Particularly for the vegetarians ...

Cochinillon (Suckling Pig)

A Spectacular Meal in Córdoba!

This is one of those epic meals that you only encounter once in your life. Naturally, the CC disdains such absurdly romantic notions so he went there for lunch two days later, and experienced it twice!

The picture of tomatoes below is deceptive. A picture cannot do it justice; it was poetry on a plate.

They were "only" tomatoes, sprinkled with fleur de sel (fiori di sale), and drizzled with olive oil. However, the tomatoes had quite literally been picked minutes before from the garden. They were still warm from the heat of the sun, and smelled like TOMATOES.

When years from now, the CC has his "madeleine"-moment, these tomatoes will be it!

Salmorejo, Gazpacho
Ajo blanco (Gazpacho with almonds)
Tomatoes with fleur de sel and olive oil
Frituras de verduras (Fried vegetables)
Rabo del toro (Braised oxtail)
Flan
Espresso

Oregano Pesto

Oregano is one of those rare herbs that both dries, and freezes well.

At the end of summer, the CC just makes a batch of pesto (oregano, olive oil, salt), and freezes it. Chip off a block and add it to anything you like.

Or you could just freeze it in those mini ice-trays, and then dump into a freezer bag.

Either way it works like a charm.

Pesto, Gigantes, Cherry Tomatoes

Last of the summer specials!

Arugula, Walnuts, Duck Salami

Pea-Broth Risotto

This recipe has summery goodness written all over it. It's a bit of work but not so much if you have an immersion blender (a "magic" tool, if ever there was one!)

Ingredients

1 lb organic unshelled peas (yeah, it needs to be organic!)
1 cup carnaroli rice
1 large red onion (diced)
basil
olive oil
basil
black pepper
salt
1 cup parmigiano-reggiano



Recipe

Shell the peas. Retain the shells. We are going to use the shells, and hence they need to be organic.

Fry half of the red onion for at least 4 minutes. Add the shells and fry at a low heat for at least 5-6 minutes. Add salt and pepper, and 4 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, and simmer at a low heat for 20 minutes.

Blend the mixture. The pods are absurdly fibrous and will not really blend. Strain the mixture through a sieve, and toss the fibrous part. You will be left with a lovely pale-green pea broth.

Bring the pea broth to a low simmer.

Now, we make a standard risotto using the pea broth.

Fry the rest of the diced onions in some olive oil. Add in the rice. Fry for a bit until translucent. Add the broth in ladle, and stir. Broth and stir, broth and stir, broth and stir till the risotto is almost done.

Add the peas towards the end. They will cook very fast. Add the basil as well.

Finally, the mantecura with the parmigiano-reggiano.

If ever there was green sex in a bowl, this would be it!

"He's Not Mad, He's Merely Crazy ..."

"... and he's the Tomato Man!", said the farmer to his buddies at the crack of dawn.

Twenty pounds of tomatoes, half a pound of tomato paste, happiness next February!

(For the visually inclined.)

Summer Corn Chowder

Recipe: Corn Chowder.

This has a ton of basil instead of parsley, and is best served cold.

Pasta with Summer Tomato Sauce

Recipe: Simple Tomato Sauce.

The Food of the Gods

heirloom tomatoes, raw-milk cheese, basil, drizzled olive oil, fleur de sel

Eataly

One word review: absurd.

Two word review: merde extraordinaire.

Three word review: horrible and overpriced.

This is New York not some shitty provincial town. It's easy enough to get fine ingredients. You could take a cab-ride everywhere, get better stuff, and it would still be cheaper!

So, if you want to buy shitty tomatoes at $8/lb (which are from Florida, by the way), go ahead! The rest of us will just buy some real tomatoes.

Globalización

You scour India looking for real asafoetida (= resinous form) and you find it in ... Spain?

Por qué no?

The Cure for Depression

Twelve pounds of heirloom tomatoes from a record hot summer. Cheaper than a therapist!

Tapas en España : Part 5

Manzanilla
Pulpo
Jamón Iberico

Tapas en España : Part 4

This is squid stuffed with a mixture of cooked cod eggs, onions, and peppers served cold.

This is bacalão (rehydrated dried cod) poached, and served with squid ink, and a hot sauce with peppers.

Tapas en España : Part 3

Cañaillas

Tapas en España : Part 2

Pulpo (Galician style)
Boquerones
Gambas al ajillo

Tapas en España : Part 1

Salpicón de mariscos
Pan con gambas y ajillo

Spain

The CC is headed to Spain for a "long" vacation. Back with wondrous food stories "soon"!

Heatwave

If you don't know, we're suffering from an epic heat wave. Too hot to cook, too hot to eat, and forget about posting!

Back soon.

Orecchiete with Beans, Carrots, Arugula and Pinenuts

This is another one of those week-day dishes that is far more phenomenal than it sounds. It is also amenable to prep ahead of time.

The Italians like to cook their arugula. It does bring out its peppery nature!

Ingredients

1 cup cooked beans (cannellini, or similar)
1 onion (sliced into thin half-rounds)
1 carrot
2 cups arugula
1/4 cup pinenuts

olive oil
salt
pepper
parmigiano-reggiano

Recipe

Cook the white beans in salted water until edible. This step can be done ahead of time, say on the weekend.

Shred the carrots using a box grater.

Toast the pinenuts on a skillet.

Cook the orecchiete in salted water until just under al dente.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a pan, and sautée the onions over medium-high heat. Fry the carrots, followed by the beans, salt and pepper. Add a few tablespoons of the pasta water to thin. Toss in the arugula followed by the orecchiete.

Top with the parm and the pinenuts.

An Evening Meal

The CC enjoys the spoils acquired at the Indonesian and Burmese markets.

The white rice is scattered with fried garlic. Mmmmmmmmmm..........

Burmese Food Festival : Part 3

And then there was eating ...

Poached Scallops over Spinach Couscous

This is the ultimate weekday dish. You should be able to manage this even with your "busy schedules" and "heatwaves".

If you can't manage this, the CC suggests you keep all the local takeouts and deliveries on speed dial. Oh, and you are not fit material for this blog.

Heat some tomato broth in a pan. When it comes to a simmer, turn the heat down. Add salt, pepper, herbs of your choice -- the CC added rosemary and/or thyme -- pop in the scallops and poach gently until they are barely set.

In parallel, the CC heated some water. Use the nuker. Drop in a bouillon cube (go on! don't be so uppity.) Pour it over the couscous. Cover. Let the couscous do its thing.

Remove the scallops from the pan using a slotted spoon. Turn the heat for the sauce on high, and reduce.

Plate as below. Not exactly rocket surgery but a perfectly balanced delicious meal.


This is a fairly general idea. You can poach squid, or shrimp, or even a fish fillet (for which you will need a larger amount of broth.)

You could even poach an egg.

You can use whatever herbs you have at hand. Sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano. You can bung in a chilli pepper or two for some heat. Or an anchovy for some umami.

The variations are endless. This is a meta-recipe.

As the CC said, it's the ultimate weekday dish.

Burmese Food Festival : Part 2

Burmese Food Festival : Part 1

Food better than the Roman emperors. What did the CC tell you?

This one was also in Queens. All proceeds went to a child-development charity if you need to feel good about gorging. (The CC doesn't care either way.)

Special note to the "fermented tea salad" in the last picture. It's wonderful, and has a textural variety and crunch that is similar to that Bombay specialty bhel.

Indonesian Food Festival : Part 5

And then we ate some more ...

Special note to the purplish drink which is made out of fermented black rice. This was not to everyone's taste but the CC loves kvass too so it's right up his sleeve. Tart and a great counterpoint to the food.

Wild Arugula Salad with Beans & Pistachios

The beans are the "yellow-eyed beans" from Rancho Gordo. They were prepped by boiling them with a little bit of prosciutto. Yep, this makes all the difference in the world. Vegetarians will never "get it" but at the very least they can read a technical explanation here.

The pistachios, are well, pistachios. However, they've been roasted lightly.

The greens are wild arugula. They are thinner and more peppery than their cultivated counterpart.

The vinaigrette is a standard one. It was made with pistachio oil to bring out the pistachio-ness of the ensemble.

The white shavings ia parmigiano-reggiano.

There is nothing complicated here but the attention to detail makes it go zing, zing, zing.

Indonesian Food Festival : Part 4

What we ate ...

All you Southern boys, please note the two kinds of fried chicken in the second picture. One is covered with lip-smacking hot-sweet-sour sauce. Finger-lickin' good! (and that's not some shitty corporate marketing bullshit neither!)