"Glorious One-Pot Meals"

In my never-ending quest for ways to trim a few pounds, I purchased a cookbook that promised healthy low-fat dishes. If you pick up any domestic or woman’s magazine, the cover always promises new recipes that are healthy and low calorie as well as the newest diet or “eating plan” as they are now called. Many of the recently released cookbooks do the same and I have quite a few of them. But this cookbook was intriguing because it claimed to be a new cooking method.

The book, Glorious One-Pot Meals by Elizabeth Yarnell, published by Broadway Books,
came about when she was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis) and wanted to find a way to cook that was healthy and fast, since most of us (Elizabeth included) are too tired and rushed after working all day to come home and cook a from-scratch meal, using fresh, unprocessed food. She came up with a completely new form of cooking she called “infusion cooking.”

Basically, infusion cooking refers to using a lidded cast-iron Dutch oven to hold layers of whole foods and cooking them inside a hot oven for a brief time. After reading her cookbook and the recipes therein, I couldn’t believe her claims that the food would all turn out cooked properly. But I was wrong.

Pasta, potatoes, rice, meats and vegetables are all put into the Dutch oven at the same temperature and for the same time—layered according to her instructions and seasoned according to her recipes—and they truly did come out with non-mushy pasta, crisp vegetables and tender, juicy meat. And you can even put foods, including the meat, in frozen. Amazing.

Her explanation: Each item retains its cellular integrity and emerges perfectly intact. The intense heat (450 degrees) causes the vegetables to release their moisture, which presses up against the food and infuses it with clean flavors from herbs, spices and other natural ingredients. Each food retains its cellular integrity and emerges perfectly intact. This method is so different that it has been awarded both U.S. and Canadian patents.

The one thing that you must have is a cast-iron Dutch oven. Yarnell describes various types of Dutch ovens—the basic two being enamel-coated or uncoated; however, some people have had limited success using stainless-steel. A stainless Dutch oven must have a wide, flat bottom, non-sloping sides and a lid with a ridge on the underside that sits securely on the base. The recipes in her book are based on using a two-quart Dutch oven to feed two adult eaters. Zig and I have (too) healthy appetites and we found the recipes I have tried so far actually produced too much food for us. Leftovers are great, though.

There is a lot of information in the book that you may find useful (I certainly did), but you don’t need all of it to give it a try. Here is one of the recipes we tried and liked. After you try one, it should not be hard to see the formula and then you can substitute your own combinations and seasonings.

Bahamian Chicken (I used frozen, boneless pork chops, 1” thick in place of chicken)

Canola oil spray
½ tsp cumin seed
½ to ¾ pound boneless chicken breasts or thighs (or substitute pork)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ red or orange bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch wedges
½ small yellow summer squash, cut into 1-inch chunks
½ head broccoli, cut into florets (about 2 cups)
3 Tbsp rice or wine vinegar
3 Tbsp fresh orange juice
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (do not cheat on this—bring the oven all the way to 450 before putting your Dutch oven in.) Spray the inside and lid of a cast-iron Dutch oven with canola oil spray. Sprinkle the whole cumin seeds in the pot. Place the chicken or pork (no need to thaw if frozen) in the pot and lightly season with salt and pepper; sprinkle with the garlic. Arrange the potato on top of the chicken. Add the bell pepper, squash and broccoli in layers. In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, orange juice, oregano, paprika, allspice, black pepper to taste, and red pepper flakes. Pour over the vegetables. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven. Serve immediately.