
• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 large onions, sliced
• 5-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 2 cups of beef stock
• 2-3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 Tbsp mustard (optional)

Method:

 

1 Prepare the brisket for cooking. On one side of the brisket there should be a layer of fat, which you want. If there are any large chunks of fat, cut them off and discard them. Large pieces of fat will not be able to render out completely. Using a sharp knife, score the fat in parallel lines, about 3/4-inch apart. Slice through the fat, not the beef. Repeat in the opposite direction to make a cross-hatch pattern. Salt the brisket well and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.



2 You'll need an oven-proof, thick-bottomed pot with a cover, or Dutch oven, that is just wide enough to hold the brisket roast with a little room for the onions. Pat the brisket dry and place it, fatty side down, into the pot and place it on medium high heat. Cook for 5-8 minutes, lightly sizzling, until the fat side is nicely browned. (If the roast seems to be cooking too fast, turn the heat down to medium. You want a steady sizzle, not a raging sear.) Turn the brisket over and cook for a few minutes more to brown the other side.



3 When the brisket has browned, remove it from the pot and set aside. There should be a couple tablespoons of fat rendered in the pot, if not, add some olive oil. Add the chopped onions and increase the heat to high. Sprinkle a little salt on the onions. Sauté, stirring often, until the onions are lightly browned, 5-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes.



4 Preheat the oven to 300°F. Use kitchen twine to tie together the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme. Move the onions and garlic to the sides of the pot and nestle the brisket inside. Add the beef stock and the tied-up herbs. Bring the stock to a boil. Cover the pot, place the pot in the 300°F oven and cook for 3 hours. Carefully flip the brisket every hour so it cooks evenly.



5 After 3 hours, add the carrots. Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour more, or until the carrots are cooked through and the brisket is falling-apart tender.

6 When the brisket is falling-apart tender, take the pot out of the oven and remove the brisket to a cutting board. Cover it with foil. Pull out and discard the herbs.

7 At this point you have two options. You can serve as is, or you can make a sauce with the drippings and some of the onions. If you serve as is, skip this step. To make a sauce, remove the carrots and half of the onions, set aside and cover them with foil. Pour the ingredients that are remaining into the pot into a blender, and purée until smooth. If you want, add 1 tablespoon of mustard to the mix. Put into a small pot and keep warm.

8 Notice the lines of the muscle fibers of the roast. This is the "grain" of the meat. Slice the meat perpendicular to these lines, or across the grain (cutting this way further tenderizes the meat), in 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices. Serve with the onions, carrots and gravy. Serve with mashed, roasted or boiled potatoes, egg noodles or polenta.

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Beef Bourguignon Recipe

Looking for something celebratory? This is our take on the iconic French dish, Boeuf Bourguignon, popularized in America by Julia Child. Less of a stew and more of an event, classic beef bourguignon is beef stewed with aromatic vegetables, herbs and spices which are then strained off, reduced and finished with a butter-flour mixture to create a densely flavored, dark and silky sauce. Yes the sauce is a bit fussy, but truly it is worth it. We made this for the family the other day and not a drop was left.

(You can of course skip all the sauce straining fussiness and prepare this as a traditional stew, but then it would just be a lovely stew, not the dish everyone expects.)

We’ve included dried porcini mushrooms in this dish. They’re called cepes in France, and are frequently used in French stews. Dried porcini are available in many supermarkets, but don’t worry if you can’t find them. For this they’re optional and you’ll still have a fabulous dish without them.

As for the wine, if you can find it, use a Pinot Noir. It is the dominant wine used in Burgundy, France, and it is what gives this dish its name. Obviously you can use a real French Burgundy wine, but they tend to be far more expensive than a California Pinot Noir. Look for a bottle you’d happily drink.

Finally, the thing that usually stops me from making beef bourguignon is the pearl onions. Yes, blanching and peeling them is simply a lot of work. However, salvation may be at hand. According to my sources you can get frozen pearl onions already blanched and peeled. Apparently Trader Joe’s carries them. If you can’t find them, the following instructions include steps for preparing the onions.

Beef Bourguignon Recipe :
Yield: Serves 6-8

We are using shiitake mushrooms for the fresh mushrooms in this recipe, even though they are not traditionally used for this dish, because they are just so meaty and good. Feel free to use any fresh mushroom you'd like. If you don't have access to salt pork, you can use bacon, but simmer it first for 8 minutes in water, then drain and rinse, to remove its smokiness. A word on salt. Salt pork is salty. Be sparing with salt as you make this dish until the end, when you can adjust. Commercial beef stock is also salty, so you very well may have enough salt for the dish just from these two sources.

 

Ingredients :

• 6-8 ounces salt pork, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 4 pounds trimmed beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes, patted dry with paper towels
• Salt
• 10-12 shallots, chopped, about 2 cups
• 2 large, peeled carrots, 1 chopped, 1 cut into 2-inch chunks
• 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 ounce of dried porcini mushrooms (optional)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup brandy, plus 2 Tbsp
• 1 bottle Pinot Noir, or other red wine
• Beef Stock (low sodium), at least 1 cup, quite easily more
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 4 whole cloves
• 24 pearl onions, fresh or frozen
• 1 lb fresh shiitake, cremini or button mushrooms
• Beurre manie: 3 Tbsp flour blended with 2 Tbsp butter

Method :

 

1 If you are using them, pour 1 cup of boiling water over the dried porcini mushrooms and allow them to rehydrate for 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and chop coarsely. Pour the soaking water through a paper towel (to remove any dirt or debris) into a bowl and set aside.



2 In a large sauté pan, pour enough water to cover the bottom by about 1/8 inch. Over medium heat, cook the salt pork in the pan until the water evaporates, stirring occasionally. Once the water is gone, reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue to cook the salt pork until much of the fat has rendered out of it. Add a tablespoon of butter and continue to cook the salt pork unti the pieces are browned and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the salt pork pieces to a large Dutch oven or other large, thick-bottomed, lidded pot.

3 Increase the heat to medium-high. Working in batches so that you do not crowd the pan, brown the beef. Leaving space around each piece of sizzling meat ensures that it browns and does not steam. Don't move the pieces of beef in the pan until they get a good sear, then turn them so they can get browned on another side. Take your time. This will take 15-25 minutes, depending on how large a sauté pan you have. Once browned, remove the beef from the sauté pan and place in the Dutch oven with the salt pork.



4 When all the beef has browned, add the shallots, the one chopped carrot, and the chopped porcini mushrooms if using. Stir in the pot to remove any browned, stuck-on bits in the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic and the tomato paste. Cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

5 Add the brandy and stir to combine. Boil down by half, then add the strained mushroom soaking water (if using). Scrape any remaining browned bits off the bottom of the sauté pan and pour the contents of the pan into the Dutch oven.



6 To the Dutch oven add the bottle of wine and enough beef stock to almost cover the beef; the beef pieces should be barely poking up out of the liquid. Add the parsley, bay leaves, thyme and cloves. Cover and bring to a bare simmer. After 1 hour, add the second carrot, peeled and cut into chunks of 1-2 inches. Continue cooking for another hour, or until the beef is tender.

7 Meanwhile, trim the tough stems off the shiitake, cremini, or button mushrooms and slice into 2-3 large pieces; small mushrooms leave whole. Prepare the pearl onions. Boil them in their skins for 4-5 minutes. Drain and submerge in a bowl of ice water. Slice the tips and root ends off the onions and slip off the outer skins.

8 When the beef is tender, use tongs to remove all the beef and the chunks of carrots; set aside in a bowl. Strain the contents of the Dutch oven through a fine-meshed sieve set over a medium pot. This will be the sauce. Boil the sauce down, tasting frequently. If it begins to taste too salty, turn off the heat. Otherwise, boil down until you have about 3 cups. Turn off the heat.



9 Heat a large sauté pan over high heat and add the mushrooms. Dry sauté the mushrooms over high heat, shaking the pan and stirring often, until they release their water, about 4-5 minutes. Add the pearl onions and 3 tablespoons butter and toss to combine. Sprinkle salt over the onions and mushrooms. Sauté until the onions begin to brown. Remove from heat.



10 Returning to the sauce, reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the beurre manie. Whisk in a third of the paste, wait for it to incorporate into the sauce, then add another third of the beurre manie, and so on. Do not let this boil, but allow it to simmer very gently for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of brandy. Taste for salt and add some if needed.

11 To serve, coat the beef, carrots, mushrooms and pearl onions with the sauce and serve with potatoes, egg noodles or lots of crusty bread.

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Beef Bouillon Soup from Oxtails

Many recipes call for beef stock (e.g. French onion soup), but good beef stock is hard to come by, with beef prices these days, expensive to make. Beef oxtails make a wonderful stock and sometimes you can get them (try Costco) at a reasonable price. If you’ve never cooked oxtails before, they do indeed come from the tail of a steer, and they make the most divinely flavorful stew. Their bones are also filled with marrow, perfect for making bouillon. It makes a delicious soup all on its own. You can also use it as a base for French onion soup or other beef-based soups.


We found this recipe in an old issue of Gourmet magazine. It accompanied an oxtail pâté which you make from the strained oxtails from this recipe.

Beef Bouillon Soup from Oxtails Recipe :

Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 3 hours, 30 minutes. Yield: Makes 8 cups. Serves 6 to 8.

 

Ingredients :

• 3-4 lbs oxtails, patted dry
• Salt and pepper
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch sections
• Zest of one orange, removed in strips with a vegetable peeler
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 4 quarts water
• 1/3 cup fresh cranberries (if in season, otherwise use a quarter of a lemon)
• 10 oz mushrooms, chopped coarse
• 3 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch sections
• 4 sprigs of thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cloves
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns

Method:

1 Preheat the oven to 450°F. Pat dry the oxtails with paper towels and put them in a roasting pan. Sprinkle on all sides with salt and pepper. Add the carrots, onions, and zest. Roast in the middle rack, turning the oxtails as the are browned. Once browned, remove from oven and place the oxtails and vegetables into a large stockpot.

2 Place the roasting pan on the stovetop on medium high heat. Add the wine to the pan to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits. Add the liquid to the stockpot with the oxtails. Add the cranberries, mushrooms, celery, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, and peppercorns. Bring the liquid to a boil, skimming whatever foam rises to the surface. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 3 hours.

3 Ladle the mixture through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or paper towels into a large bowl. Reserve the oxtails for another use, such as oxtail pate. Discard the remaining solids. The bouillon can be made 3 days in advance and kept chilled. Discard excess fat (leave enough to cover soup when chilled).

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Beef and Barley Stew with Mushrooms

Although the days are getting longer, the sun just beginning to ride a little higher in the sky, the nights are still bone-chilling. Honestly, I never look forward to winter. But when I’m smack in the middle of it, I do appreciate its comforts—warm clothes, thick blankets, an excuse to use the fireplace, and a big pot of stew. And I mean a big pot. Heck, if you are going to go through all that trouble, you may as well make enough for plenty of meals during the week. This is one such stew, a hearty cousin of beef barley soup, but bulked up with carrots, celery root, and lots of mushrooms.

It’s a riff off a stew that Hank likes to make with goose, inspired by Russian stews he’s encountered over the years. The stew is served topped with sour cream, which when mixed in, gives a wonderfully creamy consistency to the stew with just a touch of tang.

Beef and Barley Stew with Mushrooms Recipe :

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 2 hours, 30 minutes. Yield: Serves 8-10

If you can't find celery root, you can substitute turnips, rutabagas or potatoes. Just be sure to adjust your cooking times—potatoes cook faster than celery root. Save time in the prep work by prepping the onions and mushrooms while the beef is browning.

 

Ingredients :

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2-3 pounds beef chuck, cut into chunks
• Salt
• 3 cups chopped onions
• 1 pound button or cremini mushrooms, quartered if small or 1/4-inch sliced
• 1 quart beef or chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 1 cup roughly chopped carrot
• 3 cups celery root, peeled and chopped into 3/4-inch to 1-inch chunks
• Black pepper
• About 1/2 cup sour cream (around 1 Tbsp sour cream per serving)
• Dill for garnish

Method :

 

1 In a Dutch oven or other large, lidded pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add enough pieces of the beef to sear in the pot without crowding. You will need to brown the meat in several batches. Salt the beef as it cooks, and set aside browned pieces in a bowl.

 

2 When all the beef has browned, add the onions. As the onions release some of their water, use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle a little salt over the onions as they cook. Lower the heat to medium and cook the onions until they begin to brown, 5-6 minutes.

 

3 When the onions have lightly browned, mix in the mushrooms and increase the heat to high. Cook the mushrooms until they release their water, about 2-3 minutes.

3 Add the beef back to the pot and sprinkle with marjoram. Add 1 cup of the stock and use the wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the rest of the stock and water and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot, lower the heat to low and simmer very gently for 1 hour.

 

4 Add the barley, celery root and carrots, stir well and recover the pot. Simmer gently until the barley and celery root are tender, between 40 minutes and an hour.

Ladle servings into bowls, then top with a dollop of sour cream and a few sprigs of dill. Grind a little black pepper over right before you serve. To eat, stir in the sour cream.

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Beef Goulash with Dumplings Recipe

What better on a chilly day than a plate of steaming hot beef stew with light, fluffy dumplings? My super-hero father decided to make goulash for us recently and when the first recipe he tried didn’t work out (go figure—it asked for a quarter pound of paprika), down the drain it went (just the base, thank goodness), and back to the drawing board went dad.

The recipe we did end up with dad pulled from one of his thick recipe binders, with his own notes from a Wolfgang Puck Food Network show. The dumpling recipe comes from my friend Elizabeth who brought it back with her from a summer in Prague. The combination is a knock-out. Rich, flavorful, spicy beef stew balanced with light dumplings.

Beef Goulash with Dumplings Recipe :

Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 2 hours, 15 minutes. Yield: Serves 4 to 6

 

Ingredients:Goulash

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced (about 4 cups sliced onions)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp caraway seeds, toasted and ground
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon spicy Hungarian paprika
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh marjoram or oregano (or 1 Tbsp of dried)
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes (trimmed of excess fat)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dumplings

• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp melted butter

Method:

 

1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with sugar, and cook, stirring often, until the onions are browned and caramelized, about 20 minutes. If the onions at any point look like they are drying out in the pan, lower the heat. Add the minced garlic and ground toasted caraway seeds and cook a minute more.

2 Sprinkle with the sweet and spicy paprikas and toss to coat. Stir in the marjoram, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook for another minute, until fragrant.

3 Stir in the tomato paste. Add the vinegar and stock and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the cubed beef and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring the whole mixture to a boil on high heat, then lower the heat to low to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook until the beef is falling apart tender, about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

4 To prepare the dumplings, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Combine with the milk and melted butter, mixing lightly. After the stew has cooked until tender in step 3, drop the dumpling batter by (heaping) teaspoonfuls into the simmering stew. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Once you have covered the pan, do not uncover while the dumplings are cooking!In order for them to be light and fluffy, they must steam. If you uncover the pan, the steam will escape and the dumplings will boil instead. After 15 minutes, test the dumplings with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, the dumplings are done.

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Free Albondigas Soup Recipe

Albondigas soup is a traditional Mexican meatball soup (“albondigas” means “meatballs” in Spanish) that my mother has cooked for our family for more than 50 years. It is our version of comfort food.

A simple soup base is made with sautéed onions, garlic, broth, and tomatoes. Into the bubbling soup you drop meatballs made with ground beef or ground turkey and rice. The meat creates its own additional broth for the soup. Carrots, green beans, and peas are also usually added to the soup.

What makes the flavor of albondigas soup distinctive is the chopped mint in the meatballs.I once complained to a Mexican chef about the lack of mint in his cookbook’s albondigas soup recipe, and he looked at me with surprise and said, “my mother puts mint in her albondigas!”

You can, of course, skip the mint, substitute with a little fresh oregano or some cilantro, but to me, the soup’s not the same without it. You can also vary the vegetables added, depending on what you have on hand and what’s in season.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3 quarts of chicken stock or beef stock OR water OR a mixture of both (we usually use half stock half water as the meatballs will create their own stock)*
• 1/2 cup of tomato sauce

• 1/2 lb of string beans, strings and ends removed, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

• 1/3 cup of raw white rice
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
• 1 raw egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• A dash of cayenne (optional)

• 1 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh peas
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, crumbled, or 1 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

*If using prepared stock, be sure to use gluten-free stock if you are cooking gluten-free.

Method

1 Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot (5-qt) over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add broth mixture and tomato sauce. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add carrots and string beans.

2 Prepare the meatballs. Mix rice into meat, adding mint leaves and parsley, salt and pepper. Mix in raw egg. Form mixture into 1-inch meatballs.

3 Add the meatballs to the simmering soup, one at a time. Cover and let simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the peas towards the end of the 1/2 hour. Add a few pinches of oregano and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and a dash of cayenne, to taste.
Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

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