Savory Stews

Former restaurateur Burdick (French Cooking en Famille) invites cooks to venture into the steamy realm of stews, where slow simmering becomes a pastime and most foods are described as ``tender'' or ``velvety'' in texture, ``complex'' and ``hearty'' in flavor. He explores the world's cuisines to arrive at recipes such as ``Chinese Swimming Chicken''; ``Brazilian Dill-Flavored Hot Pot,'' enlivened by the addition of searing piri-piri peppers; and lamb stewed with honey, a classical tajine in the Algerian tradition, seasoned with hot red peppers, ginger and saffron. From the bold, robust flavors of pork jambalaya, made with peppers, garlic, cilantro and a half-dozen other seasonings, to the delicate palette of root vegetables summoned in a Polish krupnik, Savory Stews covers the full range of stove-top suppers. Burdick also advises on how to make stocks for stews and where to find specialty ingredients. His selection is wide, encompassing meats, fish and seafood, vegetables and even stewed fruits. Only a few recipes are disappointingly bland: a chicken and gravy stew calls for ``1 cylinder of ready-to-bake biscuits or instant biscuit mix,'' which seems less savory than perhaps was intended. BOMC selection. (Jan.)