COOKING ONBOARD
One-Skillet Meals By Bob Johndrow
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any people will agree that food tastes better on the water. Sometimes that meal is just a hard-boiled egg and a saltshaker, or some cold, fried chicken with ice-cold beverages. These are some memories I have of eating on a boat as a child, and everything always tasted so good. Our meals have evolved since then. When the boat is calm, meals onboard can be a breeze. What I like now about eating dinner on the boat while anchored is a meal that is simple, flavorful—and leaves us with as little cleanup as possible. Enter the one-skillet meal. Most of my one-skillet meals are cooked and served in a seasoned, cast iron skillet. By chopping ingredients and adding them as needed to the skillet, this is the only pan that will need to be cleaned later. With limited space in the galley, I often like to get outside, do all the prep work at a small dining table on the stern and add ingredients to the cast iron skillet directly on the grill that is mounted there as well. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, look for one at a thrift store or pick one up at any major retailer. With either, you will want to season it by rubbing the entire pan with a blended oil or canola oil, then heat it up for at least 20 minutes and allow to cool. After cooking, scrub it with a little hot water, dry thoroughly, then oil it again. The skillet will become more seasoned with each meal and will serve many memorable events. I’ve become pretty adept at the one-skillet meal, but that was not always the case. When I first started planning and cooking meals on board, I could never seem to remember all the necessary ingredients and components to complete the meal I had intended. I never really followed recipes at home, and on the boat I always felt that I was missing a few key ingredients. I found that by planning to have a few staple ingredients onboard, then picking up the remaining ingredients for the adventure, cooking on the boat could be enjoyable, as well as a pleasure to take care of guests. The first time I actually created a one-skillet meal, I was using up leftover beets and potatoes—that were grilled the night before—in a breakfast hash with corned beef and poached eggs. This was just a way to use up leftovers, but the presentation was so beautiful, I took some photos and knew this would become a regular dish we would serve. Other favorites include chicken piccata, shrimp and grits and shakshuka. Shakshuka originally came from North Africa and has quickly become a popular Middle Eastern dish, particularly in Israel. I hear shakshuka gained wild popularity because it is a simple dish that uses few ingredients. While there are many variations, a traditional shakshuka recipe is basically eggs poached in a spiced tomato and green pepper stew with onions and garlic. Here is my recipe for Shakshuka.
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July 2019 S O U T H W I N D S
Shakshuka Shakshuka, meaning “all mixed up” in Hebrew, is so simple. Eggs are poached in a perfectly spiced vegetarian stew of tomatoes and green peppers. Serve it for breakfast or add a salad and your favorite bread, and you can call it dinner. Serves 6-8 olive oil 1 large yellow onion, chopped 2 green bell peppers, chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled, chopped 1 teaspoon ground oregano 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin pinch red pepper flakes salt and pepper 6 fresh tomatoes, chopped or 28 oz. can strained tomatoes 1/2 cup tomato sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 6 large eggs 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves In a large cast iron skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, green peppers, garlic, spices, pinch salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar. Simmer until the tomato mixture begins to reduce, about 20 minutes. Make six wells in the tomato mixture with the back of a spoon. Crack an egg into each indention. Reduce the heat, cover the skillet and cook about eight more minutes, or until egg whites are set. Sprinkle parsley and mint leaves over the top and serve in the cast iron skillet. Wrap the skillet handle with a towel or a slip-on, protective handle cover. Bob Johndrow enjoys cooking and boating. He combines years of restaurant industry experience cooking, catering and entertaining, along with the organizational skills necessary to create recipes that are flavorful, yet simple enough to be prepared in a tiny galley kitchen. He has worked in the restaurant industry for over 30 years as a cook, chef, writer and marketing director. He recently published Boat Cooking and Entertaining, a guide to cooking simple, healthy meals onboard, and entertaining with style. www.southwindsmagazine.com