The Meals Chefs Make When They’re Feeling Sick | Nazareno Mayol Curti
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Nazareno Mayol Curti’s Puchero
Mayol Curti, 30, worked at Fulgurances before opening Eme, which offers a French-Uruguayan tasting menu, last fall. He’s been eating puchero, a long-simmered winter stew, with his family since he was very young. The one-pot dish isn’t only for gatherings, though: The bone broth and nutrients from the meat make it a wholesome option for when you’re sick. And, thankfully for those experiencing fatigue or mental fog, precision isn’t that important: “Don’t worry about vegetable sizes or measuring your olive oil — it’s meant to be forgiving,” says Mayol Curti.
Ingredients for Mayol Curti’s stew, though he notes the recipe is flexible and can be made with whatever meat and vegetables you have on hand.Credit...Léo Kharfan
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Broth
- 25 ounces (700 grams) osso buco or a noble cut of meat, with the marrowbone
- 1 onion, cut into quarters
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 golden turnip, chopped
- 2 sweet potatoes, chopped
- 3 potatoes, chopped
- 1 leek, chopped
- ½ white cabbage, chopped
- 1 squash or pumpkin, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Black peppercorns
Sauce
- 1 bunch parsley
- ¾ ounce (20 grams) capers
- 1 ounce (30 grams) Parmesan cheese
- A drizzle of olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
Toast
- A few slices of country bread
- 2 cloves garlic
- A bit of butter
Mayol Curti preparing puchero at Eme, his new restaurant in Paris.Credit...Léo Kharfan
1. Place the beef and marrowbone in a large pot. Cover generously with cold water.
2. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then reduce to a simmer. Add the onion, the bay leaf, a few peppercorns and the celery. Simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Add the carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes and potatoes. Cook for another 20 minutes.
4. Add the remaining vegetables: leek, cabbage and squash or pumpkin. Continue cooking 20 to 30 minutes until everything is tender (but not too soft).
5. Season with salt.
6. In a small bowl, mix together the parsley, capers, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.
7. Toast the country bread with butter in a frying pan. Grate the garlic and sprinkle it onto the bread.
8. Ladle the meat and vegetables into a bowl, then pour a small amount of broth over them and add a spoonful of the caper sauce on top.
9. Serve the toasted bread on the side, topped with a generous helping of bone marrow extracted from the marrowbone in the pot. Add a sprinkle of salt.