A very astute food observer wrote, very recently, that the way you can tell food is homemade, or made in a restaurant, is how it is presented on the plate. Annalena smiled when she saw that, because in many ways, and for most restaurants, it is true.
Think of how you grew up, with your mom, or dad, or aunt, or whomever cooking , and how you cook now. When the p late comes to the table: protein at one point. Starch next to it. Green vegetable, completing the plate.
You're smiling in recognition, aren't you? Indeed, we have plastic partition trays, it is how tv dinners are presented, how kids get their cafeteria trays, and so on and so forth.
Now, eat the same meal you cooked at home.... and you get vertical plating. More smiles, yes? Veggies underneath, starch on top of that , and protein atop it all, with some kind of garnish.
You know whereof Annalena speaks. Well, normally Annalena does not cook restaurant style. She plates the way her Nana taught her, and that's standard "triangular" form; however, lately, she has been trying a new company, which provides all the ingredients for meals, but you have to cook them. They measure, provide a recipe, and away you go.
So far, Annalena is intrigued, and somewhat interested. She has liked things, but has pretty much used this source to help her get more inspiration. This is the tale of her first dish with them, and she thinks you should make this. It is a dinner that comes in at less than 600 calories a portion, so you can do something like eat a green vegetable with it, which it very much needs (Annalena made asparagus). But let's make the dish .
You are going to need a handful of chard. Chop it into small pieces and put it aside. This is your garnish. For your other ingredients, let's take 12 ounces of small potatoes (fingerlings), and put them in salted, cold water. Make sure thre's LOTS of water. Bring the pot to a boil, lower it to a medium simmer, and cook for about 12 minutes, while you do some other stuff.
The other stuff is zesting a lemon, and cutting it into quarters, as well as making a salad dressing. We mak the dressing by taking a bowl, and adding two tablespoons of red wine vinegar and the same quantity of olive oil. Whisk them together. Add salt to taste, and then add about four cups of arugula to the mix. (this is about a quarter to a third of a pound. Toss it all together. You have enough dressing (as Annalena learned).
By now, your potatoes are done. Do drain them, and put them aside for about ten minutes to cool a bit. When they're cool enough to handle, cut them into coins, and dress thes, with that lemon zest, a healthy teaspoon of salt, the chives you cut before, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Toss everything together, taste a piece of potato, and adjust as you need.
NOW, we get to our fish. Annalena made pollack, but you can use any white, firm fish. 6 ounces to a person. And it couldn't be easier. Get a non stick pan, put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in it, and heat to a shimmer. This takes five minutes or so. While the oil is heating, pat your fish dry, salt and pepper it, and then get it into the pan. Four minutes to a side or so is fine.
And now, we plate. First, put that arugula salad on your dinner plate, and now, strew the potatoes over it. Finally, put the fish right on top of that. Take that lemon you started with, cut it into wedges, and adorn the side of the plate with it.
All done. You'll be out of the kitchen in 30 minutes with a truly excellent, "composed" meal. Gertrude Stein (who wrote "Composition as Explanation,") would be pleased
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
It's a torta but it's not: cabbage, onion and cheese "torta"
First, ragazzi, Annalena has to announce that she now has a facebook page. Yes, indeed. So if you want to see pictures of her dishes, and also have a more convenient place to check: just head there.
So, what's with the "torta and it's not?" Well, this very much has to do with the fluidity of language, and how words change. If you ask for a torta in a Mexican restaurant, you will get a sandwich on a round roll, sort of like a round panino. In Italy, torta is a cake. Usually dessert. Of course, Annalena thinks immediately of her "torta rustica," which she is preparing to make for Easter. It LOOKS somewhat like a cake, but it is anything other than sweet.
The dish she made here was called a torta by Melissa Clark of the Times, and perhaps in the cultural context from which Ms. Clark writes (which seems decidedly middle European), this is a torta. Annalena does not know. Perhaps it could have been made in the form that, for example, Annalena's torta rustica is made. Again, Annalena does not know.
What she DOES know is that this is awfully good. REALLY awfully good. There's a bit of work here, but none of it is particularly hard, and you come away with a recipe for a dough which is multifaceted. And here we go.
First, let's make dough. And we're making a lot of it. You need to mix up 4 cups of all purpose, unbleached flour, and half a cup of whole wheat flour. Then add a tablespoon of salt. That seems like a lot, on its own, but look at how much flour you have there. Finalmente, a stick and a half of unsalted butter, cut into cubes. Make sure the butter is cold.
You can get this worked by hand, or with a pastry cutter, but Annalena did it in her food processor, pulsing it until you get something that looks like the crumbs you would put on a streussel. Now, start adding REALLY cold water to this. Probably, you should set your water in with some ice when you start. Begin with a cup, and if you use a food processor, just keep the beast running. You are looking for this dough to come together like a ball - hence, you are working this more than you would a pie crust. You will probably need more water, so add it slowly, up to another half cup. Then, put this all on a countertop, work it to a ball, wrap it and refrigerate it. A couple hours is fine.
Okay, let's get to our filling now. You need to slice, into half moons, enough onions to measure a healthy two to three cups. Annalena used plain old yellow onions, but you can use red ones, sweet Spanish onions, etc. You could probably substitute some leeks for the onions, but using totally sweet ones, like vidalias, is not something that Annalena would recommend here. . Cook them, with two tablespoons of olive oil, at medium heat. Stir them occasionally, until you get a bit of browning. Five-ten minutes is about right, and since you're stirring only occasionally, you have time to move on to your next project.
And that next project is shredding some cabbage. Savoy if you can get it, plain green if you can't. Now, Ms Clark says "one small head, about 1.5 pounds.' This is the type of instruction that drives Annalena crazy. Can you look at a head of cabbage and say it's 1.5 pounds? Annalena cannot. She got the smallest one she could, and it was three pounds. So, ragazzi, be prepared to have left overs. You should have a scale in your kitchen, and if you don't, well, weigh the cabbage when you buy it, and estimate it.
When your onions have gone for that time to get a bit brown, add another tablespoon of olive oil, and start adding cabbage. A pound and a half of cabbage is going to make quite a volume, raw, and not very much, cooked. This is why you add it in sections, to the hot onions. As it cooks down, add more. And repeat, and repeat. Until you have it all in. Put in some salt and pepper. The instructions called for cooking until all the liquid evaporated. Annalena didn't have any. At the end, stir in two tablespoons of cider vinegar, and stir it all together. This helps to "fix" the cabbage and brighten it. Now put all of this into a bowl, taste it, and correct seasoning as you like.
Ok, now we go to the next step which is toasting our breadcrumbs. You need a third of a cup, together with a few tablespoons of chopped thyme, and a half dozen cloves of chopped garlic. Put all of this into a small pan, with a tablespoon of olive oil, and stir, stir, stir. You will see the edges of the crumbs browning, and when that happens, pour it all into another bowl.
Still with Annalena ? Ok, final prep stage. Now, you grate half a pound of fontina cheese. Fontina is soft, so if you remember, at the start of the recipe, put your cheese in the freezer. It will firm it up, and make it easier to grate. Cut the rind off, and don't worry very much about even grating. You could probably also cut this into tiny chunks if you like.
Ok, carini, now as Stephen Sondheim suggests "bit by bit" we're "putting it together." Get that dough out of the fridge and, on a flowered surface, roll it out. You want a rectangle, and you want it to be just a bit shorter than a 13x18 inch baking pan. To make t hings easier, Annalena suggests that you keep a baking sheet at hand, and everytime you think you're close, put the pan over it, and see. Don't be afraid to turn the dough over and /or to add more flour if there is sticking. And if you're not quite at the right size, worry not. The dough is resilient, and you can press it around to make it right.
And we go on. Now the part that Annalena likes the best. Position the baking sheet so it is horizontal to you, and visualize a vertical line down the middle. Leave the side to the left alone for now. Using the right side, spread out half the bread crumbs, but make sure you leave a border of about an inch where you spread nothing. Now put on half the cheese. And now, half the cabbage. Repeat all of these steps.
Wet your hands, and lightly moisten the edges where you put nothing. Now, dry those hands, take the left side and fold it up over the filling, and then, using your thumbs, a fork, whatever you like, press the thing together.
Looks nice, doesn't it? Final touch, which is optional but makes things so pretty: beat an egg, and brush it over the top.
Now, put this in a preheated, 425 degree oven, and bake it for 45 minutes. The recipe said to cut vent holes, but Annalena forgot and had no problem.
Let it cool for fifteen minutes, at the least, before you dig in.
Annalena swears: this is so good, you will have problems not eating the whole thing in the kitchen.
Yes, ragazzi, this is work. But... look back at what we've done, recently. You've saved SO much time, you should be able to use it here. So go forward, make this. Let Annalena know how it turns out.
We're going to be going back to easy dishes in the next few entries, gang. So take a breath, have a glass of white wine, and get set.
So, what's with the "torta and it's not?" Well, this very much has to do with the fluidity of language, and how words change. If you ask for a torta in a Mexican restaurant, you will get a sandwich on a round roll, sort of like a round panino. In Italy, torta is a cake. Usually dessert. Of course, Annalena thinks immediately of her "torta rustica," which she is preparing to make for Easter. It LOOKS somewhat like a cake, but it is anything other than sweet.
The dish she made here was called a torta by Melissa Clark of the Times, and perhaps in the cultural context from which Ms. Clark writes (which seems decidedly middle European), this is a torta. Annalena does not know. Perhaps it could have been made in the form that, for example, Annalena's torta rustica is made. Again, Annalena does not know.
What she DOES know is that this is awfully good. REALLY awfully good. There's a bit of work here, but none of it is particularly hard, and you come away with a recipe for a dough which is multifaceted. And here we go.
First, let's make dough. And we're making a lot of it. You need to mix up 4 cups of all purpose, unbleached flour, and half a cup of whole wheat flour. Then add a tablespoon of salt. That seems like a lot, on its own, but look at how much flour you have there. Finalmente, a stick and a half of unsalted butter, cut into cubes. Make sure the butter is cold.
You can get this worked by hand, or with a pastry cutter, but Annalena did it in her food processor, pulsing it until you get something that looks like the crumbs you would put on a streussel. Now, start adding REALLY cold water to this. Probably, you should set your water in with some ice when you start. Begin with a cup, and if you use a food processor, just keep the beast running. You are looking for this dough to come together like a ball - hence, you are working this more than you would a pie crust. You will probably need more water, so add it slowly, up to another half cup. Then, put this all on a countertop, work it to a ball, wrap it and refrigerate it. A couple hours is fine.
Okay, let's get to our filling now. You need to slice, into half moons, enough onions to measure a healthy two to three cups. Annalena used plain old yellow onions, but you can use red ones, sweet Spanish onions, etc. You could probably substitute some leeks for the onions, but using totally sweet ones, like vidalias, is not something that Annalena would recommend here. . Cook them, with two tablespoons of olive oil, at medium heat. Stir them occasionally, until you get a bit of browning. Five-ten minutes is about right, and since you're stirring only occasionally, you have time to move on to your next project.
And that next project is shredding some cabbage. Savoy if you can get it, plain green if you can't. Now, Ms Clark says "one small head, about 1.5 pounds.' This is the type of instruction that drives Annalena crazy. Can you look at a head of cabbage and say it's 1.5 pounds? Annalena cannot. She got the smallest one she could, and it was three pounds. So, ragazzi, be prepared to have left overs. You should have a scale in your kitchen, and if you don't, well, weigh the cabbage when you buy it, and estimate it.
When your onions have gone for that time to get a bit brown, add another tablespoon of olive oil, and start adding cabbage. A pound and a half of cabbage is going to make quite a volume, raw, and not very much, cooked. This is why you add it in sections, to the hot onions. As it cooks down, add more. And repeat, and repeat. Until you have it all in. Put in some salt and pepper. The instructions called for cooking until all the liquid evaporated. Annalena didn't have any. At the end, stir in two tablespoons of cider vinegar, and stir it all together. This helps to "fix" the cabbage and brighten it. Now put all of this into a bowl, taste it, and correct seasoning as you like.
Ok, now we go to the next step which is toasting our breadcrumbs. You need a third of a cup, together with a few tablespoons of chopped thyme, and a half dozen cloves of chopped garlic. Put all of this into a small pan, with a tablespoon of olive oil, and stir, stir, stir. You will see the edges of the crumbs browning, and when that happens, pour it all into another bowl.
Still with Annalena ? Ok, final prep stage. Now, you grate half a pound of fontina cheese. Fontina is soft, so if you remember, at the start of the recipe, put your cheese in the freezer. It will firm it up, and make it easier to grate. Cut the rind off, and don't worry very much about even grating. You could probably also cut this into tiny chunks if you like.
Ok, carini, now as Stephen Sondheim suggests "bit by bit" we're "putting it together." Get that dough out of the fridge and, on a flowered surface, roll it out. You want a rectangle, and you want it to be just a bit shorter than a 13x18 inch baking pan. To make t hings easier, Annalena suggests that you keep a baking sheet at hand, and everytime you think you're close, put the pan over it, and see. Don't be afraid to turn the dough over and /or to add more flour if there is sticking. And if you're not quite at the right size, worry not. The dough is resilient, and you can press it around to make it right.
And we go on. Now the part that Annalena likes the best. Position the baking sheet so it is horizontal to you, and visualize a vertical line down the middle. Leave the side to the left alone for now. Using the right side, spread out half the bread crumbs, but make sure you leave a border of about an inch where you spread nothing. Now put on half the cheese. And now, half the cabbage. Repeat all of these steps.
Wet your hands, and lightly moisten the edges where you put nothing. Now, dry those hands, take the left side and fold it up over the filling, and then, using your thumbs, a fork, whatever you like, press the thing together.
Looks nice, doesn't it? Final touch, which is optional but makes things so pretty: beat an egg, and brush it over the top.
Now, put this in a preheated, 425 degree oven, and bake it for 45 minutes. The recipe said to cut vent holes, but Annalena forgot and had no problem.
Let it cool for fifteen minutes, at the least, before you dig in.
Annalena swears: this is so good, you will have problems not eating the whole thing in the kitchen.
Yes, ragazzi, this is work. But... look back at what we've done, recently. You've saved SO much time, you should be able to use it here. So go forward, make this. Let Annalena know how it turns out.
We're going to be going back to easy dishes in the next few entries, gang. So take a breath, have a glass of white wine, and get set.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Before we roll up our sleeves and work: something rich and quick: pasta with crab and creme fraiche
Yes, ragazzi, we share lots of healthy recipes on this site, don't we? Some of you may be wondering if you're ever going to see Annalena cook something other than tofu again.
Well, worry not. Everything in balance, although this lunch dish is certainly one that you will have to balance along the way, with some tofu, or steamed greens.
The recipe is an adaptation of one which David Tanis posted in the Times. Annalena was fascinated because Chef Tanis revealed his distaste for brunch - a distaste which Annalena shares, and which she's discussed here before. Bloodsport before a meal is not really Annalena's idea of working up a good appetite. And then to sit down to a bad drink, mediocre food, with noise, people bumping into you, and so on and so forth. So, no carini, Annalena does NOT do brunch. She WILL for the Texas princess and the Empress of cosmetics when they come visiting, but as a general rule, Annalena and the Guyman eat weekend lunches and stay far from the madding crowds (Annalena has always harbored a fantasy of being Bathsheba Everdene. The name... and Julie Christie... and being pursued by the over the top hot Alan Bates... Oh hell, ragazzi, see the movie).
But back from the digression. This recipe comes together so quickly you will not quite believe it. And you probably will not quite believe it when you buy the ingredients and see the cost. BUT... ragazzi, pazienza. First of all, think for a minute: putting aside drinks, what did you pay the last time you went out for brunch? Annalena just checked the brunch menu of her favorite cookshop, and the entrees ranged from 15-20. Keep that in mind. For this recipe, you will need a pound of fresh pasta (Annalena paid 5 dollars for it), and a cup of creme fraiche (that was another 4), and a pound of crab meat (the lump. NOT jumbo lump, and that was 30). Then you need some fresh herbs and some mustard, both of which you probably have in the house. So, you will have spent a bit over 40 dollars for the ingredients here, which will easily serve 4 people, and maybe more if you serve something like a salad. Let us say, however, that you are going to serve four. Here's how you do it. And do not blink, because you'll miss something.
Put a large part of salted water to boil, and put a wide skilled along side of it. C hop up a small bunch of parsley, a few scallions, and put them to the side. If you like things spicy, then remove the veins and seeds of a hot green pepper, and chop that too. Annalena left out this step.
Put a cup of creme fraiche into the pan, and warm it over medium heat, while you add three tablespoons of smooth dijon mustard. Stir it all together. Now pour in the crab and turn it into the creme fraiche until it's coated well. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, and your sliced greens. Taste, and correct for salt and pepper.
Now, how long did that take you, do you think? And was the hardest thing you did, chopping the greens?
You're on your way. Dump the pound of fresh pasta (you CAN use dry, but fresh is better here), into the boiling salt water, and cook it to al dente. Five minutes, maybe. Pull it out with tongs, throw it into the creme fraiche sauce, turn it around in that unctious stuff, at medium heat.
Serve it up. If there are only 2-3 of you, take out half the sauce and save it for another occasion. Like midnight snacks, or a reprieve after an awful meal.
The only thing you might add to this is a crispy salad, and Annalena suggests serving a sparkly beverage with it.
In all, you'll be in the kitchen for about 20 minutes, you'll have a luscious dish, and not only have you beaten the brunch crunch, you have something new in your arsenal, in case, for example, you're roasting some meat for dinner and want a nice first course.
Go with it, ragazzi. Quick and rich. Because next time, things won't be so quick. They will be easy, but you're gonna need to be willing to spend some time getting to know your kitchen better, as we make cabbage onion cheese pie. Alla prossima.
Well, worry not. Everything in balance, although this lunch dish is certainly one that you will have to balance along the way, with some tofu, or steamed greens.
The recipe is an adaptation of one which David Tanis posted in the Times. Annalena was fascinated because Chef Tanis revealed his distaste for brunch - a distaste which Annalena shares, and which she's discussed here before. Bloodsport before a meal is not really Annalena's idea of working up a good appetite. And then to sit down to a bad drink, mediocre food, with noise, people bumping into you, and so on and so forth. So, no carini, Annalena does NOT do brunch. She WILL for the Texas princess and the Empress of cosmetics when they come visiting, but as a general rule, Annalena and the Guyman eat weekend lunches and stay far from the madding crowds (Annalena has always harbored a fantasy of being Bathsheba Everdene. The name... and Julie Christie... and being pursued by the over the top hot Alan Bates... Oh hell, ragazzi, see the movie).
But back from the digression. This recipe comes together so quickly you will not quite believe it. And you probably will not quite believe it when you buy the ingredients and see the cost. BUT... ragazzi, pazienza. First of all, think for a minute: putting aside drinks, what did you pay the last time you went out for brunch? Annalena just checked the brunch menu of her favorite cookshop, and the entrees ranged from 15-20. Keep that in mind. For this recipe, you will need a pound of fresh pasta (Annalena paid 5 dollars for it), and a cup of creme fraiche (that was another 4), and a pound of crab meat (the lump. NOT jumbo lump, and that was 30). Then you need some fresh herbs and some mustard, both of which you probably have in the house. So, you will have spent a bit over 40 dollars for the ingredients here, which will easily serve 4 people, and maybe more if you serve something like a salad. Let us say, however, that you are going to serve four. Here's how you do it. And do not blink, because you'll miss something.
Put a large part of salted water to boil, and put a wide skilled along side of it. C hop up a small bunch of parsley, a few scallions, and put them to the side. If you like things spicy, then remove the veins and seeds of a hot green pepper, and chop that too. Annalena left out this step.
Put a cup of creme fraiche into the pan, and warm it over medium heat, while you add three tablespoons of smooth dijon mustard. Stir it all together. Now pour in the crab and turn it into the creme fraiche until it's coated well. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, and your sliced greens. Taste, and correct for salt and pepper.
Now, how long did that take you, do you think? And was the hardest thing you did, chopping the greens?
You're on your way. Dump the pound of fresh pasta (you CAN use dry, but fresh is better here), into the boiling salt water, and cook it to al dente. Five minutes, maybe. Pull it out with tongs, throw it into the creme fraiche sauce, turn it around in that unctious stuff, at medium heat.
Serve it up. If there are only 2-3 of you, take out half the sauce and save it for another occasion. Like midnight snacks, or a reprieve after an awful meal.
The only thing you might add to this is a crispy salad, and Annalena suggests serving a sparkly beverage with it.
In all, you'll be in the kitchen for about 20 minutes, you'll have a luscious dish, and not only have you beaten the brunch crunch, you have something new in your arsenal, in case, for example, you're roasting some meat for dinner and want a nice first course.
Go with it, ragazzi. Quick and rich. Because next time, things won't be so quick. They will be easy, but you're gonna need to be willing to spend some time getting to know your kitchen better, as we make cabbage onion cheese pie. Alla prossima.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
A "must have" recipe: versatile green sauce
Ragazzi, this is a tale of a recipe which , like cats, has nine lives. Or more. Annalena made it for one purpose, had much more than she needed, and turned it into something else. And she can see it being used for a lot of things. Read on, if her intro has intrigued you. And read on anyway, because even if the opening hasn't, the rest just might.
You all know green sauceS: "salsa verde," pesto, and others, such as Annalena's beet green and ricotta spaghetti sauce. To Annalena, the last two (pesto and salsa verde), are really sauces that are "of the season." While Annalena freezes basil pesto, she would never make it until the very height of summer. And for her salsa verde (one with tomatillos, and hot peppers), she would also make vats of it, and freeze it. She does have tomatillos frozen for "one last batch" before the summer gets here, but generally, these are sauces of their time. There are other green sauces, however, which are essentially purees of fresh herbs, and olive oil and garlic. This sauce very much fits into that category.
The sauce was given as a recipe for clams with spaghetti and the sauce. And truth to be told, it is DAMN good that way. Annalena will discuss this later on; however, the sauce will stand on its own for other things, as Annalena will also show you.
Ok, enough talk, let's get to "work," if you can call this work. Your ingredients are pretty simple. You will need a medium sized shallot, diced fine. If you happen to be lucky enough to fine the preminced type that Annalena uses, you can use these. You want about a quarter of a cup. You also want a half cup of dry white wine or, as Annalena has pointed out, you can "sour" verjus with vinegar , and use that. But don't leave out the wine/wine substitute. Also, two cups of flat leave parsley leaves. This is about two bunches. Annalena would love to tell you that you can use the stems, but truth to be told, you can't. They are too stringy for this recipe.
Next, several cups of spinach, be it baby or full sized. If you use full sized spinach (which, this time of year, is coming from the green house), use the ones with tender stems. Or if you don't have tender stems, pull the leaf from those tough guys. The original recipe called for just one cup of this. Annalena used about six. This is a matter of taste: your sauce WILL taste more of spinach, the more you add. It is up to you.
Next, a combination of cloves of garlic and/or stems of green garlic, adding up to three. You can use three cloves of garlic, three stems of green garlic, or combinations. Annalena was lucky enough to have some green garlic from her farm box, so she used one of these, together with two garlic cloves. You may think that with all the spinach she used, the garlic wasn't enough. It was. This is Annalenas recipe, and she'll do as she damn well pleases.
Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a big pan, and add the shallots. Cook them for about two minutes. Next, add the parsley leaves (we didn't forget about the wine... that will come in later), and wilt them. It will take all of about a minute. Next, add the spinach, in big handfuls, and wait until one bunch wilts, before you add the next. Keep on doing this until you use all the spinach. Finalmente, add your garlic, and stir this around for a couple of minutes.
We're going to puree this in a blender, and here's where you have to be a bit creative. If you are going to use this for clams or some other meat product, add clam juice (for clams), or chicken stock (for anything), and keep on pureeing until you have a smooth, light green sauce. Taste it, and adjust it for seasoning . It will need salt and pepper, and perhaps hot pepper. If you are planning to use this for some vegetarian application, vegetable stock or water will do.
You will have a lot of sauce here , and Annalena suggests you save half of it for what follows. Keep the other half in the blender, add a cup of ricotta, and puree that. Green sauce for pasta, at your service. Or, a green sauce for baked potatoes.
Now, that other half. Well, Annalena used it with clams, to make pasta with clams and green sauce, but it's good with the clams alone. And to do that... Wash somewhere between a dozen and 18 clams, and then put them into a pan big enough to hold them all in one layer. Add the wine, put a cover on the lid, and leave it there for at least five minutes.
After five minutes, the clams should at least be beginning to open. As the clams open, put them into a large bowl, and put the cover back on the pan, and check every minute or so. After ten minutes, it's going to be as good as it's gonna get, and if any of your clams haven't opened, dump them. Check though. Someitmes, the claims have opened, just a bit. If you can get a knife blade into them, they're good. They'll open with just a little pressure, but protect your hands, because clam shells are hot, and you need to press the knife in to force them open.
When they're all opened, return them to the pot, add the sauce you reserved , and put it aside while you cook about 12 ounces of pasta. When the pasta is just a bit firmer then you want it to be, drain it, throw it into the pan with the clams and the green sauce, and heat it gently, turning it with your tongs. The pasta will finish cooking, and you'll have a pretty damn substantial plate of pasta. Depending on how many of you there are, there can be 9, or 6, or fewer clams per person (6 is a standard portion).
That wasn't too had, was it? If you are so inclined, just use the green sauce as is, and you have a vegan dish. Use it to poach chicken if you like, or over pork. The cheese based sauce, as Annalena noted, is good for starch.
One recipe, multitudes of applications. Now you see why it's a must have.
Next time around, ragazzi, we are going to roll up our sleeves and work, and make a magnificent dish that screams INVITE PEOPLE OVER
You all know green sauceS: "salsa verde," pesto, and others, such as Annalena's beet green and ricotta spaghetti sauce. To Annalena, the last two (pesto and salsa verde), are really sauces that are "of the season." While Annalena freezes basil pesto, she would never make it until the very height of summer. And for her salsa verde (one with tomatillos, and hot peppers), she would also make vats of it, and freeze it. She does have tomatillos frozen for "one last batch" before the summer gets here, but generally, these are sauces of their time. There are other green sauces, however, which are essentially purees of fresh herbs, and olive oil and garlic. This sauce very much fits into that category.
The sauce was given as a recipe for clams with spaghetti and the sauce. And truth to be told, it is DAMN good that way. Annalena will discuss this later on; however, the sauce will stand on its own for other things, as Annalena will also show you.
Ok, enough talk, let's get to "work," if you can call this work. Your ingredients are pretty simple. You will need a medium sized shallot, diced fine. If you happen to be lucky enough to fine the preminced type that Annalena uses, you can use these. You want about a quarter of a cup. You also want a half cup of dry white wine or, as Annalena has pointed out, you can "sour" verjus with vinegar , and use that. But don't leave out the wine/wine substitute. Also, two cups of flat leave parsley leaves. This is about two bunches. Annalena would love to tell you that you can use the stems, but truth to be told, you can't. They are too stringy for this recipe.
Next, several cups of spinach, be it baby or full sized. If you use full sized spinach (which, this time of year, is coming from the green house), use the ones with tender stems. Or if you don't have tender stems, pull the leaf from those tough guys. The original recipe called for just one cup of this. Annalena used about six. This is a matter of taste: your sauce WILL taste more of spinach, the more you add. It is up to you.
Next, a combination of cloves of garlic and/or stems of green garlic, adding up to three. You can use three cloves of garlic, three stems of green garlic, or combinations. Annalena was lucky enough to have some green garlic from her farm box, so she used one of these, together with two garlic cloves. You may think that with all the spinach she used, the garlic wasn't enough. It was. This is Annalenas recipe, and she'll do as she damn well pleases.
Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a big pan, and add the shallots. Cook them for about two minutes. Next, add the parsley leaves (we didn't forget about the wine... that will come in later), and wilt them. It will take all of about a minute. Next, add the spinach, in big handfuls, and wait until one bunch wilts, before you add the next. Keep on doing this until you use all the spinach. Finalmente, add your garlic, and stir this around for a couple of minutes.
We're going to puree this in a blender, and here's where you have to be a bit creative. If you are going to use this for clams or some other meat product, add clam juice (for clams), or chicken stock (for anything), and keep on pureeing until you have a smooth, light green sauce. Taste it, and adjust it for seasoning . It will need salt and pepper, and perhaps hot pepper. If you are planning to use this for some vegetarian application, vegetable stock or water will do.
You will have a lot of sauce here , and Annalena suggests you save half of it for what follows. Keep the other half in the blender, add a cup of ricotta, and puree that. Green sauce for pasta, at your service. Or, a green sauce for baked potatoes.
Now, that other half. Well, Annalena used it with clams, to make pasta with clams and green sauce, but it's good with the clams alone. And to do that... Wash somewhere between a dozen and 18 clams, and then put them into a pan big enough to hold them all in one layer. Add the wine, put a cover on the lid, and leave it there for at least five minutes.
After five minutes, the clams should at least be beginning to open. As the clams open, put them into a large bowl, and put the cover back on the pan, and check every minute or so. After ten minutes, it's going to be as good as it's gonna get, and if any of your clams haven't opened, dump them. Check though. Someitmes, the claims have opened, just a bit. If you can get a knife blade into them, they're good. They'll open with just a little pressure, but protect your hands, because clam shells are hot, and you need to press the knife in to force them open.
When they're all opened, return them to the pot, add the sauce you reserved , and put it aside while you cook about 12 ounces of pasta. When the pasta is just a bit firmer then you want it to be, drain it, throw it into the pan with the clams and the green sauce, and heat it gently, turning it with your tongs. The pasta will finish cooking, and you'll have a pretty damn substantial plate of pasta. Depending on how many of you there are, there can be 9, or 6, or fewer clams per person (6 is a standard portion).
That wasn't too had, was it? If you are so inclined, just use the green sauce as is, and you have a vegan dish. Use it to poach chicken if you like, or over pork. The cheese based sauce, as Annalena noted, is good for starch.
One recipe, multitudes of applications. Now you see why it's a must have.
Next time around, ragazzi, we are going to roll up our sleeves and work, and make a magnificent dish that screams INVITE PEOPLE OVER
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Crispy tofu
A very simple title ragazzi, because Annalena is trying out something she learned from her days working with the food industry. According to the experts, if you want to draw in an adult audience for a food that they may not otherwise be interested in, use one of these words "crispy, " "crunchy," "honey" or "nut." They apparently resonate with folks, because apparently, one of the markers of going to an adult flavor profile is a preference for crispy, rather than soft, foods, and an apprecation of non-sugar related sweet things (even though honey is, in just about all respects, sugar. Period). And children, we are told, are not fans of nuts. But adults are. Indeed, just about every brownie recipe Annalena has suggests that nuts are optional, or "make half a batch without for the kids, and with for the adults."
Whatever. And she has attached one of these buzz words to a word that either draws in, or pushes away, people. You KNOW who you are: there are tofu lovers, and tofu haters. And there are many, many reasons for both. Annalena happens to love tofu, in any form (well, not any form. She is not a fan of the silken stuff). Some of her friends (this includes you, Gattopardo), are not likely to seek out tofu as a form of sustanence (that's spelled wrong. Deal with it). Others are indifferent to it. Even amongst vegetarians, you will find those who love, hate, and don't care for it.
This recipe is not going to change anyone's point of view on it, thinks Annalena; however, you should try it. Some words before we begin: this does not produce a tofu that is crispy like a chip. For that, you are going to have to get all the water out of the stuff, and then deep fry it. It's good, but it's messy, involved, and really a procedure not for the faint of heart. The version Annalena presents here is slightly spicy, and perhaps undersalted. But as you will read, you can change things as you go along.
Annalena first saw this recipe on one of her favorite blogs: davidlebovitz.com. You all should become familiar with Chef David's page. He, in turn, is quoting from a cookbook. And he has pictures. So, make your version, compare it to his, and let's eat some vegan food.
Here we go. To begin, you need a pound of firm tofu. If you get it in the standard plastic packages, drain it, and then wrap it in a paper towel. Put it on a plate, and then put a plate on top of it, with something heavy on top. Annalena used a gallon of vegetable oil. You leave that alone while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. You may have to shop for some of these, but really, ragazzi, if you like Asian food, all of this should be near at hand.
Get a small bowl and mix up a tablespoon of sesame oil, and the same quantity of soy sauce, or tamari, or something along those lines. The same amount of sherry, or rice wine (or, mirin, if you are not having alcohol in the house), and then three cloves of very finely chopped garlic (here, ragazzi, you do need to focus and get it as small as possible). Then add an equal quantity of very finely minced ginger (Here, Annalena is kicking up the aromatics from the original recipe, which were one clove of garlic, and two teaspoons of ginger). Add two tablespoons of water to this, and a teaspoon of Sriracha, or some other Asian spicy sauce . Stick to the ASIAN ones here. And if you do not care for spicy food, leave it out, because there is a bit of a kick here.
The original recipe says you MIGHT want to kick up the salt here. Indeed, Annalena felt that, at the end, this was a bit undersalted. Your call. If you like salty food, perhaps a teaspoon of salt is in order.
Okay, now put this mix into a big plastic bag. Unwrap that tofu, cut it into chunks that are 1/2-1 inch square, put them in the bag, mix everything together gently, and put that bag in a bowl. Then move the bowl to the fridge, overnight.
Annalena found that the tofu imbibed all of the liquid, although she is told that there can be some left over. OK... So, when you're ready to cook, turn your oven to 350, and line a baking sheet with parchment. Drain that tofu, and then in a bowl, sprinkle a tablespoon of cornstarch over it, and turn gently. Then put it all out on the baking sheet, and get it in the oven.
This is going to bake for 45 minutes. At the halfway point, you may want to stir it a bit to even out browning. In any event, the smell from the baking will excite you . It will. Trust Annalena. And at 45 minutes, out of the oven.
You can eat this as it is, but it's better with veggies, and some kind of starch. Be adventurous and go to things like glass noodles, or soba, or just stick with rice. You get yourself a nice dish, which seems to take a while, but you're not doing much work here, and you can feel absolutely positive about having a nice dessert at the end. Or, you can continue to feel virtuous, and have an orange. Annalena is virtuous today, and she thinks she's going the orange route.
Next around, ragazzi, an incredibly versatile green sauce that should be a part of your kitchen repertoire, period.
Whatever. And she has attached one of these buzz words to a word that either draws in, or pushes away, people. You KNOW who you are: there are tofu lovers, and tofu haters. And there are many, many reasons for both. Annalena happens to love tofu, in any form (well, not any form. She is not a fan of the silken stuff). Some of her friends (this includes you, Gattopardo), are not likely to seek out tofu as a form of sustanence (that's spelled wrong. Deal with it). Others are indifferent to it. Even amongst vegetarians, you will find those who love, hate, and don't care for it.
This recipe is not going to change anyone's point of view on it, thinks Annalena; however, you should try it. Some words before we begin: this does not produce a tofu that is crispy like a chip. For that, you are going to have to get all the water out of the stuff, and then deep fry it. It's good, but it's messy, involved, and really a procedure not for the faint of heart. The version Annalena presents here is slightly spicy, and perhaps undersalted. But as you will read, you can change things as you go along.
Annalena first saw this recipe on one of her favorite blogs: davidlebovitz.com. You all should become familiar with Chef David's page. He, in turn, is quoting from a cookbook. And he has pictures. So, make your version, compare it to his, and let's eat some vegan food.
Here we go. To begin, you need a pound of firm tofu. If you get it in the standard plastic packages, drain it, and then wrap it in a paper towel. Put it on a plate, and then put a plate on top of it, with something heavy on top. Annalena used a gallon of vegetable oil. You leave that alone while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. You may have to shop for some of these, but really, ragazzi, if you like Asian food, all of this should be near at hand.
Get a small bowl and mix up a tablespoon of sesame oil, and the same quantity of soy sauce, or tamari, or something along those lines. The same amount of sherry, or rice wine (or, mirin, if you are not having alcohol in the house), and then three cloves of very finely chopped garlic (here, ragazzi, you do need to focus and get it as small as possible). Then add an equal quantity of very finely minced ginger (Here, Annalena is kicking up the aromatics from the original recipe, which were one clove of garlic, and two teaspoons of ginger). Add two tablespoons of water to this, and a teaspoon of Sriracha, or some other Asian spicy sauce . Stick to the ASIAN ones here. And if you do not care for spicy food, leave it out, because there is a bit of a kick here.
The original recipe says you MIGHT want to kick up the salt here. Indeed, Annalena felt that, at the end, this was a bit undersalted. Your call. If you like salty food, perhaps a teaspoon of salt is in order.
Okay, now put this mix into a big plastic bag. Unwrap that tofu, cut it into chunks that are 1/2-1 inch square, put them in the bag, mix everything together gently, and put that bag in a bowl. Then move the bowl to the fridge, overnight.
Annalena found that the tofu imbibed all of the liquid, although she is told that there can be some left over. OK... So, when you're ready to cook, turn your oven to 350, and line a baking sheet with parchment. Drain that tofu, and then in a bowl, sprinkle a tablespoon of cornstarch over it, and turn gently. Then put it all out on the baking sheet, and get it in the oven.
This is going to bake for 45 minutes. At the halfway point, you may want to stir it a bit to even out browning. In any event, the smell from the baking will excite you . It will. Trust Annalena. And at 45 minutes, out of the oven.
You can eat this as it is, but it's better with veggies, and some kind of starch. Be adventurous and go to things like glass noodles, or soba, or just stick with rice. You get yourself a nice dish, which seems to take a while, but you're not doing much work here, and you can feel absolutely positive about having a nice dessert at the end. Or, you can continue to feel virtuous, and have an orange. Annalena is virtuous today, and she thinks she's going the orange route.
Next around, ragazzi, an incredibly versatile green sauce that should be a part of your kitchen repertoire, period.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
NUMBER 900!!!! Mustard glazed Poussin (or game hen, or baby chicken)
And here we are, ragazzi. At post 900 - one hundred short of a rather serious number. And Annalena has been going at this since November, 2007. Will she ever stop? Maybe. Do you want her to go on? Tell her. Maybe she'll listen. In the meanwhile, she'll start thinking about what that miraculous number 1000 might be. Stay tuned.
Poussin are baby chickens. Let us be up front about that. They weigh just about a pound, perhaps a little less. They are bigger than quail - one poussin is easily a serving, whereas Annalena can eat at least two quail when she sits down to it. She doesn't cook and serve them too often, but you see, ragazzi, one has to be flexible.
As you may know from the prior posts, Annalena had an oven breakdown last week. It happened on a Thursday and deo gratiae, the repairman did his job on Monday. Now, the astute reader will know that on Mondays, during rehearsal season, Annalena and the Guyman eat a roast chicken for dinner. Well, Annalena had fears of not being able to fit a whole chicken in the small convection oven she had, so she went to plan B, which was... poussin. She checked, and they did in fact fit in the smaller oven. Then the repairman came and went, and all was well. And the poussin were thawed, and ready. So, rather than a shared, whole bird, time to cook the smaller ones. Annalena bought hers from Dartagnan, from which this recipe comes.
You cook poussin in a way very similar to their larger relatives, but you need a lower temperature. What Annalena discovered during this cooking session, is that these birds are actually juicier, and meatier, than chicken. Given their size, while you may blanch at the price, they are perfect for a single person. Hence, if you are cooking for one, and want to treat yourself, there is little that you can do (in the food category) that is better than make yourself one of these. As you read through the recipe, Annalena is sure that you will see how to scale it up if, for example, you want to have a party where, as the old commercial talked about, everyone gets "his own individual chicken on his own individual plate."
As with all poultry, if you can, salt the bird the morning of, or the night before, you plan to make dinner. Wash them first, and dry them. You may have to do something that will skeev some of you out. Poussin are usually sold with their neck bones attached, and you will have to cut that away. As we Italians say "farcela" (deal with it). Then sneak some herbs in between the skin and flesh, just like we do with chicken, and put the birds in the fridge.
When you are ready to cook, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. For two birds, you will need a couple of cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil, and two big tablespoons of dijon mustard.
Can you tell this is going to be an easy one? Because it is. Pour the tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized pan. Don't use your biggest one: test by seeing if two birds fit, snugly, in the pan. If they do, it's the right size. If there's a lot of space, it's too big. If they are pushing each other out of the next, it's too small. If all you have are small pans, do these one at a time, and buy a bigger pan.
So, when the oil is hot, put the birds, breast side down, and regulate the heat to medium. Brown them, and then turn them to get brown on all of their sides. This won't take as long as you think it might, but take your time. Annalena spent, maybe, five minutes.
Put those browned birds onto a baking sheet, and get your mustard. Rub it all over the birds. A tablespoon each please. You could use honey mustard, but try it with smooth dijon first. Peel the garlic cloves and put one each into the cavities of the birds. The garlic will not flavor the flesh, but...
Now, into the oven, for 40-50 minutes. At 40, pierce the point where the thigh meets the body, and if the juice runs clear, you're done. Or, just cook them for 50 minutes if you prefer a more completely cooked bird. It will still be juicy.
The mustard will darken, big time, during cooking. But do not worry, you did not overcook these little guys.
After the roasting, get them out of the oven, and let them sit for about 5-10 minutes. To serve these, Annalena gets a big scissor, and cuts them into four quarters. You can slice them any way you like though.
What you are going to find, is a decidedly larger quantity of white meat than you might think there would be. Breast meat develops on a bird earlier than the legs do, so dark meat lovers are at a disadvantage here. Still, Annalena reckons you will not miss it, given the delicious nature of your mustard crust.
Remember that clove of garlic? Well, it's now soft and sweet, with some of the meat juice in it. So pull it out and put it alongside the bird. You can take small bits of it with mouthfuls of chicken meat, or just swallow it down at the start. It's good. Sort of like an extra course.
Try this one, ragazzi, especially you folks who cook for one . Then make it for someone you like. And soon, you may be cooking for two on a regular basis. Food can do that.
Poussin are baby chickens. Let us be up front about that. They weigh just about a pound, perhaps a little less. They are bigger than quail - one poussin is easily a serving, whereas Annalena can eat at least two quail when she sits down to it. She doesn't cook and serve them too often, but you see, ragazzi, one has to be flexible.
As you may know from the prior posts, Annalena had an oven breakdown last week. It happened on a Thursday and deo gratiae, the repairman did his job on Monday. Now, the astute reader will know that on Mondays, during rehearsal season, Annalena and the Guyman eat a roast chicken for dinner. Well, Annalena had fears of not being able to fit a whole chicken in the small convection oven she had, so she went to plan B, which was... poussin. She checked, and they did in fact fit in the smaller oven. Then the repairman came and went, and all was well. And the poussin were thawed, and ready. So, rather than a shared, whole bird, time to cook the smaller ones. Annalena bought hers from Dartagnan, from which this recipe comes.
You cook poussin in a way very similar to their larger relatives, but you need a lower temperature. What Annalena discovered during this cooking session, is that these birds are actually juicier, and meatier, than chicken. Given their size, while you may blanch at the price, they are perfect for a single person. Hence, if you are cooking for one, and want to treat yourself, there is little that you can do (in the food category) that is better than make yourself one of these. As you read through the recipe, Annalena is sure that you will see how to scale it up if, for example, you want to have a party where, as the old commercial talked about, everyone gets "his own individual chicken on his own individual plate."
As with all poultry, if you can, salt the bird the morning of, or the night before, you plan to make dinner. Wash them first, and dry them. You may have to do something that will skeev some of you out. Poussin are usually sold with their neck bones attached, and you will have to cut that away. As we Italians say "farcela" (deal with it). Then sneak some herbs in between the skin and flesh, just like we do with chicken, and put the birds in the fridge.
When you are ready to cook, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. For two birds, you will need a couple of cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil, and two big tablespoons of dijon mustard.
Can you tell this is going to be an easy one? Because it is. Pour the tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized pan. Don't use your biggest one: test by seeing if two birds fit, snugly, in the pan. If they do, it's the right size. If there's a lot of space, it's too big. If they are pushing each other out of the next, it's too small. If all you have are small pans, do these one at a time, and buy a bigger pan.
So, when the oil is hot, put the birds, breast side down, and regulate the heat to medium. Brown them, and then turn them to get brown on all of their sides. This won't take as long as you think it might, but take your time. Annalena spent, maybe, five minutes.
Put those browned birds onto a baking sheet, and get your mustard. Rub it all over the birds. A tablespoon each please. You could use honey mustard, but try it with smooth dijon first. Peel the garlic cloves and put one each into the cavities of the birds. The garlic will not flavor the flesh, but...
Now, into the oven, for 40-50 minutes. At 40, pierce the point where the thigh meets the body, and if the juice runs clear, you're done. Or, just cook them for 50 minutes if you prefer a more completely cooked bird. It will still be juicy.
The mustard will darken, big time, during cooking. But do not worry, you did not overcook these little guys.
After the roasting, get them out of the oven, and let them sit for about 5-10 minutes. To serve these, Annalena gets a big scissor, and cuts them into four quarters. You can slice them any way you like though.
What you are going to find, is a decidedly larger quantity of white meat than you might think there would be. Breast meat develops on a bird earlier than the legs do, so dark meat lovers are at a disadvantage here. Still, Annalena reckons you will not miss it, given the delicious nature of your mustard crust.
Remember that clove of garlic? Well, it's now soft and sweet, with some of the meat juice in it. So pull it out and put it alongside the bird. You can take small bits of it with mouthfuls of chicken meat, or just swallow it down at the start. It's good. Sort of like an extra course.
Try this one, ragazzi, especially you folks who cook for one . Then make it for someone you like. And soon, you may be cooking for two on a regular basis. Food can do that.
It ain't the meat it's the m...........arinade. Yogurt and spice marinated chops
Some of you may have been wondering "Annalena, are you ever going to cook meat again?" (Ok, maybe one of you was wondering that. Or maybe not). Well, yes, Annalena has been cooking meat, although the current state of her cholesterol may be requiring her to be doing less of that. It has come as a surprise, ragazzi, because Annalena has always had "clean blood" as they say. Welcome to the ravages of age.
But yes, indeed, she has some meat recipes for you, and she is going to try to get you TWO of them today. This one, Annalena made with goat chops.
Now, before the EWWWING starts (that should be for sheeps: sad joke here, but never mind), you CAN substitute lamb chops here. But if you are thinking "poor little goats," but not thinking "poor little lambs," and even if you are, let's go over this . As Annalena has pointed out before, half of all baby animals are males. That is the statistics ragazzi, can't change them. And for every 20 or so female animals, one needs ONE male. So, if one thinks in terms of 200 animals, 100 are female, 100 are male, and of those 100 male animals, we are only going to need 5 for , ahem, "servicing" those girls. 95 have no purpose other than...
We get it, don't we? And if you have no problem with the idea of eating lamb but goat is giving you skeeves, try it. Try it in a restaurant. If goat is cooked properly, you will find that it is mild, meaty, and delicious. Older goat IS gamier - just like mutton. But even mutton, if the animal was raised properly, is not so strong as to make you feel that you are eating something gross. Try this with lamb chops, try it with goat chops, but do try it.
We now approach the issue of marinades, and again, we are reviewing here: marinades do not penetrate into meat. PERIOD. Any cookbook that tells you anything else, is wrong. If you want a marinade to penetrate a piece of meat, get a syringe (there are cooking syringes available), fill it with the marinade, and inject. Indeed, there is a classic, not often made French dish, where one injects upwards of a pint of orange juice into a leg of lamb, over a period of time. Annalena has never had it, but perhaps one day.
So, what do marinades do? Well, most of them start with an acid element, and as such, they tenderize the meat. Also, they give flavor to the SURFACE of what is put in them. Hence, you will get the marinade up front, followed by meaty flavor. Let's go, ragazzi, and let's get some chops in the oven.
You will need anywhere from four, to six shoulder or thicker, loin chops . They can go up to about 8 ounces, which is a big chop, even considering the bone. Wash them and pat them dry while you collect the other ingredients.
First, get a nice, big onion, peel it, and slice it as if you were making thick onion rings. Combine that with the chops. A 9x13 is good for 6 chops, but you can use smaller, or even a large bowl, for 4, or even six. We then mix a cup of yogurt. Plain yogurt. The original recipe called for full fat, but there is no need for this, and if you are working with only four chops, the six ounce container will do fine. Mix this with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of ground cumin, a tablespoon of ground cardamom (the recipe specified green cardamom: Annalena says "bite me"), and then smash 8 cloves of garlic to a paste. Zest a lemon, toss the zest in, and then juice it. Put the juice in, too.
So, we've mixed yogurt, which is an acid, with spcies, oil, and lemon juice, which is also an acid. Annalena suggests you add a teaspoon of salt too. Pour this all over your chops, cover them, and put the whole thing in the fridge, and leave it overnight. If you are pressed for time, four hours will work.
When you're ready to cook, oil up your stove top grill and also turn your oven to 400 (unless your oven happens to be broken, which happened to Annalena, but we won't talk about that here). When a drop of water dances around on the grill top, take out the chops, and while you should let excess marinade drip off, don't wipe off what's there. Put the chops on the grill. THE SMELL!!!! Oh, the wonderful spicy smell!. You will need to cook them for about 5-6 minutes a side. When you're done with them, put them into that oven, for another ten minutes or so.
Don't turn off the flame. Remember those onions? Annalena KNEW you did. Treat them the same way you did the chops, and put em on the grill. More of that wonderful smell, ragazzi, and browned and burnt onions. Gee, we don't like that, do we?
And... END SCENE. We are done. Grilled goat or lamb chops, grilled onion rings. Now what is wrong with that? Nothing, if you ask Annalena.
A fennel and orange salad goes so well with this, that Annalena insists you have one. Also, if you've been assiduous and froze sweet corn over the summer, now is the time to deploy it. Or hominy. Or polenta. Somehow, corn products just seem to go with this.
Again, we didn't work very hard here, carissimi, did we? And we never do. Well, we do sometimes.
Next time around, we'll be working easy too. And the next recipe is fine for all the single ladies out there.
But yes, indeed, she has some meat recipes for you, and she is going to try to get you TWO of them today. This one, Annalena made with goat chops.
Now, before the EWWWING starts (that should be for sheeps: sad joke here, but never mind), you CAN substitute lamb chops here. But if you are thinking "poor little goats," but not thinking "poor little lambs," and even if you are, let's go over this . As Annalena has pointed out before, half of all baby animals are males. That is the statistics ragazzi, can't change them. And for every 20 or so female animals, one needs ONE male. So, if one thinks in terms of 200 animals, 100 are female, 100 are male, and of those 100 male animals, we are only going to need 5 for , ahem, "servicing" those girls. 95 have no purpose other than...
We get it, don't we? And if you have no problem with the idea of eating lamb but goat is giving you skeeves, try it. Try it in a restaurant. If goat is cooked properly, you will find that it is mild, meaty, and delicious. Older goat IS gamier - just like mutton. But even mutton, if the animal was raised properly, is not so strong as to make you feel that you are eating something gross. Try this with lamb chops, try it with goat chops, but do try it.
We now approach the issue of marinades, and again, we are reviewing here: marinades do not penetrate into meat. PERIOD. Any cookbook that tells you anything else, is wrong. If you want a marinade to penetrate a piece of meat, get a syringe (there are cooking syringes available), fill it with the marinade, and inject. Indeed, there is a classic, not often made French dish, where one injects upwards of a pint of orange juice into a leg of lamb, over a period of time. Annalena has never had it, but perhaps one day.
So, what do marinades do? Well, most of them start with an acid element, and as such, they tenderize the meat. Also, they give flavor to the SURFACE of what is put in them. Hence, you will get the marinade up front, followed by meaty flavor. Let's go, ragazzi, and let's get some chops in the oven.
You will need anywhere from four, to six shoulder or thicker, loin chops . They can go up to about 8 ounces, which is a big chop, even considering the bone. Wash them and pat them dry while you collect the other ingredients.
First, get a nice, big onion, peel it, and slice it as if you were making thick onion rings. Combine that with the chops. A 9x13 is good for 6 chops, but you can use smaller, or even a large bowl, for 4, or even six. We then mix a cup of yogurt. Plain yogurt. The original recipe called for full fat, but there is no need for this, and if you are working with only four chops, the six ounce container will do fine. Mix this with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of ground cumin, a tablespoon of ground cardamom (the recipe specified green cardamom: Annalena says "bite me"), and then smash 8 cloves of garlic to a paste. Zest a lemon, toss the zest in, and then juice it. Put the juice in, too.
So, we've mixed yogurt, which is an acid, with spcies, oil, and lemon juice, which is also an acid. Annalena suggests you add a teaspoon of salt too. Pour this all over your chops, cover them, and put the whole thing in the fridge, and leave it overnight. If you are pressed for time, four hours will work.
When you're ready to cook, oil up your stove top grill and also turn your oven to 400 (unless your oven happens to be broken, which happened to Annalena, but we won't talk about that here). When a drop of water dances around on the grill top, take out the chops, and while you should let excess marinade drip off, don't wipe off what's there. Put the chops on the grill. THE SMELL!!!! Oh, the wonderful spicy smell!. You will need to cook them for about 5-6 minutes a side. When you're done with them, put them into that oven, for another ten minutes or so.
Don't turn off the flame. Remember those onions? Annalena KNEW you did. Treat them the same way you did the chops, and put em on the grill. More of that wonderful smell, ragazzi, and browned and burnt onions. Gee, we don't like that, do we?
And... END SCENE. We are done. Grilled goat or lamb chops, grilled onion rings. Now what is wrong with that? Nothing, if you ask Annalena.
A fennel and orange salad goes so well with this, that Annalena insists you have one. Also, if you've been assiduous and froze sweet corn over the summer, now is the time to deploy it. Or hominy. Or polenta. Somehow, corn products just seem to go with this.
Again, we didn't work very hard here, carissimi, did we? And we never do. Well, we do sometimes.
Next time around, we'll be working easy too. And the next recipe is fine for all the single ladies out there.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Crossing cultures: acorn squash stew with many vegetables, "thai curry style"
Now, ragazzi, you know that Annalena does not often sit to give you two recipes a day, yes? She realy does not want to overwhelm you with ideas, and be accused of heads bursting all over this great world of ours.
Well, really she's just lazy. But this Sunday, notwithstanding a loss of an hour (which Annalena wants back, in at least 15 minute intervals), she has time to give you one which is rather quirky, but is also very good.
First, let's review. Remember when we went over the difference between South Asian and Indian curries?
You don't, do you? Well, you can look them up, and as a quick review: South Asian curries use coconut milk and curry pastes, while Indian curries use toasted spices. The recipe we're going to make could thus fairly be called a Thai curry.
Except: there is nothing in this, besides the coconut milk and some garlic, which would suggest "Thai" to an observer. And that is how it goes these days. One asks: is this more Thai than another cuisine, or is it, well, in that realm of "world fusion," whatever that means? Be it world fusion, or Thai, it is a good recipe. Annalena took a recipe that she found on a card from her weekly Quinciple box and, seeing that as it stood there is no way it would work, she adapted it, and it does, in a very quirky, vegan kind of way. So go forth, and get this one done. It's a bit more work than the recipe we had earlier today, but not too much.
Let's collect our motley crew of vegetables. You will need an acorn squash, a pound of turnips, a half of a fennel bulb, an onion, and about three cloves of garlic.
Sound Thai to you? No, not to Annalena either. Cut the squash in half, and clean out the seeds. Oil the cut surface lightly, and put it on a baking sheet, together with a pound of cubed turnips, also tossed in oil with a bit of salt. Get them in a preheated 400 degree oven, and let them bake. It will probably take on the order of 20 minutes or so for the turnips to bake to an "aldente" point (for these, that means a knife penetrates easily), and up to 45 for the squash. The squash will need to cool before you deal with it, because a burn from winter squash is no joke. Trust Annalena on this. In any event, you will know this is done, when you can press the squash with a spoon and it collapses a bit.
While this is baking, chop up your onion and your fennel bulb. No fronds or stems with the fennel, please.
And, separately, chop up three cloves of garlic.
Some more fun ingredients: 3 tablespoons of olive oil (not a staple of Thai cooking, either), a tablespoon of curry powder of your choice, at least a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, and a can of coconut milk (this is two cups or 15 ounces, depending on your brand, and you should use the low fat one).
You do see whereof Annalena speaks on this recipe. So, let's assume your squash is cool enough to handle. Cut it into chunks, which may be difficult because of the softness, but don't worry about smooshing it or consistency of the pieces. The skin will come away very easily, although it is a dirty little secret that you CAN eat this.
Put the olive oil (that staple of Thai cooking) , into a big pot, and add the onion and fennel, with a pinch of salt and pepper, then cook for about three minutes. Add the garlic, the ginger, the curry powder, and the coconut milk. Stir everything together and bring it to a light simmer. Add the turnips and the squash pieces and stir them around. Some of the squash will dissolve into the coconut milk, but not all of it will, and you will have a thick, surprisingly creamy stew that is... VEGAN!
To Annalena, this dish is not substantial enough to call a main dish. Adding mushrooms might convince her that it is, but she thinks it needs some firm tofu tossed in at the end. Tempeh would not absorb the flavors well enough, although you should feel free.
And there you go, ragazzi. On daylight savings time, Annalena has provided you two dishes to save you some daylight, some calories, and some work. Make them. Vary them. And tell her about it. She wants to know.
Well, really she's just lazy. But this Sunday, notwithstanding a loss of an hour (which Annalena wants back, in at least 15 minute intervals), she has time to give you one which is rather quirky, but is also very good.
First, let's review. Remember when we went over the difference between South Asian and Indian curries?
You don't, do you? Well, you can look them up, and as a quick review: South Asian curries use coconut milk and curry pastes, while Indian curries use toasted spices. The recipe we're going to make could thus fairly be called a Thai curry.
Except: there is nothing in this, besides the coconut milk and some garlic, which would suggest "Thai" to an observer. And that is how it goes these days. One asks: is this more Thai than another cuisine, or is it, well, in that realm of "world fusion," whatever that means? Be it world fusion, or Thai, it is a good recipe. Annalena took a recipe that she found on a card from her weekly Quinciple box and, seeing that as it stood there is no way it would work, she adapted it, and it does, in a very quirky, vegan kind of way. So go forth, and get this one done. It's a bit more work than the recipe we had earlier today, but not too much.
Let's collect our motley crew of vegetables. You will need an acorn squash, a pound of turnips, a half of a fennel bulb, an onion, and about three cloves of garlic.
Sound Thai to you? No, not to Annalena either. Cut the squash in half, and clean out the seeds. Oil the cut surface lightly, and put it on a baking sheet, together with a pound of cubed turnips, also tossed in oil with a bit of salt. Get them in a preheated 400 degree oven, and let them bake. It will probably take on the order of 20 minutes or so for the turnips to bake to an "aldente" point (for these, that means a knife penetrates easily), and up to 45 for the squash. The squash will need to cool before you deal with it, because a burn from winter squash is no joke. Trust Annalena on this. In any event, you will know this is done, when you can press the squash with a spoon and it collapses a bit.
While this is baking, chop up your onion and your fennel bulb. No fronds or stems with the fennel, please.
And, separately, chop up three cloves of garlic.
Some more fun ingredients: 3 tablespoons of olive oil (not a staple of Thai cooking, either), a tablespoon of curry powder of your choice, at least a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, and a can of coconut milk (this is two cups or 15 ounces, depending on your brand, and you should use the low fat one).
You do see whereof Annalena speaks on this recipe. So, let's assume your squash is cool enough to handle. Cut it into chunks, which may be difficult because of the softness, but don't worry about smooshing it or consistency of the pieces. The skin will come away very easily, although it is a dirty little secret that you CAN eat this.
Put the olive oil (that staple of Thai cooking) , into a big pot, and add the onion and fennel, with a pinch of salt and pepper, then cook for about three minutes. Add the garlic, the ginger, the curry powder, and the coconut milk. Stir everything together and bring it to a light simmer. Add the turnips and the squash pieces and stir them around. Some of the squash will dissolve into the coconut milk, but not all of it will, and you will have a thick, surprisingly creamy stew that is... VEGAN!
To Annalena, this dish is not substantial enough to call a main dish. Adding mushrooms might convince her that it is, but she thinks it needs some firm tofu tossed in at the end. Tempeh would not absorb the flavors well enough, although you should feel free.
And there you go, ragazzi. On daylight savings time, Annalena has provided you two dishes to save you some daylight, some calories, and some work. Make them. Vary them. And tell her about it. She wants to know.
She's a spice girl again: Annalena makes dal
To be completely accurate (she thinks), ragazzi, Khichdi with massour dal.
Let's say that Annalena's command of Indian cooking is lacking. She likes it, in fact, she loves it, but even in NYC, it is difficult to find it well done. There are places that Annalena loves, which do a sort of hybrid or fusion Indian cooking, but finding good, honest, traditional Indian cooking is not easy. One friend told Annalena that to get it, you have to have an Indian friend and get invited to dinner. Annalena can do that.
But in the interim, she has to make do with what she can find. And last week, the Times published a long article by one of Annalena's heroes, David Tanis, who presented a series of recipes on dals.
To clarify the terminology, a "dal" is a split legume. And in Indian cooking, there are dozens of these. So, if you encounter "dal" in a restaurant, ragazzi, it is not improper to ask what kind it is. What Annalena is presenting here, is one of the simplest ones. And, it is also really, REALLY good. It's vegan (if you do it the way Annalena did), it's low calorie, and it will make you feel proud of yourself. And full.
The hardest thing about this recipe, is finding the spices, if you don't have them. Annalena believes in a well stocked spice rack, but some of these do not show up often in recipes, so if you don't have them, you are forgiven... for now. BUT GET THEM. You will use them.
Another word on this. The recipe sounds like it is very spicy and hot. Honestly, Annalena would call the spiciness medium, and the hotness, on the low side. But if you have your doubts, you might leave out the chili peppers, or increase them. You could also pull out the whole spices at the end. You MUST pull out the cinnamon stick, and that's easy.
Ok, here we go. First of all, get a cup of red lentils, and 2 cups of basmati rice. Mix these up, dry, in a bowl, and then start washing them. You'll need to do this several times: cover them with cold water, stir em up (with your hands if you can), drain them, and do it again. When the water runs clear, you're ready for step 2. And that is, cover the mix with cold water and let it sit for an hour. This step is crucial, for quick cooking later.
Now, for the spices. You will need three small green chilis (Annalena used Thai bird chilis. If you only have a jalapeno, use that, but reduce it to two, and if you have serranos, well, you may want to use only one). Split them down the middle, and use them whole. You need to know that the veins and the seeds have the heat in them, and you're using both parts in this recipe. You combine these with half a teaspoon of cumin seeds (you can push this up if you like the taste), 4 cardamom pods (this is where you'll have to shop), a 2 inch cinnamon stick, a half dozen whole cloves, half a teaspoon of tumeric (you'll have to shop here, too) and a half dozen black peppercorns. Put these all together, and then get the smallest onion you have in the house, and dice it pretty fine.
Now, we are going to do something characteristic of Indian cooking: we're going to fry spice. To do this, put two tablespoons of fat in a pot that you'll use for cooking rice. Ghee is traditional. Annalena does not have ghee in the house. You can use any vegetable oil you like, but she suggests not using olive oil here. Annalena actually has coconut oil, and she recommends it. It gives a very nice flavor to the finished dish. Combine the fat with the spices , and cook them, over medium heat for about two minutes. Wait for the smell of cumin to come up, and then add the onion. Cook this pretty strong for about two minutes. It will begin to brown.
Next, add the drained rice and lentils, and cover this with four cups of water. Add a big teaspoon of table salt. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and go away for 10-15 minutes. Check after ten. You'll see that the mess has cooked to a very soft consistency, and it will have a slight color, from the lentils and the tumeric. Taste it. Does it have enough of what you want? If it doesn't, add a bit more salt, because the other spices will not "take" at this point.
Leave the thing alone for ten inutes, and then fluff it up and serve it forth.
Theoretically, this serves 6-8. That's in terms of an Indian meal, where there are many courses. If you are eating THIS as your meal, and you can do that and feel like you got a complete meal, it probably serves four at most. And that's ok.
This is eating low on the food chain, and it's good. And tell the truth: beyond possibly having to shop, was this that hard?
Annalena didn't think so. So, ragazzi, pick your favorite spice girl, and get to work. Make it when your tummy needs a rest. It will thank you
Let's say that Annalena's command of Indian cooking is lacking. She likes it, in fact, she loves it, but even in NYC, it is difficult to find it well done. There are places that Annalena loves, which do a sort of hybrid or fusion Indian cooking, but finding good, honest, traditional Indian cooking is not easy. One friend told Annalena that to get it, you have to have an Indian friend and get invited to dinner. Annalena can do that.
But in the interim, she has to make do with what she can find. And last week, the Times published a long article by one of Annalena's heroes, David Tanis, who presented a series of recipes on dals.
To clarify the terminology, a "dal" is a split legume. And in Indian cooking, there are dozens of these. So, if you encounter "dal" in a restaurant, ragazzi, it is not improper to ask what kind it is. What Annalena is presenting here, is one of the simplest ones. And, it is also really, REALLY good. It's vegan (if you do it the way Annalena did), it's low calorie, and it will make you feel proud of yourself. And full.
The hardest thing about this recipe, is finding the spices, if you don't have them. Annalena believes in a well stocked spice rack, but some of these do not show up often in recipes, so if you don't have them, you are forgiven... for now. BUT GET THEM. You will use them.
Another word on this. The recipe sounds like it is very spicy and hot. Honestly, Annalena would call the spiciness medium, and the hotness, on the low side. But if you have your doubts, you might leave out the chili peppers, or increase them. You could also pull out the whole spices at the end. You MUST pull out the cinnamon stick, and that's easy.
Ok, here we go. First of all, get a cup of red lentils, and 2 cups of basmati rice. Mix these up, dry, in a bowl, and then start washing them. You'll need to do this several times: cover them with cold water, stir em up (with your hands if you can), drain them, and do it again. When the water runs clear, you're ready for step 2. And that is, cover the mix with cold water and let it sit for an hour. This step is crucial, for quick cooking later.
Now, for the spices. You will need three small green chilis (Annalena used Thai bird chilis. If you only have a jalapeno, use that, but reduce it to two, and if you have serranos, well, you may want to use only one). Split them down the middle, and use them whole. You need to know that the veins and the seeds have the heat in them, and you're using both parts in this recipe. You combine these with half a teaspoon of cumin seeds (you can push this up if you like the taste), 4 cardamom pods (this is where you'll have to shop), a 2 inch cinnamon stick, a half dozen whole cloves, half a teaspoon of tumeric (you'll have to shop here, too) and a half dozen black peppercorns. Put these all together, and then get the smallest onion you have in the house, and dice it pretty fine.
Now, we are going to do something characteristic of Indian cooking: we're going to fry spice. To do this, put two tablespoons of fat in a pot that you'll use for cooking rice. Ghee is traditional. Annalena does not have ghee in the house. You can use any vegetable oil you like, but she suggests not using olive oil here. Annalena actually has coconut oil, and she recommends it. It gives a very nice flavor to the finished dish. Combine the fat with the spices , and cook them, over medium heat for about two minutes. Wait for the smell of cumin to come up, and then add the onion. Cook this pretty strong for about two minutes. It will begin to brown.
Next, add the drained rice and lentils, and cover this with four cups of water. Add a big teaspoon of table salt. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and go away for 10-15 minutes. Check after ten. You'll see that the mess has cooked to a very soft consistency, and it will have a slight color, from the lentils and the tumeric. Taste it. Does it have enough of what you want? If it doesn't, add a bit more salt, because the other spices will not "take" at this point.
Leave the thing alone for ten inutes, and then fluff it up and serve it forth.
Theoretically, this serves 6-8. That's in terms of an Indian meal, where there are many courses. If you are eating THIS as your meal, and you can do that and feel like you got a complete meal, it probably serves four at most. And that's ok.
This is eating low on the food chain, and it's good. And tell the truth: beyond possibly having to shop, was this that hard?
Annalena didn't think so. So, ragazzi, pick your favorite spice girl, and get to work. Make it when your tummy needs a rest. It will thank you
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
A rich, complex risotto: prosciutto, grapefruit and pimenton (with scallops)
Ragazzi, this is one for the ambitious. It is not very complex, but it has a lot of steps AND , if you do it full out, you are going to have a dish that is probably too rich to eat a lot of. And that may be a problem, because let Annalena tell you, this recipe makes a LOT of risotto. She, in fact, cut the recipe in half, in some places (but not all), left out ingredients, and she and the Guyman still wound up feeling : we didn't need the scallops.
But making risotto is fun, and as she progressed through this recipe, Annalena kept on thinking of different ways the dish could go: things you could leave out, things you could substitute, etc, etc, etc. So, ragazzi, here it comes. She thinks that you pescatarians could make a really ample meal of this (with the scallops), and you vegans could probably make a meal of it that needs a bit of something else with it, but all in all, the ingredients are pure and good, and it's a dish that has, as they say, very substantial "mouthfeel."
Let's begin with the essentials, and then we'll talk about the options. You will need one cup of risotto rice. As she has said before, Annalena prefers carnaroli, but you could use arborio, which is the easiest one to find, or Nano, which is the most expensive one, and in Annalena's opinion, does not make a good risotto. Choose which one you like. You will also need stock. Annalena used chicken stock, but vegetable stock (if you have one you like), or clam juice/fish stock will work here as well. Start with three cups of this, and be prepared to need more. You will also need shallots - or- one of Annalena's new finds that has made her life so much easier - pre minced shallots, which she found at Whole Foods. Two big tablespoons of minced. You also need smoked paprika. The recipe called for "pimenton d'espilette," and Annalena MIGHT have used that, but she's not sure. It surely was, however, smoked pimenton, and you need a lot of it: a full tablespoons and a half.
Now, here's the unusual ingredient: one ruby grapefrut. (Keep in mind that Annalena is halving this recipe, so you will have to use two if you make it full out). You will want to grate the peel and then, to the extent you can, supreme the grapefruit segments. This is NOT Annalena's strong suit, but she did the best she could. Go to the web to get instruction on how to do this. And you will need half a stick of butter, and half a cup of either white wine, or the white wine substitute Annalena spoke of in her last blog entry.
That's quite a list. And here come the options: an ounce and a half of minced prosciutto (Annalena did use this). A half cup of grated parmesan cheese. A quarter cup of heavy cream. A pound of scallops. Annalena did use the prosciutto and the scallops, but the Italian in her blanced at using dairy with the fish. She's glad she didn't. The pound of scallops is what is intended for the full recipe, which is supposed to serve six. That will probably give you 2-3 scallops per person. Think about that as you proceed. Annalena thinks, quite frankly, that the way she made the risotto, she should not have made the scallops.
Ok, now we're ready to cook. Put your stock in a pot and keep it at a low heat, while you melt three tablespoons of the butter (leaving you one left over for now), and add the prosciutto. Stir this about until the ham begins to brown and then add the shallots, and cook for about a minute. Finally, add the rice, stir it around, and when it's translucent, add the wine. This will all cook off. If you are doing this vegetarian style, leave out the prosciutto.
By now, your stock will have started to simmer, and you will start adding the stuff, half a cup at a time, to the rice. Those of you who are old hands at risotto making, will know what to do: stir, lower the heat, and let the liquid evaporate and get absorbed. Keep it up, and as you get to the end of the stock, check the texture of your rice. You can "tell" if it's cooking enough, and if it's not, then add more stock, or water. Indeed, as the stock cooks down, you will be concentrating it, and water is an absolutely fine thing to add.
When you have gotten to about the end of the stock/water, stir in the grapefruit peel, and a tablespoon of the pimenton. Smell what happens. You will get this rise of flavor: a deep smokiness in the air. Because of all these flavors, you should use a pimenton that is not all that spicy, especially because that half tablespoon is going to come back, if you do the scallops.
If you are using the cream, add it now and stir it in until it's gone, and if you use the cheese, put it in, off the heat and now just let this sit for a few minutes, because you're going to make scallops - maybe.
If you choose to make them, sprinkle them with salt, and the remaining pimenton. Then melt the remaining one tablespoon of butter in a non stick pan and saute' the scallops. You will not need more than two minutes to a side.
When you have finished this, spoon up the risotto, put the scallops on top and then - remember the grapefruit segments? - distribute those on top of the scallops.
Annalena has to tell you ragazzi, this dish is wonderful, and almost too much. And that was, as she says, without the cheese and cream. So, make your decisions. There are many possible detours in this risotto. Annalena will make it again, probably as she made it this time, but without the scallops. It's definitely special occasion or company dinner food. But what's wrong with t hat?
But making risotto is fun, and as she progressed through this recipe, Annalena kept on thinking of different ways the dish could go: things you could leave out, things you could substitute, etc, etc, etc. So, ragazzi, here it comes. She thinks that you pescatarians could make a really ample meal of this (with the scallops), and you vegans could probably make a meal of it that needs a bit of something else with it, but all in all, the ingredients are pure and good, and it's a dish that has, as they say, very substantial "mouthfeel."
Let's begin with the essentials, and then we'll talk about the options. You will need one cup of risotto rice. As she has said before, Annalena prefers carnaroli, but you could use arborio, which is the easiest one to find, or Nano, which is the most expensive one, and in Annalena's opinion, does not make a good risotto. Choose which one you like. You will also need stock. Annalena used chicken stock, but vegetable stock (if you have one you like), or clam juice/fish stock will work here as well. Start with three cups of this, and be prepared to need more. You will also need shallots - or- one of Annalena's new finds that has made her life so much easier - pre minced shallots, which she found at Whole Foods. Two big tablespoons of minced. You also need smoked paprika. The recipe called for "pimenton d'espilette," and Annalena MIGHT have used that, but she's not sure. It surely was, however, smoked pimenton, and you need a lot of it: a full tablespoons and a half.
Now, here's the unusual ingredient: one ruby grapefrut. (Keep in mind that Annalena is halving this recipe, so you will have to use two if you make it full out). You will want to grate the peel and then, to the extent you can, supreme the grapefruit segments. This is NOT Annalena's strong suit, but she did the best she could. Go to the web to get instruction on how to do this. And you will need half a stick of butter, and half a cup of either white wine, or the white wine substitute Annalena spoke of in her last blog entry.
That's quite a list. And here come the options: an ounce and a half of minced prosciutto (Annalena did use this). A half cup of grated parmesan cheese. A quarter cup of heavy cream. A pound of scallops. Annalena did use the prosciutto and the scallops, but the Italian in her blanced at using dairy with the fish. She's glad she didn't. The pound of scallops is what is intended for the full recipe, which is supposed to serve six. That will probably give you 2-3 scallops per person. Think about that as you proceed. Annalena thinks, quite frankly, that the way she made the risotto, she should not have made the scallops.
Ok, now we're ready to cook. Put your stock in a pot and keep it at a low heat, while you melt three tablespoons of the butter (leaving you one left over for now), and add the prosciutto. Stir this about until the ham begins to brown and then add the shallots, and cook for about a minute. Finally, add the rice, stir it around, and when it's translucent, add the wine. This will all cook off. If you are doing this vegetarian style, leave out the prosciutto.
By now, your stock will have started to simmer, and you will start adding the stuff, half a cup at a time, to the rice. Those of you who are old hands at risotto making, will know what to do: stir, lower the heat, and let the liquid evaporate and get absorbed. Keep it up, and as you get to the end of the stock, check the texture of your rice. You can "tell" if it's cooking enough, and if it's not, then add more stock, or water. Indeed, as the stock cooks down, you will be concentrating it, and water is an absolutely fine thing to add.
When you have gotten to about the end of the stock/water, stir in the grapefruit peel, and a tablespoon of the pimenton. Smell what happens. You will get this rise of flavor: a deep smokiness in the air. Because of all these flavors, you should use a pimenton that is not all that spicy, especially because that half tablespoon is going to come back, if you do the scallops.
If you are using the cream, add it now and stir it in until it's gone, and if you use the cheese, put it in, off the heat and now just let this sit for a few minutes, because you're going to make scallops - maybe.
If you choose to make them, sprinkle them with salt, and the remaining pimenton. Then melt the remaining one tablespoon of butter in a non stick pan and saute' the scallops. You will not need more than two minutes to a side.
When you have finished this, spoon up the risotto, put the scallops on top and then - remember the grapefruit segments? - distribute those on top of the scallops.
Annalena has to tell you ragazzi, this dish is wonderful, and almost too much. And that was, as she says, without the cheese and cream. So, make your decisions. There are many possible detours in this risotto. Annalena will make it again, probably as she made it this time, but without the scallops. It's definitely special occasion or company dinner food. But what's wrong with t hat?
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Sicilian cauliflower ragu, by way of Chef Melissa
One of Annalena's newest, bestest galpals is Melissa, who owns the wonderful Bar Eolo and Pastai restaurants. Melissa has her own blog, which Annalena encourages you to frequent: http://1001feasts.com. It is from this blog, and from Melissa's restaurant, that this dish comes from. Annalena modified it, and she will explain how.
After she digresses. It doesn't come out immediately, that cauliflower is a quintessentially Italian vegetable. But it is. We Italians love our vegetables, and in the winter, in Italy as everywhere else, there is not much that grows or stores. So Italians, like anyone else who cares about food, do what they can with what there is. Alice Waters once said "if all you have is fennel, you better learn a lot of different ways to cook it wonderfully." Such is the case with cauliflower, and there are no better approaches to this vegetable, than Sicilian ones. Annalena probably has about a half dozen Sicilian cauliflower recipes at her command. This is now her favorite. She also has a great number of cauliflower and pasta recipes at her command, and has blogged at least one other. Try this one, ragazzi. It involves some shopping, and some elbow grease , but at the end, you will have a restaurant quality dish. Truly.
You start with one head of cauliflower, which Annalena wants you to cut into quarters. Put three of them aside, and take the fourth. Break off the florets, and now put THOSE aside, while you take the stems with the other three quarters. Again, break off florets, and now, take all of those stems and chop them roughly. Keep the larger and smaller portions of cauliflower separate. We're going to do different things to them.
You are also going to need to smash 3-4 cloves of garlic, and get rid of the skin. Just SLAM down with a big knife.
As Annalena cooked this dish, she used half a cup of white wine. Now, there is no alcohol in the dish at the end, but for Annalena's friends who don't even want to have alcohol in the house, she recommends that you make this substitution: go to a good grocery store or specialty food vendor, and ask for verjus. This is unfermented juice of unripe grapes, and it will serve, if you add a bit of vinegar to it. So get a half cup of verjus, and add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar to the stuff, and you've got "pseudo wine." Also have ready 3-4 cups of stock, be it chicken or vegetable (you might not use all of it), and a couple of tablespoons of dried oregano. Melissa recommends Sicilian oregano, which does indeed have a wild fragrance to it that is not repeatable. You can, however, use any Mediterranean oregano here. Annalena's came from Turkey, and it worked. DO NOT USE MEXICAN OREGANO, which has a very distinct taste that will not work here. Splurge and buy some saffron - good stuff - not the powder - and have half a teaspoon or so if it ready. And, finally, at this stage, a third of a cup of raisins or currants. Melissa recommends soaking them in brandy, which is a good idea, but if your dried fruit is "fresh" and moist, there is no need. Annalena used the golden raisins.
Complicated, huh? Well, this is just the first part! Get a large frying pan, and put three tablespoons of olive oil in it, together with the larger portion cauliflower, and the garlic. Make sure your pan is big enough so that all of the cauliflower is contacting the oil. No layering here, you want the cauliflower to sear, as if it were chopped meat (because in a lot of ways, it IS chopped meat in this recipe). It will take a while, but the stuff will brown nicely. Get a good sear on it. Toss it to get it as browned as possible. The garlic will brown with it. When you have a good color, add the wine, and move your face back. The wine is going to bubble away almost immediately. In essence, you have deglazed the pan, the way you would for a meat sauce. Now, add the saffron, the raisins, the oregano, and three cups of stock. Bring this to a medium boil, and cook it away. Every now and then, get a spoon and press down on the cauliflower to see if it's breaking apart. It will take about ten minutes to get there, but it will get there, so pazienza.
On a second burner, get a pot of salted water going and when it boils, add the remaining cauliflower. Cook it for no more than two minutes, and get it out of the water.
We aren't anywhere CLOSE to being done, bambini. Now, get a small frying pan, add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil, and start searing the boiled cauliflower.
C'mon, stick with it. You're going to love this. When the cauliflower in the broth has broken down, and the boiled cauliflower has taken on a brown, seared color, you can stop... In fact, Annalena did all of this on one day, and stored the two components separately, before finishing the dish.
Oh, yes, ragazzi, we've got more to do, but now it's going to start to really be fun. Get a half cup of dry bread crumbs, and a couple of tablespoons of your favorite fresh herbs. Annalena used thyme, and rosemary. Put these in a frying pan without oil and toast them. You know that the crumbs are ready when you see some serious browning at the perimeter. Then dump them immediately in a clean bowl, and add a third of a cup of pine nuts.
A note on pine nuts here. You don't want to leave them out of the sauce, but you will have to make a decision. If you've ever removed the nuts from pine cones (which Annalena has), you will appreciate why they are so expensive. Sicilian pine nuts are the best, but they can cost about 60 dollars a pound at some stores. Hence, if you have to, "bite the bullet" and buy the Chinese ones.
Incidentally, do not be fooled. Chinese pine nuts are short and stubby, Sicilian ones are long and thin. Keep that in mind when you're looking at costs.
Ok, back to cooking. Dump those nuts into the hot pan where you just toasted the bread crumbs, and keep them moving for about 2-3 minutes. You'll smell something when they've toasted. Get them into the bowl with the bread crumbs.
Let's look at our components: we have a wet cauliflower ragu, we have chunks of seared cauliflower and we have a bowl with bread crumbs and pine nuts.
We're not done. Now, grate a third of a cup each of pecorino romano and parmesan.
Almost there. Get a big pot of salted water going, and add a pound of long pasta. Bucatini is traditional and it's fun: there's a hole in the middle of each strand, and you almost feel like you're whistling when you eat them. but if you have trenette, or linguini, or some other long pasta instead, use it. As it is coming to the boil, put the wet cauliflower ragu back into the big frying pant, add the chunks of cauliflower, the pine nuts and the bread crumbs, and heat it gently. When the pasta is just a little bit more than al dente, spoon off about a cup of the pasta water, and then use some tongs to put the pasta into the pan with the sauce. Begin tossing it around, adding the cooking water in thirds. As you toss the water and pasta with the cauliflower sauce, you will see an almost creamy texture developing. This will only increase when, OFF THE HEAT, you add that grated cheese and toss it all around.
NOW, you're ready to plate and eat. Make sure that you get equal amounts of pasta and sauce on each of 3-4 plates, and sprinkle a little salt on it (Trapanese sea salt if you have it, to be authentic), and if you like, some black pepper (Annalena does like).
The saffron will be evident in the almost golden color of the pasta. Some of the raisins will have dissolved into the sauce, and some will remain whole, giving bites of brilliant sweetness, set off by the acidity of the reduced wine, and the bitterness of the cauliflower. You add to that the creaminess of the cheese, and the soft sweetness of the stewed garlic, and.... WOW. This is a dish for the ages.
Yes, you worked hard to make this one, but it was worth it, and Annalena has been giving you easy ones, almost every time, for a while now. so hunker down, and satisfy that winter hunger with this. It's worth your time. Promesso.
After she digresses. It doesn't come out immediately, that cauliflower is a quintessentially Italian vegetable. But it is. We Italians love our vegetables, and in the winter, in Italy as everywhere else, there is not much that grows or stores. So Italians, like anyone else who cares about food, do what they can with what there is. Alice Waters once said "if all you have is fennel, you better learn a lot of different ways to cook it wonderfully." Such is the case with cauliflower, and there are no better approaches to this vegetable, than Sicilian ones. Annalena probably has about a half dozen Sicilian cauliflower recipes at her command. This is now her favorite. She also has a great number of cauliflower and pasta recipes at her command, and has blogged at least one other. Try this one, ragazzi. It involves some shopping, and some elbow grease , but at the end, you will have a restaurant quality dish. Truly.
You start with one head of cauliflower, which Annalena wants you to cut into quarters. Put three of them aside, and take the fourth. Break off the florets, and now put THOSE aside, while you take the stems with the other three quarters. Again, break off florets, and now, take all of those stems and chop them roughly. Keep the larger and smaller portions of cauliflower separate. We're going to do different things to them.
You are also going to need to smash 3-4 cloves of garlic, and get rid of the skin. Just SLAM down with a big knife.
As Annalena cooked this dish, she used half a cup of white wine. Now, there is no alcohol in the dish at the end, but for Annalena's friends who don't even want to have alcohol in the house, she recommends that you make this substitution: go to a good grocery store or specialty food vendor, and ask for verjus. This is unfermented juice of unripe grapes, and it will serve, if you add a bit of vinegar to it. So get a half cup of verjus, and add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar to the stuff, and you've got "pseudo wine." Also have ready 3-4 cups of stock, be it chicken or vegetable (you might not use all of it), and a couple of tablespoons of dried oregano. Melissa recommends Sicilian oregano, which does indeed have a wild fragrance to it that is not repeatable. You can, however, use any Mediterranean oregano here. Annalena's came from Turkey, and it worked. DO NOT USE MEXICAN OREGANO, which has a very distinct taste that will not work here. Splurge and buy some saffron - good stuff - not the powder - and have half a teaspoon or so if it ready. And, finally, at this stage, a third of a cup of raisins or currants. Melissa recommends soaking them in brandy, which is a good idea, but if your dried fruit is "fresh" and moist, there is no need. Annalena used the golden raisins.
Complicated, huh? Well, this is just the first part! Get a large frying pan, and put three tablespoons of olive oil in it, together with the larger portion cauliflower, and the garlic. Make sure your pan is big enough so that all of the cauliflower is contacting the oil. No layering here, you want the cauliflower to sear, as if it were chopped meat (because in a lot of ways, it IS chopped meat in this recipe). It will take a while, but the stuff will brown nicely. Get a good sear on it. Toss it to get it as browned as possible. The garlic will brown with it. When you have a good color, add the wine, and move your face back. The wine is going to bubble away almost immediately. In essence, you have deglazed the pan, the way you would for a meat sauce. Now, add the saffron, the raisins, the oregano, and three cups of stock. Bring this to a medium boil, and cook it away. Every now and then, get a spoon and press down on the cauliflower to see if it's breaking apart. It will take about ten minutes to get there, but it will get there, so pazienza.
On a second burner, get a pot of salted water going and when it boils, add the remaining cauliflower. Cook it for no more than two minutes, and get it out of the water.
We aren't anywhere CLOSE to being done, bambini. Now, get a small frying pan, add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil, and start searing the boiled cauliflower.
C'mon, stick with it. You're going to love this. When the cauliflower in the broth has broken down, and the boiled cauliflower has taken on a brown, seared color, you can stop... In fact, Annalena did all of this on one day, and stored the two components separately, before finishing the dish.
Oh, yes, ragazzi, we've got more to do, but now it's going to start to really be fun. Get a half cup of dry bread crumbs, and a couple of tablespoons of your favorite fresh herbs. Annalena used thyme, and rosemary. Put these in a frying pan without oil and toast them. You know that the crumbs are ready when you see some serious browning at the perimeter. Then dump them immediately in a clean bowl, and add a third of a cup of pine nuts.
A note on pine nuts here. You don't want to leave them out of the sauce, but you will have to make a decision. If you've ever removed the nuts from pine cones (which Annalena has), you will appreciate why they are so expensive. Sicilian pine nuts are the best, but they can cost about 60 dollars a pound at some stores. Hence, if you have to, "bite the bullet" and buy the Chinese ones.
Incidentally, do not be fooled. Chinese pine nuts are short and stubby, Sicilian ones are long and thin. Keep that in mind when you're looking at costs.
Ok, back to cooking. Dump those nuts into the hot pan where you just toasted the bread crumbs, and keep them moving for about 2-3 minutes. You'll smell something when they've toasted. Get them into the bowl with the bread crumbs.
Let's look at our components: we have a wet cauliflower ragu, we have chunks of seared cauliflower and we have a bowl with bread crumbs and pine nuts.
We're not done. Now, grate a third of a cup each of pecorino romano and parmesan.
Almost there. Get a big pot of salted water going, and add a pound of long pasta. Bucatini is traditional and it's fun: there's a hole in the middle of each strand, and you almost feel like you're whistling when you eat them. but if you have trenette, or linguini, or some other long pasta instead, use it. As it is coming to the boil, put the wet cauliflower ragu back into the big frying pant, add the chunks of cauliflower, the pine nuts and the bread crumbs, and heat it gently. When the pasta is just a little bit more than al dente, spoon off about a cup of the pasta water, and then use some tongs to put the pasta into the pan with the sauce. Begin tossing it around, adding the cooking water in thirds. As you toss the water and pasta with the cauliflower sauce, you will see an almost creamy texture developing. This will only increase when, OFF THE HEAT, you add that grated cheese and toss it all around.
NOW, you're ready to plate and eat. Make sure that you get equal amounts of pasta and sauce on each of 3-4 plates, and sprinkle a little salt on it (Trapanese sea salt if you have it, to be authentic), and if you like, some black pepper (Annalena does like).
The saffron will be evident in the almost golden color of the pasta. Some of the raisins will have dissolved into the sauce, and some will remain whole, giving bites of brilliant sweetness, set off by the acidity of the reduced wine, and the bitterness of the cauliflower. You add to that the creaminess of the cheese, and the soft sweetness of the stewed garlic, and.... WOW. This is a dish for the ages.
Yes, you worked hard to make this one, but it was worth it, and Annalena has been giving you easy ones, almost every time, for a while now. so hunker down, and satisfy that winter hunger with this. It's worth your time. Promesso.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
A curry in a hurry: curried chickpeas and spinach
Ragazzi, this is one where you are going to have dinner on the tables in 20 minutes, 30 minutes tops. Annalena swears by this. When she made it, it took her 17 minutes and 20 seconds, including a stop to clean some spilled ginger off of her shoes. She promises. But you have to make some promises first.
This recipe relies on chickpeas, and the original called for canned. You all know how Annalena feels about this. So cook your own. This recipe is going to start by telling you how, and if there are five minutes worth of work in doing it, Annalena will be shocked.
Also, as you will see from Annalena's many parentheticals , this recipe accommodates a number of different variations , as any curry will. So, let us proceed. As this one is designed to get right to the table with dinner, Annalena is dispensing with her usual chitchat.
For the chickpeas. This is how you cook them: get a pound of chickpeas, dry, and the night before, put them in a pot and cover them with water, so that at least 2 inches of water is over the top. Go to bed.
When you wake up the next morning, drain the chickpeas in a colander, and put them back in that pot. Cover them with more water - the same quantity, and put the stove to medium low heat. Go get ready for work. Come back in half an hour and taste a chickpea. If it feels soft enough to your taste, you're done. If it isn't, give it 15 minutes more time, and come back. When the peas are to your liking, take a heaping teaspoon of salt, add it to the pot, turn off the heat, and go to work.
Difficult, huh? Annalena things not. And during work, if you don't have the ingredients you need, go shopping. This is what you will need: a red onion(a big one), about 10-12 ounces of leafy greens. The recipe was originally for baby spinach, and that is how Annalena made it. You could substitute other greens: chard comes to mind, as does kale, especially baby kale, escarole, etc. Just keep in mind you need 10-12 ounces of USEFUL greens. If you buy 12 ounces of swiss chard, you will not get 12 ounces of leaves. And if you veer from baby spinach, keep in mind that you should tear the leaves to small pieces .
You will also need a 14 ounce can of good quality tomatoes. Get the whole ones, and be ready to play with them when you get home. Also get a knob of fresh ginger. Dried will not do here.
Finally, the spices. The only essential one is curry powder, and you can get any kind you like. If you are fortunate to have a vendor who specializes in spices, smell them. Pick one you like, because you will be using it more in the future. Garam masala, if you can, and if you like heat, cayenne pepper. If you don't, don't. And if you like heat a little, but not a lot, cut the quantities Annalena provides here.
Here comes the prep work. You need half of that onion. Cut it down the long way, and then cut the half into half moonds. Cut thinly. Surgical precision is not necessary, but the more surface area you have, the more likely you will get the full spicy flavor here. Chop up enough ginger to get two large tablespoons. You will be surprised how much ginger you actually need here, but ginger is essential. Then, combine 2 tablespoons of the curry powder, two teaspoons of the garam masala, and 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne pepper. Pour the tomatoes into a bowl, and crush them with your hand. It won't be hard. It will actually be fun. We all like playing with our food.
Now, let's cook. Put three tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pan, and add the onions and the spice mixture you put together. Stir things occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Take a moment at some point to drain your chickpeas. After things have cooked for three minutes, add the tomatoes, the ginger, and the chickpeas. Stir everything together, and bring the thing to a medium simmer.
Now, get your spinach or other green. Work with handfuls, and drop them into the hot mix. Stir, until the greens wilt. Be a bit patient. It won't take long, and especially with softer leaves like spinach and chard, the collapse is really dramatic. Keep up with this until all your greens have gone into the dish and have collapsed. Now, you add salt and, if you are like Annalena, you sprinkle some more grated ginger on the top.
And there you are. More than enough for four goodly portions, especially if you've had the foresight to make rice ahead of time. If , as with Annalena and the Guyman, one of you prefers more heat in her food than the other, have some cooling yogurt ready for the wimpier one. And then eat it all up. It keeps well, so you can make this ahead of time, and if you eat it without yogurt, you can feel virtuous about your vegan meal, and even with the yogurt, you can feel virtuous about your vegetarian, low calorie dish.
Next time around, ragazzi, Annalena explains yet another cauliflower pasta, as she plays with a recipe from her galpal Melissa
This recipe relies on chickpeas, and the original called for canned. You all know how Annalena feels about this. So cook your own. This recipe is going to start by telling you how, and if there are five minutes worth of work in doing it, Annalena will be shocked.
Also, as you will see from Annalena's many parentheticals , this recipe accommodates a number of different variations , as any curry will. So, let us proceed. As this one is designed to get right to the table with dinner, Annalena is dispensing with her usual chitchat.
For the chickpeas. This is how you cook them: get a pound of chickpeas, dry, and the night before, put them in a pot and cover them with water, so that at least 2 inches of water is over the top. Go to bed.
When you wake up the next morning, drain the chickpeas in a colander, and put them back in that pot. Cover them with more water - the same quantity, and put the stove to medium low heat. Go get ready for work. Come back in half an hour and taste a chickpea. If it feels soft enough to your taste, you're done. If it isn't, give it 15 minutes more time, and come back. When the peas are to your liking, take a heaping teaspoon of salt, add it to the pot, turn off the heat, and go to work.
Difficult, huh? Annalena things not. And during work, if you don't have the ingredients you need, go shopping. This is what you will need: a red onion(a big one), about 10-12 ounces of leafy greens. The recipe was originally for baby spinach, and that is how Annalena made it. You could substitute other greens: chard comes to mind, as does kale, especially baby kale, escarole, etc. Just keep in mind you need 10-12 ounces of USEFUL greens. If you buy 12 ounces of swiss chard, you will not get 12 ounces of leaves. And if you veer from baby spinach, keep in mind that you should tear the leaves to small pieces .
You will also need a 14 ounce can of good quality tomatoes. Get the whole ones, and be ready to play with them when you get home. Also get a knob of fresh ginger. Dried will not do here.
Finally, the spices. The only essential one is curry powder, and you can get any kind you like. If you are fortunate to have a vendor who specializes in spices, smell them. Pick one you like, because you will be using it more in the future. Garam masala, if you can, and if you like heat, cayenne pepper. If you don't, don't. And if you like heat a little, but not a lot, cut the quantities Annalena provides here.
Here comes the prep work. You need half of that onion. Cut it down the long way, and then cut the half into half moonds. Cut thinly. Surgical precision is not necessary, but the more surface area you have, the more likely you will get the full spicy flavor here. Chop up enough ginger to get two large tablespoons. You will be surprised how much ginger you actually need here, but ginger is essential. Then, combine 2 tablespoons of the curry powder, two teaspoons of the garam masala, and 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne pepper. Pour the tomatoes into a bowl, and crush them with your hand. It won't be hard. It will actually be fun. We all like playing with our food.
Now, let's cook. Put three tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pan, and add the onions and the spice mixture you put together. Stir things occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Take a moment at some point to drain your chickpeas. After things have cooked for three minutes, add the tomatoes, the ginger, and the chickpeas. Stir everything together, and bring the thing to a medium simmer.
Now, get your spinach or other green. Work with handfuls, and drop them into the hot mix. Stir, until the greens wilt. Be a bit patient. It won't take long, and especially with softer leaves like spinach and chard, the collapse is really dramatic. Keep up with this until all your greens have gone into the dish and have collapsed. Now, you add salt and, if you are like Annalena, you sprinkle some more grated ginger on the top.
And there you are. More than enough for four goodly portions, especially if you've had the foresight to make rice ahead of time. If , as with Annalena and the Guyman, one of you prefers more heat in her food than the other, have some cooling yogurt ready for the wimpier one. And then eat it all up. It keeps well, so you can make this ahead of time, and if you eat it without yogurt, you can feel virtuous about your vegan meal, and even with the yogurt, you can feel virtuous about your vegetarian, low calorie dish.
Next time around, ragazzi, Annalena explains yet another cauliflower pasta, as she plays with a recipe from her galpal Melissa
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