Food & Love

Island Rojak: Jicama and Tropical Fruit Salad with Mojito Dressing

2009-06-24T10:00:00.003-04:00

As of Sunday, Summer is officially here, although depending on where you live the season might already be an unwelcome guest. Along much of the northeastern US, it still feels like rainy spring. This recipe, a simple salad of tropical fruits and jicama, is perfect for a warm Summer day—whenever such a day might arrive.

Rojak or rujak is a fruit and vegetable salad found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Malay for mixture, rojak is a dish combining various tropical fruits, root vegetables, and outright oddities such as tofu, shrimp paste, fried dough, and rice cakes. A mixture indeed.

Fruit Basket: Star fruit, Papaya, Persimmon, Mango

This, my recipe, prepares a salad of crunchy julienned jicama topped with an assortment of tropical fruits and a "mojito" dressing of muddled mint, lime, and palm sugar.

For this recipe, use your favorite tropical and asian fruits that are in season and fresh. Mango and pineapple are excellent here, as are persimmon and star fruit.

Makes 4 servings.

16 leaves mint
2 teaspoons palm sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
1 medium jicama, peeled and julienned into 1/16" matchsticks
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 mangoes, peeled and cubed
2 star fruit, trimmed and sliced
1 pineapple, peeled and cubed
4 sprigs mint, to garnish

In a mortar, combine the mint leaves and palm sugar. Using a pestle, lightly bruise the mint. Combine with the lime juice. Let the mint soak in the juice for 5 minutes. Strain and discard the mint leaves.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, toss the julienned jicama with enough dressing to coat, about half. Season with sea salt.

Divide the jicama among salad plates. Arrange the fruit on top of the jicama. Spoon a little dressing over the fruit, just enough to lightly dress. Garnish with a mint sprig. Pairs well with a mojito.

Roselle meets Ginger Cocktail

2009-06-23T10:30:00.004-04:00

I call this cocktail Roselle meets Ginger, as it is made from hibiscus-infused tequila blanco and ginger-infused simple syrup. I really dig this cocktail. Round and refreshing, with a great flavor profile.

Ginger and limes

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients:

2 ounces (2 pony shots) hibiscus-infused tequila (recipe)
1/2 ounce (1/2 pony shot) freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon ginger-lime syrup (recipe)
1 lime twist, to garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes. Add the tequila, lime juice, and ginger-lime syrup to the shaker. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Let rest until the outside of the shaker begins to sweat.

Fill an old fashioned glass with large ice cubes. Strain the cocktail shaker into the glass. Garnish with a lime twist. Enjoy.

Sally's Night Out Cocktail

2009-06-23T10:00:00.004-04:00

I call this cocktail Sally's Night Out: A not untraditional margarita, with a hibiscus infusion and a splash of sparkling water. Crisp and refreshing.

Sally's Night Out

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients:

1.5 ounces (1 jigger shot) hibiscus-infused tequila (recipe)
1 ounce (1 pony shot) Grand Marnier
1/2 ounce (1/2 pony shot) lime juice
1/2 teaspoon agave syrup
splash sparking water
1 lime peel , to garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes. Add the tequila, Grand Marnier, lime juice, and agave syrup to the shaker. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Let rest until the outside of the shaker begins to sweat.

Fill an old fashioned glass with large ice cubes. Strain the shaker into the glass. Drop a lime peel, skin side down, into the glass. Enjoy.

Hibiscus-Infused Tequila

2009-06-23T09:30:00.004-04:00

Hibiscus-based teas and aguas frescas are drank throughout the world as a refreshing herbal beverage. Hibiscus has a clean, tart flavor that pairs wonderfully with tequila and a spot of sweetness, producing a delicious warm weather cocktail. This simple recipes produces an infusion of hibiscus into tequila blanco.

Hibiscus-Infused Tequila

For this recipe, I call for dried hibiscus sepals. Sepals, also called calyces, are the tender green leaves under the petals in a flower. Tea and other hibiscus-based drinks are made from the plant's sepals, not its petals. Ideally, seek out either whole dried sepals or a high-quality hibiscus tea. If your sepals are whole, roughly chop them. I wouldn't waste a bottle of good tequila on bagged tea.

Makes 750 milliliters.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup hibiscus sepals
750 milliliters tequila blanco

Place the hibiscus in a pitcher or similar container with a lid. Pour in the tequila. Stir. Cover.

Steeping the hibiscus in tequila

Let steep, stirring once or twice, for 4 hours.

Strain through a cheesecloth-lined mesh strainer back into the original tequila bottle. Will keep indefinitely.

Crostini with Peas, Mint, Walnuts, and Ricotta

2009-06-17T10:00:00.007-04:00

These simple to prepare crostini are a great spring or summer antipasto, particularly on a warm day when peas are still available fresh. You can, of course, make this with frozen peas, but the texture will suffer.

I like this dish because it morphs the well known pairing of peas and mint into a new flavor profile, with walnuts (both whole nuts and the oil), sheep's milk ricotta, and crunchy pea greens.

Crostini of Spring Peas, Mint, Walnuts, and Ricotta

Makes 4 crostini, suitable for 4 large antipasti.

Ingredients:

2 pounds green peas, shelled
6 leaves mint, chiffonaded
1/2 cup whole walnuts
1/4 cup walnut oil, plus more to drizzle on the bread
1/4 cup grape seed oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 thick slices rustic country bread
3/4 cup ricotta, preferably di pecora (from sheep's milk)
4 attractive stalks pea greens, to garnish
sea salt, to taste

Setup an ice bath. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of heavily-salted water to boil. Add the shelled green peas and blanche until cooked through but not soft, 90 seconds. Drain and plunge into the ice bath. Once cool, drain again. Set aside to dry.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the blanched peas, mint chiffonade, walnuts, walnut oil, grapeseed oil, and white wine vinegar. Toss until coated. Season to taste with sea salt.

On a grill or in a grill pan, toast the bread until just slightly toasted and starting to brown. Drizzle one side with walnut oil. Season lightly with sea salt.

Spread a generous helping of ricotta across each slice of bread. Spoon the dressed pea and walnut salad atop the ricotta. Sprinkle with a pinch more sea salt. Garnish with a pea green.

Serve. Pairs well with a white wine of the Sauvignon blanc grape from the Sancerre AOC in the Loire Valley, France.

The Negroni Cocktail

2009-06-16T10:00:00.003-04:00

The classic apéritif the Negroni is a work of art when correctly crafted. And with just three ingredients—gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari—all of equal proportion, it should not be hard to get right. Yet so often it is shoddily prepared, if not made with entirely the wrong ingredients, that a perfect Negroni is a rarity. But it is a rarity worth seeking out.

The Negroni

The key to the Negroni is its balance. That Zen derives from equal parts of all three ingredients—and the right ingredients to begin with. Campari is Campari, so that is easy. For the gin, you want something smooth, so I usually reach for Plymouth. But smooth and full bodied aren't mutually exclusive, and Anchor Steam's Junípero is full bodied, with huge juniper notes, but also smooth, with minimal bitters. For the sweet vermouth, the traditional input is a classic Italian russo such as Martini & Rossi. I also like Vya Sweet, a craft vermouth made in California. The goal is a perfectly balanced package, with the astringent gin paired with the bitter Campari, itself tempered by the sweet vermouth.

The Negroni's origins, as with all cocktail history, is likely as much myth as fact. The story is that the flashy barfly Count Camillo Negroni, in the early 1920's at Firenze's Bar Casoni, grew tired of his Americano (the highball cocktail, not the espresso drink, of sweet vermouth, Campari, and sparkling water). The bartender, recognizing the count's dipsomania, swapped the sparkling water for gin. Intentionally or not, the result was a surprisingly balanced cocktail. The count was in heaven.

There is some debate as to whether the original Negroni was served straight up in a cocktail glass or on the rocks in an old fashioned. Today, in official US cocktail guides, the drink is served on the rocks in an old fashioned. I prefer that approach, because the extra chill makes the drink all the more refreshing and the slight dilution helps balance it out. Also, like Leo, I love the feel of a heavy old fashioned in my hand. But don't take my word for gospel; try it both ways and you decide. Make sure your cocktail glass is well chilled, though.

One more note: A perfect Negroni is stirred, not shaken. A little dilution is actually welcome, but you want to avoid the froth that shaking develops. So be gentle and stir.

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients:

1 ounce (1 pony shot) gin
1 ounce (1 pony shot) sweet vermouth
1 ounce (1 pony shot) Campari
1 orange peel, to garnish

Fill a large glass with ice cubes. Combine the gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. With a bar spoon, stir well until integrated. Let rest until the glass starts to sweat.

Fill an old fashioned glass (lowball) with large ice cubes. Strain in the contents of the large glass.

Flame the orange peel: Hold the peel over the cocktail glass, skin side down, and run a lit match back and forth across the skin with the flame about an inch away, firmly squeezing the peel until it ignites.

Rub the orange peel over the rim of the old fashioned glass. Drop the peel into the glass, skin side down. Enjoy.

Gnudi with Tartufata and Black Truffles

2009-06-11T10:00:00.010-04:00

Given the cost and hedonism of truffles, this recipe is a due, for two. You can certainly double it, but I suggest enjoying it with just that special someone.

Gnudi with Tartufata and Black Truffles

For this dish, we create a salsa tartufata, truffle sauce, from garlic-steeped olive oil and freshly-grated black truffles. Despite that decadence, the dish's star is gnudi of ricotta and pea greens, although you can substitute the more traditional spinach and ricotta gnudi if you prefer.

Black Truffles

Makes two servings.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons your favorite peppery olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 ounce finely-grated plus 10 thin shavings fresh black truffles
1/2 a batch ricotta and pea green gnudi (recipe)
sea salt, to taste

Prepare and cook the gnudi per the recipe.

Sauteing whole garlic

In a small saute pan over medium-low heat, add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and the smashed garlic. Cook, occasionally moving the garlic around, until it begins to brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove the garlic from the pan and discard.

Lower heat to low. Add the grated truffle and a pinch of sea salt. Stir to integrate. Remove from heat. Add the gnudi and toss to coat.

Divide among two large, warm plates. Garnish with shaved truffle. Serve immediately. Pairs well with a younger, lighter red wine blend from the Valpolicella DOC in Provincia di Verona, Veneto, Italy.

Gnudi: Pea Green and Ricotta Gnocchi

2009-06-11T09:30:00.002-04:00

This recipe prepares gnocchi—an Italian dumpling—not of the common potato, but of ricotta. Called gnudi, the resulting dumpling is light, fluffly, and cheesy.

Gnudi: Pea Green and Ricotta Gnocchi

This recipe is similar to my gnudi of spinach and ricotta recipe, but the spinach is replaced with pea greens. The two recipes are interchangeable; spinach is the more classic approach, but the pea greens yield a delicious twist.

Pea greens are the leaves of the pea plant. Pea shoots are the tips of the plant: a fibrous stalk with the leaves and threadlike climbing appendages (pea tendrils) attached. Pea sprouts are the new, tender shoots of the pea plant, with no tendrils and only the smallest of leaves. For this recipe, you only want the greens. Sometimes you can buy them separately, but more likely you will need to buy the whole shoot or sprout. If you have shoots, individually remove the leaves. With sprouts, you can remove the tougher and thicker bottom stems and get away with steaming the rest.

Makes four servings worth of gnudi.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound young pea greens, stems trimmed and rinsed well
1 teaspoon plus 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1 cup ricotta, di bufala if possible, drained of excess water
1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup freshly and finely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, preferably stravecchio
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons freshly-ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg

Steaming the pea greens

Rinse the pea greens one more time. Do not dry. In a saute pan with a lid over medium heat, add the wet pea greens and one teaspoon of sea salt. Cover and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain the greens. Once they are sufficiently cool to handle, squeeze out as much water as possible.

Folding together the ingredients

Chop well the pea greens. Set aside on paper towels to further dry. Let cool to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the pea greens, ricotta, and 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Stir together. Unless your immune system is weak, taste and adjust salt.

Fill a small mixing bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Dust your hands in the flour. Form the mixture into small oblate spheroids (slightly-flatted balls), about 1/2 to 3/4 an inch across. You do not need to roll gnudi across a fork, as they are already rather absorbent.

Lightly dredge the gnudi in the flour, shaking off excess, so that they have a thin coat.

To cook: Bring a stock pot of heavily-salted water to boil. Add the gnudi in batches, about a half dozen at a time. Cook, gently stirring, until the gnudi rise to and remain on the top, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove to a colander. Continue with the remaining gnudi.

Nachos de España

2009-06-10T10:00:00.003-04:00

This dish recrafts the familiar Texan-Mexican nachos with Spanish ingredients. Out are the Mexican cheese, the chilies, the salsa. In are young and aged Manchego, Mahón, chorizo, and both sweet and hot paprika. A different and tasty approach.

Makes 4-6 small servings or 2-3 large.

Ingredients:

8 ounces yellow corn tortilla chips, two handfuls less than 100 chips, just under one medium-sized bag
2 cups grated Manchego, fresco (aged 3 months), preferably artesano (raw)
1 cup grated Manchego, viejo (aged 12 months), preferably artesano (raw)
1/2 cup grated Mahón
1/2 pound dried, Spanish, picante chorizo, sliced thin on a bias
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons sweet paprika (pimentón dulce)
2 teaspoons hot paprika (pimentón picante)
1 cup scallion & chive crème fraîche (recipe)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place just under half of the tortillas, tight but barely overlapping, in the center of a Silpat or aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Top with a little less than half the cheese, chorizo, onion, and garlic.

Repeat with about 2/3 of the remaining ingredients, centered on the first layer of chips, so as to create a pyramidal mound.

For the final layer, repeat with the remaining ingredients, about 1/5 of the original amount, centered on the second layer of chips, furthering the pyramid.

Ready for the oven

Place in oven and bake until bubbling and starting to brown, 6-7 minutes.

Once browning, remove from oven and plate. Sprinkle with the sweet and hot paprika. Serve immediately with scallion crème fraîche.

Jefferson Survives Cocktail

2009-06-09T10:00:00.003-04:00

I call this cocktail Jefferson Survives, after John Adams' last words.

Jefferson Survives Cocktail

This drink is a modification of the prohibition-era cocktail The Last Word. A gem of that era, composed of gin, Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and lime juice, the drink is now rarely seen. Here, I have replaced the maraschino with elderflower liqueur, and tweaked the proportions to keep the drink balanced.

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients:

1 ounce (1 pony shot) gin
1/2 ounce (1/2 pony shot) green Chartreuse
3/4 ounce (1/2 jigger shot) St-Germain elderflower liqueur
3/4 ounce (1/2 jigger shot) lime juice
1 lime twist, to garnish

Fill a cocktail glass with large ice cubes. Set aside to chill.

Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes. Add the gin, green Chartreuse, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, and lime juice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Let sit until the outside of the shaker starts to sweat.

Discard the ice from the cocktail glass. Strain the contents of the shaker into the cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist. Enjoy.

Strozzapreti, Spring Mushroom Ragù, Ricotta

2009-06-03T10:00:00.004-04:00

This dish is a simple way to plate my spring mushroom ragù. We cook strozzapreti until al dente, toss with the ragù, and garnish with a dollop of ricotta, a sprinkle of chive, and a thyme sprig.

Spring Mushroom Ragù, Strozzapreti, Ricotta

Strozzapreti, priest strangler in Italian, is a dried, usually hand-rolled pasta in the shape of a long, rolled towel. Many myths describe the origin of the name. Regardless, the pasta does have a thick, mouth filling quality that, short of suffocation, is welcome in dishes with thick sauces or multiple ingredients. Note some recipes for strozzapreti describe a spinach and ricotta dish that is strikingly similar to gnudi. You want the dried pasta, which you can find at better Italian markets or Formaggio Kitchen. Both gemelli and casarecci (cesariccia) are fine substitutes. In a pinch, penne rigate works too.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound strozzapreti
about 2 cups spring mushroom ragù (recipe)
8 teaspoons chopped chive
about 1/2 cup ricotta
4 attractive sprigs thyme
sea salt, to taste

Bring a large, heavily-salted stockpot of water to boil. Add the strozzapreti and cook until 1 minute short of al dente. Note that strozzapreti wields a thin line between under and overcooked, so test and taste often. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, gently reheat the spring mushroom ragù if needed. Add the drained pasta to the saute pan and gently stir to coat. Be careful, as strozzapreti is particularly delicate. Taste and adjust sea salt.

Divide among 4 warmed pasta bowls. Sprinkle each plate with chive. Place a generous dollop of ricotta on the center of the ragù. Arrange a thyme sprig on top. Serve.

Spring Mushroom Ragù

2009-06-03T09:30:00.001-04:00

This isn't my prized mushroom ragù, which is a thick, rich, mushroom-rich, umami fest. That dish is one of my favorites, but, for spring, I tweak the recipe a bit, aiming for a lighter, brighter ragù. The star of the dish is morel mushrooms, with their deep woodsy flavor and unique texture, which fruit for just a few months in the spring. Instead of heavy cream, we thicken this ragù by slow cooking the mushrooms with a good, gelatinous chicken stock.

I vacillated over the decision to put morel mushrooms in a ragù. One of morels' top attributes is their interesting, honeycomb texture. Their shape and feel is wonderful in the mouth. I subscribe to the "simple is better" philosophy with ingredients such as morels, and I definitely think they shine their brightest in a simple saute of butter and garnishing of thyme and sea salt. So go do that first. And then, on a cooler night, chop up a small handful and other springtime mushrooms and try out this ragù, perhaps with your favorite pasta or a big, steaming bowl of polenta, garnished with fresh herbs and a generous dollop of bovine ricotta. Morel mushrooms are not cheap, but I feel this dish is worth it.

Chicken stock provides this ragù's backbone. You will want to use a high quality, gelatinous stock—the thicker the better. We add it and several cups of liquid used to reconstitute dried porcinis and then we slow simmer the ragù, reducing it down until thick and meaty—all without cream. If possible, go with a homemade stock, and toss in chicken feet and extra bones. If homemade is undoable, a local specialty store's housemade stock is likely sufficient. If you use store-bought stock and find the ragù is not as thick as desired, a little heavy cream, reduced down, can thicken things up.

Makes about 3 cups, sufficient for 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups filtered or spring warm water
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 green habanero chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1/4 pound morel mushrooms, chopped
1/4 pound spring mushrooms, such as oyster, wild enokitake, or torq
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
1 cup brandy, preferably Cognac
4 tablespoons (about half a tube) tomato paste
3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade and very gelatinous
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1/4 cup minced Italian parsley
sea salt, to taste

Inspect the dry mushrooms, removing any grit. Place the dried mushrooms and warm water in a bowl. Let soak for 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, squeezing out as much excess water as possible. Chop them. Set aside and let dry. Strain the soaking water through a cheesecloth or coffee strainer and into a second bowl. Reserve.

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and saute, stirring, until soft and translucent but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the habanero chile peppers and saute until fragrant but not brown, about 1 more minute.

Raise heat to medium-high. Add the reconstituted porcinis and the fresh mushrooms. Season with sea salt. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms sweat most of their liquid and deflate, about 10 minutes.

Add the brandy and, scrapping the bottom of the pan, deglaze.

Add the tomato paste. Stir to heat through, about 30 seconds.

Add the reserved mushroom liquid and chicken stock. Adjust heat as needed to bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces and the mushrooms form a thick ragù, about 45 minutes.

Add the thyme and Italian parsley. Stir to incorporate. Taste and adjust sea salt.

Serve as a condimento to fresh pasta or polenta, garnished with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Maximilian Affair Cocktail

2009-06-02T10:00:00.005-04:00

The last five years have witnessed a revival of sorts. The final decade of the 20th century was the worst among a succession lukewarm efforts in mixology. In many ways, the country that invented the cocktail never truly recovered from its failed experiment in Prohibition. The 1990s and early 2000s were a capstone of crap, with bartenders concocting ever sweeter swills of flavored vodka and bright, sugary mixer. Apple-flavored vodka and glowing-green apple syrup? An Appletini! Peach-flavored vodka, peach schnapps, peach syrup, and a floating cube of peach jello? No, thank you.

Times are changing. Vodka, neutral and boring, is stepping aside in favor of spirits with flavor, character, and a sense of place. Cocktails are crafted not to maximize sweetness, but to aim for balance. Bitters, the once all-but-forgotten key ingredient to the original cocktail, are making a return in numerous forms. Today, artisanal mixologists are crafting drinks both from the golden era of cocktails, before prohibition, and of their own creation.

Perhaps surprising, Boston (along with, not surprising, NYC) is at the forefront of the craft cocktail revival, starting with the greatly-missed B-Side Lounge, and carrying over to Green St, Craigie on Main, and Eastern Standard. These bars take cocktails seriously, with top-notch mixologists crafting quality drinks and providing excellent service. The ultimate manifestation of this might be Drink, in Boston's Fort Point neighborhood, a bar dedicated to craft cocktails and nothing else. They don't have a cocktail menu; your bartender works with you to find what you want. They make a lot of their inputs from scratch—visit and you might see folks squeezing fresh juices or stemming fresh herbs, many of which they grow themselves. I'm not even sure they have vodka.

One of Drink's top mixologists, Misty Kalkofen, has created what is surely an instant classic. Smokey mezcal is paired with addictive St-Germain, the spicy vermouth Punt e Mes, and a spot of lemon juice. This, the Maximilian Affair, is Misty's recipe.

Maximilian Affair Cocktail

At home, I make no changes to Misty's perfect recipe, but I do modify the presentation. Misty serves her creation in a cocktail glass, ungarnished. I prefer mine on the rocks, in an old fashioned glass, garnished with a lemon twist. The cocktail glass is fine, but I wouldn't deviate from authenticity if I felt the ice did not enhance the drink. Try both and you decide.

I am not the first to praise Misty's original creation, but as a Bostonian I was likely among the first to experience it. The drink is featured in Food & Wine's enjoyable Cocktails '09 as well as in a Journal article on the fortunate demise of vodka. Note the Journal article contains a Maximilian recipe that is changed from Misty's original; what follows is her precise proportions.

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients:

1 ounce mezcal, preferably a smoky, single-village mezcal such as Del Maguey
1 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1/2 ounce Punt e Mes
1/4 ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 lemon twist, to garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes. Add to the shaker the mezcal, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, Punt e Mes, and lemon juice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Let the shaker rest until the outside starts to sweat.

Fill an old fashioned glass with large ice cubes. Strain the contents of the shaker into the glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. Enjoy.

Reading Recipes

2009-06-01T14:00:00.001-04:00

The hardest part of this endeavor is transcribing what I cook into a recipe (conversely the most time consuming part is researching the history and ingredient information I put before the recipes, and the most annoying part is taking photos of food I hope to in fact eat).

Writing recipes has made me better at reading recipes, and I thought I'd share a few tips that should apply to not only my directions, but everyone's. These aren't the usual "do all your prep first" kindergarten obviousness, but aids in reading the recipe before you even begin.

Be aware of implied steps. My recipes have less of these than others, as I try to cover the details, not because I think you are an idiot and need to know how to cook pasta or blanche vegetables, but because I want a thorough and complete account of the recipe. Other recipes leave much more to inference. One thing I tend not spell out is cleaning your produce, but you still need to do it.

Measure the right stuff. There is a difference between the following two sets of ingredients. These:

1 pound green peas, shelled
1 cup Italian parsley, minced

Are different than these:

1 pound shelled green peas
1 cup minced Italian parsley

The first is a pound of green peas in their shell, which you are then to shell, and a cup of Italian parsley, which is about a handful, which you are then to mince. Conversely, the second is a pound of shelled green peas, almost double as many as in the first direction, and a cup of minced parsley, which is a staggering amount of herb.

Why do recipes employ both approaches? Usually for ease, sometimes for necessity. In this case, the first set of ingredients is easier to work with than the second. Asking for a pound of green peas in their shells gives you something you can weigh and measure at your market, before you start shelling. Similarly, asking for a cup of Italian parsley is a precise way of saying about a handful. Other times, it is necessity. I cannot request a 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, which you then finely grate. But I can ask you to grate cheddar cheese until you have a half cup's worth.

Be mindful of adjectives. When I ask for finely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, its because that is the consistency I want for ideal mouthfeel, or because I feel a fine grate best incorporates the cheese into the dish. If your cheese is already grated, or you use a microplane and can only coarsely grate the cheese, you might decide not to comply. But note your proportions are thus going to be very far off if I measure by volume: A cup of finely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano is three-to-four times as much cheese by weight as a cup of coarsely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Adjust accordingly.

Aim for intent. Figure out what the recipes is aiming for and cook toward that aim, not the specific directions. For example, if you are making a puréed soup and a recipe calls for you to thin the blended vegetables with two cups of stock and that seems way too little for the amount of purée you have, then add a little more stock. The goal isn't to add two cups, but to add the right amount, which the recipe author believes is two cups. I try to use "about" in my recipes when the size of an input might vary. Similarly, try to deduce what the goal of each timed step is and worry about that, not the time it takes. I hate recipes that say "saute for 60 seconds." I always try to write my steps as "saute until fragrant, about 60 seconds." If you drop the garlic in the pan and your heat is too high and your garlic is minced too fine and it starts to turn color within 10 seconds, then move on to the next step.

Pizza of Mozzarella di Bufala, Arugula, Truffle Oil

2009-05-28T10:00:00.012-04:00

This is, without a doubt, my favorite pizza. No red sauce, just a light coating of olive oil. Two cheeses: Parmigiano-Reggiano and mozzarella di bufala. After the pizza is crisp and blistering, we add a couple handfuls of arugula, yielding a peppery bite and varying texture. And we drizzle the whole pie with white truffle oil, resulting in an irresistible aroma and umami pop to each bite.

Pizza of Mozzarella di Bufala, Arugula, Truffle Oil

Crafting a pizza with mozzarella d bufala can be difficult, but getting it right is worth it as fresh, moist bufala mozzarella is the second best thing on a Neapolitan pizza. The mozzarella is moist and can ruin a pizza if not applied correctly. Three simple rules. First, you can't put more than about 3 ounces of moist mozzarella on a 12" pizza. This is about three-fifths of a standard orb. Any more than 3 ounces and you will have too much cheese and too much moisture. Second, cut the mozzarella a few minutes before arranging it on the pizza, giving it time to shed some of its liquid. Shake off the excess. This will help minimize the moisture. Finally, if your pizza has liquid on it already—tomato sauce, for example—compensate for the mozzarella by using a spot or two less.

Makes 1 pizza, which is about 2 servings.

Ingredients:

1 ball pizza dough (recipe)
about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to brush
1 cup freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, preferably stravecchio
3 ounces (about 3/5 of an orb) mozzarella di bufala, filleted
about 3 cups arugula
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1 tablespoon white truffle oil

Pull out the dough.

Using a brush or your fingers, coat the top of the pizza with olive oil. Place a generous layer Parmigiano-Reggiano on top of the pizza. Arrange the mozzarella di bufala fillets on top of the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Hot out of the oven

Bake as directed.

Arranging the dressed arugula on top

In a mixing bowl, combine the arugula, fleur de sel, and white truffle oil. Toss to coat. Spread the arugula out over the top of pizza.

Sliced and ready to serve

Slice. Serve immediately. Pairs well with an English-style pale ale.

Neapolitan Pizza

2009-05-28T09:30:00.008-04:00

The big difference between home and professional pizza is the oven. Professional wood-fired ovens reach temperatures in excess of 800°F. Home ovens top out at around 500 to 550°F. Mine gets just above 600°F, which put a smile on my face until the temperature probe I was using melted. That heat does make a difference: Professional ovens can fire a pizza in less than two minutes. That is insanely fast. The outside burns and blisters, while the inside remains moist and succulent.

We can't do that at home, although we can come close enough. I don't give cooking times in my recipe. To fire a pie right, set your oven to its highest temperature and let it preheat extra long, at least 30 minutes. Slide the pie in, preferably onto a pizza stone, and shut the oven door as quickly as possible. Cook, without opening the door, until the pie is starting to char. At 550°F this is about 9 minutes. If your oven doesn't get as hot, don't worry. Just leave the thing alone until it is crisp and golden brown.

We prep the ball of dough, transforming it into a pizza, by hand. No rolling pin. It is quite easy to form the ball into a roundish pizza with just your two hands: one flattens while the other simultaneously pulls. Your pizza needn't be perfectly round. There is no need to be fancy here. You can do this quickly and easily.

Note that the "tossing" method actually works. I don't have the ceiling height to really toss my pie high, but as I am stretching it out I sometimes toss and pull it around to help stretch it out. It works. Just don't drop it. The key is to do whatever is easiest and to do it by hand.

Makes one 10-12" pizza, serving about 2.

1 ball pizza dough (recipe)
"00" flour, to dust
toppings of choice
olive oil, to garnish

If refrigerated, let the ball of pizza dough rest at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Form the dough into a ball and let rest 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to its maximum temperature, ideally with a pizza stone in the oven on the bottom rack, for at least 30 minutes.

Pulling out the pizza dough on a flour-dusted peel

Dust an inverted baking sheet or (ideally) a pizza peel with flour. Place the ball of pizza dough in the middle of the dusted surface. With your fingers, pat down the ball, starting from the center outward, flattening it into a disk. Using the palms of your hands, flatten one part of the dough by pressing down while pulling away with another part of the dough with the other hand. In this manner, gently flatten and stretch the dough. Move around the dough, continuing to flatten and stretch it out, until it is 13-14" in diameter (it will contract during cooking to 10-12"), with a flattened 1/8-1/4" thick surface and slightly thicker edges. These edges form the crust, which help keep the ingredients from sliding off the pie. If the dough is resistant, knead it back into a ball and set it aside for 10-15 minutes in a towel-covered bowl.

Shake the pie on the sheet pan or pizza peel, to make sure it hasn't stuck. At the last possible moment, add the toppings to the pizza. Quickly slide the pizza into the oven. You can slide the dough off of a peel by placing the peel right above the stone, and quickly jerking the peel out of the oven. Bake until the dough is crispy, golden brown, and starting to char, and the ingredients are bubbly. This will take about 9 minutes at 550°F and 10-20 minutes in cooler ovens. To remove from the oven, simply slide the peel under the crisp pie.

Drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately.

Neapolitan Pizza Dough

2009-05-28T09:00:00.019-04:00

This is my recipe for a Neapolitan-style pizza dough. A subsequent recipe will discuss tossing out and firing the dough. And then I'll put up some recipes for specific pies, such as my favorite: mozzarella di bufala, arugula, and truffle oil.

Readily noticeable about cooking your own pizza is how good the crust tastes, how easily simple ingredients shine and transform a pizza into the sublime. At a pizza joint, such as my local favorite, Emma's, I'm pretty flexible. When sharing a pie, my only request is for one that has a lot of stuff on it. I'd never order the pizza marinara or margherita. But carmelized onions, garlic, pancetta, and three types of cheese? I'm there. And you can experiment like that at home—go crazy, guy who likes codfish and mayonnaise—but with a homemade pie, you don't need anything. The dough is just that good.

My approach here is the old world one. I instruct you to knead and roll out the dough by hand. I call for a special Italian flour. I use a pizza stone. But making pizza is dead simple. You can use a stand mixer if you don't want to knead by hand. All-purpose flour is fine. You don't need a pizza peel or a stone—an inverted baking sheet is nearly as good. However hot your oven gets, it is hot enough. I know you will be surprised how amazingly delicious and shockingly easy to make is homemade pizza. Make a pie tonight, with whatever you have around the house, and I bet you'll be ordering that pizza stone and Italian flour tomorrow.

Prepared and kneaded dough, resting …

… risen, after an hour of resting

Pizza dough is simple. Just flour, water, and yeast. The traditional ratio is 5:3. Five parts flour to three parts water, both by weight. Combine with yeast, knead by hand, let rest until risen. That's it. You don't even need a recipe. The amount of yeast isn't crucial; you will just have to wait longer for the dough to rise if you use too little. Small, medium or large pie, it is all the same, 5:3. Recipes, of course, differ. Most of the deviation is in the direction of more water. A wetter dough is an absolute mess to work with at first—very tacky, very sticky—but it will be easier to pull out and form later on. It is a tradeoff. I like the traditional ratio, perhaps with a pinch less flour, but you should experiment.

One place not to experiment is crap in your dough. I've seen cheese, honey, seasonings, even wine. Don't succumb. I add just olive oil and sea salt.

Flour: In Italy, flours are grouped by their grind, with 2 the coarsest ground and 1 and 0 moderate grinds. Doppio zero, 00, is the finest grind, comparable to US pastry flour. Strictly speaking, tipo 00 guarantees nothing but the fine grind. Any kind of wheat, soft or hard, can be finely milled. Thus the belief that 00 flour is pizza or pasta flour is incorrect. Pizza flour is 00 flour, but not all 00 flour is for pizza. Thankfully, the 00 flour available in your local specialty market is generally high gluten and made for pizza. You can also find proper 00 flour online.

Some recipes recommend a combination of bread, pastry, and all-purpose flour, as a suitable or even superior substitute to doppio zero. I disagree. Italian 00 flour is about as fine as pastry flour, and thus pastry flour might appear to be a workable replacement. But high quality, Italian 00 designated for pizza also boasts a high gluten content—as much as 12-14% protein. For this reason, I don't consider pastry flour, with high starch and low gluten, a suitable substitute. I also don't recommend using US-made 00 flour unless you know it is the real deal. All-purpose flour, straight, is the best substitute.

Yeast: Yeast comes in three forms: dried, fresh, and ambient. Of these, we use dried in this recipe. It is cheap, simple, and yields consistent results. Dried yeast is available two ways: active and instant. Active yeast is live yeast with a coating of dried, dead yeast. Instant lacks that coating, making the yeast more perishable and sometimes necessitating a preservative of ascorbic acid. For best results, active yeast needs to be proofed before use: Dissolve in 105°F water for 10 minutes, to allow the dried yeast to break away and the live yeast to begin feeding. For this recipe I recommend active dried yeast, preferably from SAF, but you can substitute instant.

The other two yeasts are fresh and ambient. Fresh yeast is live, perishable yeast suspended in a liquid. It is more expensive than dried yeast and highly perishable, but it is more potent and thus preferred by some commercial bakers. Using fresh yeast "cakes" also allow bakers to utilize specific strands of yeast, such as those suited for high sugar or those containing a symbiotic bacteria. Ambient yeast is the fungi naturally in the air. While inconsistent and difficult to work with, ambient yeasts can impart a sense of terroir to fermented beverages made with the local strain.

Ideally, you should make the dough the morning of or even the day before cooking, to allow it time to rest, rise, and age. That way you can take the ball, toss it out, throw your ingredients on, and fire the pie in mere minutes. But you can make the dough as little as an hour or so before.

Makes 1 dough ball, sufficient to make one 10-12" pizza.

Ingredients:

6 ounces (about 7/10 cup) warm spring or filtered water (ideally 105°F—no warmer)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
9 ounces (just over 2 cups) "00" flour, plus more to dust
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to coat
1 teaspoon sea salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine the 105°F water and the active dry yeast. Let proof 10 for minutes.

Kneaded ball of dough

Add the flour, olive oil, and sea salt. Dust a work area and your hands with flour. Knead the dough by hand until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. This isn't hard to do, since there is not much dough, and hand-kneading is the traditional approach. But you can use a stand mixing if you want: Mix on low for 2 minutes and then on medium-low until the dough is smooth, about 6 minutes.

Let rest about one hour …

… until the dough is smooth, tight, and doubled in size

Lightly coat a large bowl with olive oil. Transfer the dough ball to the bowl. Flip the ball over so as to coat both sides with the olive oil. Cover with a paper towel slightly-dampened with warm water and let rest in a warm part of the kitchen until the dough is about doubled in size, smooth, and tight, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough ball down with your fist (just what it sounds like). You can use the dough now. Or, ideally, refrigerator it overnight, covered by plastic wrap. Take it out 2-3 hours before ready to use it, covering the bowl with a damp warm towel.

Fusilli, Spring Onion Sprout Pesto, Baby Heirloom Tomatoes

2009-05-27T10:00:00.008-04:00

This recipe is a simple primo of fusilli and baby heirloom tomatoes, tossed with onion sprout pesto, and garnished with more onion sprouts and peels of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bright and fresh, yet biting and spicy from the pesto's onion and habanero, this is a great dish.

Fusilli, Spring Onion Sprout Pesto, Baby Heirloom Tomatoes

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 pound fusilli
1-2 cups spring onion sprout pesto (recipe)
16 baby heirloom tomatoes, preferably an assortment, halved
1/2 pound Parmigiano-Reggiano, preferably stravecchio, peeled
1 cup onion sprouts, to garnish

Bring a large stockpot of heavily-salted water to boil. Add the fusilli and cook until 30 seconds shy of al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of cooking liquid.

Return the fusilli to the warm pot, now removed from the heat. Add the baby heirloom tomatoes. Add the pesto, a little at a time, until the desired amount of sauce. Stir to coat. Add the reserved cooking liquid, a tablespoon at a time, to thin the pesto and help it stick to the pasta, as needed. Stir well.

Divide among 4 warm pasta bowls. Garnish with a big pinch of onion sprouts and a handful of Parmigiano-Reggiano peels. Serve immediately. Pairs well with a medium-bodied, spicy red wine from the Gigondas AOC, southern Rhône, France.

Spring Onion Sprout and Basil Pesto

2009-05-27T09:30:00.007-04:00

See also my recipes for pesto alla genovese and baby arugula pesto

This recipe yields a pesto of onion sprouts—the just-sprouted stalks, sometimes called microgreens, of onions. Onion sprouts are among the boldest tasting sprouts, offering an intense, pure onion note. Think onion powder, only fresher and cleaner, concentrated into a crunchy little stalk. Onion sprouts are available under various names, including the ill-labeled baby onions, so hunt around. Anywhere that sells lots of sprouts and greens likely has them available in the spring. You may also buy the seeds and sprout them yourself.

Spring Onion Sprout and Basil Pesto

Given the intensity of onion sprouts, and the heavy hand I ask you to employ in their addition, this pesto is a bold, oniony condimento. If you don't like onions, this is not for you; but if you do, this might just be your favorite pesto yet. Be sure to share this dish with anyone you might kiss.

Makes sufficient pesto for 1 pound of pasta.

Ingredients:

1 ounce (about one big handful) onion sprouts
1 cup lightly-packed Genovese basil leaves
1 green habanero chile pepper, seeded
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 cup finely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, preferably stravecchio
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil, traditionally Ligurian but go with your favorite peppery oil

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the onion sprouts, basil leaves, green habanero chile pepper, and sea salt. Pulse until a rough paste. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Pulse a couple more times until integrated.

Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with the food processor on, until the ingredients form an emulsified, integrated, pesto. Taste and adjust sea salt.

To use as a pasta condimento: Cook pasta until 30 seconds short of al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of cooking liquid. Return the pasta to the warm pot, now removed from heat. Add any other ingredients. Add the pesto until the desired consistency. Add the cooking liquid, only a tablespoon at a time, to help the pesto stick to the pasta. Stir well. Plate, garnish, and serve.

Cucumber Gimlet

2009-05-26T10:00:00.008-04:00

This wasn't my first cucumber-infused gin cocktail recipe, but it was so good it had to be the first I posted. The gimlet is a fine drink—particularly when not made with Rose's syrup—but I often want something more refreshing, so I dress it up with sparkling water, yielding a Gin Rickey. Cucumber, so cooling and bright, is an even better addition.

Cucumber Gimlet

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients:

2 ounces (2 pony shots) cucumber-infused gin (recipe)
1/2 ounce (1/2 pony shot) lime juice
1/4 ounce (1/4 pony shot) simple syrup
1 slice cucumber
1 long lime twist

Fill a cocktail glass with large ice cubes. Set aside to chill.

Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes. Add the cucumber-infused gin, lime juice, and simple syrup to the shaker. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Let sit until the outside of the shaker starts to sweat.

Refreshing, Bright, Relaxing

With a small knife, cut a small slit in the middle of the cucumber. Thread the lime twist through the cucumber so that the cucumber is about halfway along the twist's length.

Discard the ice in the cocktail glass. Strain the contents of the shaker into the glass. Float the cucumber slice on top of the drink, with half of the twist in the drink and half twisting upward above the glass. Enjoy.

Cucumber-Infused Gin

2009-05-26T09:30:00.009-04:00

Cucumber and gin are a great pairing, a refreshing, almost relaxing combination perfect for the warmer months. This recipe prepares a three-day infusion of gin and cucumber, suitable for use in a wide range of drinks.

Cucumber-Infused Gin

Cucumber and gin are such a great match that some distillers include cucumber in their juniper-based botanical flavoring. Hendrick's Gin is the leading example. In Hendrick's, the cucumber is a background note, and our intention is to make it a foreground. For this infusion, I recommend you start with Hendrick's Gin, as we know its botanical flavorings are compatible with cucumber. Plymouth Gin, which boasts no bitters in its botanicals, is a suitable substitute.

It might seem a bit odd to infuse another flavor into gin, since gin is already flavored, but gin is not traditional made via infusion. Proper gin is prepared by distilling mash into a neutral grain spirit, which is then flavored with botanicals. Finally, the flavored spirit is redistilled. The resulting product, gin, is a pure spirit, with no additives, and only a mild hint of the original botanicals.

Our infusion is different. We aren't redistilling. We aren't looking for subtle background notes. We want to capture as much of cucumber's essence as possible, yet cucumber is not rich in essential oils. So we macerate the cukes in gin for three days, until the gourd has given all it can give. We then squeeze out every ounce of liquid. The result is bright and refreshing.

For this recipe, I recommend you use garden cucumbers, also known as market cucumbers. They are the size of a large American pickle, squat and thick. Garden cucumbers have great flavor, but they aren't seedless. You will need to skin and seed the cukes before infusing. European, also called english, cucumbers are longer and thinner and seedless. Their lack of seeds is appealing, but they aren't as flavorful.

Makes 750 milliliters of cucumber-infused gin.

Ingredients:

one 750 milliliter bottle Hendrick's Gin
3 garden cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped

Place the peeled, seeded, and diced cucumbers in a large pitcher or other container with a lid. Add the bottle of gin. Stir. Set aside in a cool, dark place (the refrigerator if needed) for 3 days. Once per day, stir.

Infusing the Gin

Place a fine mesh strainer over a large liquid measuring cup. Strain the cucumber infusion through the strainer and into the measuring cup. Using a spoon or dowel, push as much liquid as possible out of the cucumber and through the strainer.

Place a cheesecloth-lined funnel in the original gin bottle. Pour the contents of the measuring cup through the cheesecloth and into the bottle. Will keep 6 months. Does not need refrigeration.

Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa Verde and Cotija

2009-05-21T10:00:00.011-04:00

As the days turn sunnier and Memorial Day approaches, it is time to warm up the grill.

Steak tacos, when the steak is barely medium rare and cut across the grain and topped with a spicy salsa, make for a delicious meal. Here, we use skirt steak and garnish it with grilled tomatillo and jalapeño salsa verde, chopped cilantro, and cotija.

Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa Verde and Cotija

As with my bavette a la bordelaise recipe, I greatly prefer skirt steak over flank, hanger, and other bistro and fajita-style cuts. But there is a catch. You absolutely must cut the steak across the grain. Not at a bias, but tangential to the grain. The result is not pretty—small bundles of fibers that almost look stewed, falling apart—but the tough, fibrous skirt steak will transform into tender morsels you barely have to chew.

Cotija is a granular, crumbly, rather salty cow's milk cheese originally from the eponymous Michoacán town. Cotija's most noticeable flavor is salt, but it also offers tangy notes of sour milk. Cotija production begins by milling raw milk curds into small grains, which are then pressed into blocks. The cheese crumbles and grates easily, separating into varied shapes. In the mouth, the cheese separates further into smaller grains, imparting wonderful texture. Cotija is great crumbled onto soups and black beans—and it is perfect crumbled onto tacos.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

12 corn tortillas, white or yellow
1.5 pounds skirt steak
about 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
2 cups grilled tomatilla salsa verde (recipe)
1 cup roughly-chopped cilantro, to serve
1 cup crumbled cotija, to serve
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Let the steaks rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Lightly brush with grape seed oil. Season both sides with sea salt and black pepper.

Preheat your grill to high. Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and place on the top rack of the grill.

Grill until browned and starting to char on one side, about 3 minutes. Flip the steaks over and grill until the other side is browned and starting to char and the steak is just medium rare, about 3 more minutes. Remove from the grill and reserve to an aluminum foil pouch to rest for 5 minutes.

Slicing the flank steak across the grain

Slice across the grain into 1/4 inch thick and 2-3 inch long slices (if needed cut the steaks in half so that each slice is 2-3 inches long).

Ready to eat

Transfer the sliced meat to a serving platter. Serve the skirt steak, tomatillo salsa verde, cilantro, and cotija. To assemble a taco, place a couple slices of steak in the middle of a tortilla. Spoon tomatillo salsa verde over the steak. Garnish with cilantro and cotija. Pairs well with a habanero & guava margarita.

Grilled Tomatillo and Jalapeño Salsa Verde with Agave Syrup

2009-05-21T09:30:00.010-04:00

This tart, spicy salsa verde made from grilled tomatillos—a relative of the tomato—is an excellent garnish on grilled skirt steak or carnitas.

Grilled Tomatillo and Jalapeño Salsa Verde with Agave Syrup

In Mexico, this sauce is traditionally prepared a bit watery and rather spicy, with the intention of spooning a small amount onto meats and vegetables, as opposed to consuming vast amounts as a dressing or dip. We employ heavy hand, then, in adding the jalapeño. For an even more potent bite, replace a jalapeño or two with a green habanero. Tomatillos are tart, and when coupled with the spicy chile pepper and pungent garlic, this can be a mouth puckering salsa. Thus we add a spot or two of agave syrup, a natural sweetener derived from the blue agave plant, the base of tequila, to round out the salsa.

Makes about 2 cups of salsa verde.

Ingredients:

1 pound (7-8) tomatillos, husked and stemmed
6 jalapeños, stemmed
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons key lime juice
1-2 teaspoons agave syrup
sea salt, to taste
chive sprigs, to garnish

You can broil or grill the tomatillos and jalapeños.

To broil: Preheat your broiler. Arrange the tomatillos and jalapeños on an aluminum foil-lined half baking sheet (you cannot use a Silpat under a broiler). Place in the oven and broil until browned on one side and almost cooked through, 6-7 minutes. Turn over and broil until browned on the other side and fully cooked through, 4-5 more minutes. Keep an eye on the jalapeños, they may be done a minute or so before the tomatillos. Remove from oven and let cool. Reserve any leaked juice off of the aluminum foil.

To grill: Preheat your grill. Arrange the tomatillos and jalapeños directly on the grill, over a warm spot. Grill until browned on the bottom and almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Turn over and grill until cooked through and browned on the other side, 4-5 more minutes. Keep an eye on the jalapeños, they may be done a minute or so before the tomatillos. Remove from grill and let cool.

Place the charred jalapeños and the garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Reserve the mixture to a mixing bowl. Add the charred tomatillos to the same bowl. Process until roughly puréed. Reserve the mixture, including any liquid, to the mixing bowl. Stir well to integrate. Add 1 teaspoon of the agave syrup. Stir and taste. If still too tart, add 1 more teaspoon. Add sea salt to taste.

Tart, spicy, delicioius

Use immediately or reserve to the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Serve, garnished with chive sprigs.

Crostini with Fava Bean and Pecorino Purée, Mozzarella di Bufala, Wild Fennel Pollen

2009-05-20T10:00:00.010-04:00

This crostino is an excellent spring first course or antipasto. The ingredients are simple and the preparation is rustic, but together the fava bean and pecorino purée, the mozzarella di bufala, the crispy sprouts, and the wild fennel pollen net a delicious dish of both varied textures and tastes.

Makes 2 crostini, sufficient for 2 large first courses.

Ingredients:

1 cup shelled fava beans (about 1 pound unshelled)
1/2 cup freshly-grated Pecorino Romano
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 thick slices rustic country bread
1 orb mozzarella di bufala, cut in half
1/2 cup spring sprouts
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel
1/2 teaspoon and 1/2 teaspoon wild fennel pollen
sea salt, to taste

Bring a large stockpot of heavily-salted water to a boil. Add the fava beans and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain and immediately plunge into an ice bath. As soon as they are cool, drain again. Using the tip of a small, sharp knife, lightly make an incision down the underside of the bean's outer skin. From the other side of the skin, gently squeeze out the bean. Peel off and discard the bean's skin.

Peeled fava beans in a mortar

Place the peeled beans and Pecorino Romano in a mortar.

Grinding the fava beans to a rough paste

Using a pestle, grind to a a rough, slightly chunky, paste. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust the consistency via more olive oil, brightness via more lemon juice, and salinity via sea salt. Set aside.

On a grill or in a grill pan, toast the bread until just slightly toasted and starting to brown. Drizzle one side with olive oil. Season lightly with sea salt.

Spread a thick layer of the fava bean purée over the top of the toasted bread. Place a hemisphere of mozzarella in the middle of the bread, on top of the purée, flat side down. Place a small handful of spring sprouts on top of the mozzarella. Sprinkle a pinch of fleur de sel on top of the sprouts. Sprinkle wild fennel pollen on top of both the sprouts and the unadorned purée. Serve.

The Evans Gambit Cocktail

2009-05-19T10:00:00.006-04:00

I call this cocktail The Evans Gambit, after the chess move of the same name.

The Evans Gambit Cocktail

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients:

1.5 ounces (1 jigger shot) gin
1 ounce (1 pony shot) St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1 ounce (1 pony shot) grapefruit juice
1/8 teaspoon (1 dash, about 5 drops) Fee Brothers grapefruit bitters
1 small piece grapefruit peel

Fill a cocktail glass with large ice cubes. Set aside to let chill.

Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes. Add the gin, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, grapefruit juice, and bitters to the shaker. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Let rest until the outside of the shaker begins to sweat.

Strain into a cocktail glass.

Flame the grapefruit peel: Hold the peel over the cocktail glass, skin side down, and run a lit match back and forth across the skin with the flame about an inch away, firmly squeezing the peel until it ignites.

Rub the grapefruit peel over the rim of the cocktail glass. Toss in, skin side down. Enjoy.