This week’s recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

Have a little time to spare this weekend? In this week’s section, I talk about the simple pleasures of a slow-simmered stew:

“Unlike a typical weeknight dinner rushed to the table after a long day, stews are patient, as much about the sheer pleasure of cooking as the finished dish itself. It’s the simple alchemy of time and ingredients layered in a pot to form something lush and rich, with a depth of flavor that cannot be duplicated with a shortcut.�

While I’d argue that a good stew demands patience, not all of them require a lot of time. One of the recipes -- for a richly-flavored butternut squash stew -- comes together in about an hour.

This week’s recipes include:

• Chicken and andouille smoked sausage gumbo
• Oxtail daube (Daube de queue de boeuf)
• Spiced butternut squash stew
• Roberto’s gambas Mozambique from Espana Restaurant

When you try one of this week’s recipes or any L.A. Times recipe, let us know! Upload a photo to the “Our Recipes, Your Kitchen� gallery to share your take on the recipe and tell us about yourself. Your photo will be posted online on our L.A. Times Food page.

ALSO:

The magic of pate-a-choux

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

You can find Noelle Carter on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest. Email Noelle at [email protected].