Saturday, September 1, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Tomato-Fest
Heirloom Tomatoes with "Arbequina" Olive Oil & Sea-Salt
♦
Cherry-Tomato Skewers with Truffled Cheese
♦
Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup
♦
Tomato Water Shots
◊
Pasta with Tomato Sauce
♦
Tomato, Tarragon, Lime & Jalapeño Granita
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
End of Hiatus
The CC has been missing for a while. Good and interesting things have been happening. Let's just call it Summer Siesta and be done with it.
However, he has been cooking up a storm, and reading like crazy. Expect some good material over the upcoming weeks.
However, he has been cooking up a storm, and reading like crazy. Expect some good material over the upcoming weeks.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Sardinian Pasta with Bottarga
Bottarga is the roe pouch of mullet (sometimes tuna) that is dried and cured in sea salt.
It's an extreme delicacy in the Mediterranean and also in Japan where it goes by the name of karasumi.
Since it's dried, it's generally served either grated or shaved into thin slices.
It makes for a wonderful dish with tomatoes that are bursting in flavor. The potent combination of umami from the bottarga, tomatoes and cheese make for an unforgettable combination.
Ingredients
1/2 lb dried pasta
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 dried red chilly pepper
3/4 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/2 lobe bottarga (grated fine)
1/2 cup Pecorino Sardo (grated - substitute by parmigiano-reggiano)
1/2 cup chopped chives
olive oil
Recipe
Meanwhile cook the pasta until al dente.
While the pasta and sauce are cooking, grate the bottarga fine using either a box grater or a microplane in a mixing bowl.
Toss the pasta, sauce, bottarga, chives and cheese together, and serve.
It's an extreme delicacy in the Mediterranean and also in Japan where it goes by the name of karasumi.
Since it's dried, it's generally served either grated or shaved into thin slices.
It makes for a wonderful dish with tomatoes that are bursting in flavor. The potent combination of umami from the bottarga, tomatoes and cheese make for an unforgettable combination.
Ingredients
1/2 lb dried pasta
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 dried red chilly pepper
3/4 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/2 lobe bottarga (grated fine)
1/2 cup Pecorino Sardo (grated - substitute by parmigiano-reggiano)
1/2 cup chopped chives
olive oil
Recipe
Note: The bottarga and the cheese contain plenty of salt. Please do not add any more or you risk the dish becoming overly salty. You can always taste and add in a little towards the end but the CC seriously doubts that you will need to.Sautée the garlic, chilly peppers in some olive oil. Add the tomatoes and a little black pepper, and let cook until the tomatoes are softened.
Meanwhile cook the pasta until al dente.
While the pasta and sauce are cooking, grate the bottarga fine using either a box grater or a microplane in a mixing bowl.
Toss the pasta, sauce, bottarga, chives and cheese together, and serve.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
A Summer Filipino Meal
The classic signature dish of Filipino cooking is the adobo.
In the great spirit of free-wheeling language that the Philippines subscribes to, and the fact that English loves verbalizing nouns, you can "adobo" anything!
Traditionally, it's been used for meats and seafoods but it extends to vegetables and all and sundry. It's one of the great meta-recipes of all time!
As with all classic dishes, if you query three people, you'd probably get thirty recipes so to invoke a broad generalization, you are looking at a cooked sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaves and black peppercorns reduced to various degrees depending on the dish.
Filipinos from the Bicol region even add coconut milk but this is considered "strange". A friend's father once stage whispered to the CC, "'Some' people even add coconut milk!"
Some people indeed do! Some strange people indeed!
As the Japanese say, 十人十色 (ten people, ten colors — different strokes for different folks!)
The salt (from the soy sauce) and vinegar betray the tropical origins of the dish. An acidic dish like that can be stored without any refrigeration because bacteria cannot grow in that environment.
You might think that the vinegar would give it a really sharp taste but cooking the vinegar gives it this smooth rounded mellow taste that's hard to describe but entirely brilliant. It sets your taste buds alive without that mouth-puckering taste that a tart vinaigrette might invoke.
For this summer meal, since the CC has access to really fresh seafood, a squid adobo was made. The sauce is finished off with the ink which gives it an iodine-y edge of the sea. (All of this is extraordinarily traditional.)
The side salad is another classic accompaniment - radishes, tomatoes and roasted dried anchovies in a slightly spicy sour sauce.
They definitely do love their souring agents!
Radish Salad with Anchovies (Dilis)
Ingredients
4 red radishes (or 1 small daikon)
2 tomatoes
4-6 tbsp vinegar (to taste)
2 tbsp patis (Filipino fish sauce)
4 green chillies (minced)
2 tbsp minced ginger
black pepper
1/2 cup dried anchovies
Recipe
Cut the radishes really fine. A mandoline helps here. Chop the tomatoes.
Mix together everything but the anchovies. This stuff can be prepared ahead of time. Be warned that the mixture will leach water as time goes by. (Yes, this is desirable.)
(The CC keeps the above mixture in the fridge for ready access. He loves this dish beyond reason. It makes the perfect "no-cook" nutritionally-complete dish for summer with umami out the wazoo.)
Roast the dried anchovies on a skillet. They will burn really quickly since they are really really flat and small so you need to be careful. Set aside.
Right before serving, mix the dried anchovies with the mixture above including the liquid. Serve right away.
Adobong Pusit (Squid Adobo)
(Source: Burnt Lumpia.)
Ingredients
1 lb squid (squid ink separated)
1 large red onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic
2 green chillies
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup cane vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup water
8-12 black peppercorns
squid ink
Recipe
Clean the squid and separate the ink from the ink-sac. This is a messy process so proceed carefully. Cut the squid into rings and set aside.
(In a chicken adobo which doesn't have the blackness of the squid ink, the black peppercorns are kept whole but for a dish like this, you're better off grinding the peppercorns.)
In a pan, heat the oil. Fry the onions, garlic, and green chillies for a bit. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, water, black peppercorns and bay leaves. Let reduce for a bit.
(Your nose will tell you when the vinegar no longer has that sharp vinegary taste. There is a very very characteristic "adobo smell", and only experience can teach you this one at least until the CC invents Smell-O-Vision™!)
Bring to a boil. Take off the heat.
Toss in the squid, and squid ink. The heat will cook the squid just enough to be ready.
In the great spirit of free-wheeling language that the Philippines subscribes to, and the fact that English loves verbalizing nouns, you can "adobo" anything!
Traditionally, it's been used for meats and seafoods but it extends to vegetables and all and sundry. It's one of the great meta-recipes of all time!
As with all classic dishes, if you query three people, you'd probably get thirty recipes so to invoke a broad generalization, you are looking at a cooked sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaves and black peppercorns reduced to various degrees depending on the dish.
Filipinos from the Bicol region even add coconut milk but this is considered "strange". A friend's father once stage whispered to the CC, "'Some' people even add coconut milk!"
Some people indeed do! Some strange people indeed!
As the Japanese say, 十人十色 (ten people, ten colors — different strokes for different folks!)
The salt (from the soy sauce) and vinegar betray the tropical origins of the dish. An acidic dish like that can be stored without any refrigeration because bacteria cannot grow in that environment.
You might think that the vinegar would give it a really sharp taste but cooking the vinegar gives it this smooth rounded mellow taste that's hard to describe but entirely brilliant. It sets your taste buds alive without that mouth-puckering taste that a tart vinaigrette might invoke.
For this summer meal, since the CC has access to really fresh seafood, a squid adobo was made. The sauce is finished off with the ink which gives it an iodine-y edge of the sea. (All of this is extraordinarily traditional.)
The side salad is another classic accompaniment - radishes, tomatoes and roasted dried anchovies in a slightly spicy sour sauce.
They definitely do love their souring agents!
Radish Salad with Anchovies (Dilis)
Ingredients
4 red radishes (or 1 small daikon)
2 tomatoes
4-6 tbsp vinegar (to taste)
2 tbsp patis (Filipino fish sauce)
4 green chillies (minced)
2 tbsp minced ginger
black pepper
1/2 cup dried anchovies
Recipe
Cut the radishes really fine. A mandoline helps here. Chop the tomatoes.
Mix together everything but the anchovies. This stuff can be prepared ahead of time. Be warned that the mixture will leach water as time goes by. (Yes, this is desirable.)
(The CC keeps the above mixture in the fridge for ready access. He loves this dish beyond reason. It makes the perfect "no-cook" nutritionally-complete dish for summer with umami out the wazoo.)
Roast the dried anchovies on a skillet. They will burn really quickly since they are really really flat and small so you need to be careful. Set aside.
Right before serving, mix the dried anchovies with the mixture above including the liquid. Serve right away.
Adobong Pusit (Squid Adobo)
(Source: Burnt Lumpia.)
Ingredients
1 lb squid (squid ink separated)
1 large red onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic
2 green chillies
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup cane vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup water
8-12 black peppercorns
squid ink
Recipe
Clean the squid and separate the ink from the ink-sac. This is a messy process so proceed carefully. Cut the squid into rings and set aside.
(In a chicken adobo which doesn't have the blackness of the squid ink, the black peppercorns are kept whole but for a dish like this, you're better off grinding the peppercorns.)
In a pan, heat the oil. Fry the onions, garlic, and green chillies for a bit. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, water, black peppercorns and bay leaves. Let reduce for a bit.
(Your nose will tell you when the vinegar no longer has that sharp vinegary taste. There is a very very characteristic "adobo smell", and only experience can teach you this one at least until the CC invents Smell-O-Vision™!)
Bring to a boil. Take off the heat.
Toss in the squid, and squid ink. The heat will cook the squid just enough to be ready.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Apologia
As you well know, this summer has been a scorcher. The herbs have died in the heat, and as for cooking, forget about it.
There have been a lot of cold salads in the CC's repertoire lately!
So posts will be resuming shortly just as it cools off a little.
There have been a lot of cold salads in the CC's repertoire lately!
So posts will be resuming shortly just as it cools off a little.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Indonesian Crackers
The Indonesians have an entire world of fried crackers - krupuk - quite possibly the most variety in the world.
One that particularly stand out are called rempeyek. They are made with rice flour, coconut milk, spices and an extra ingredient.
The CC has seen the "extra" in the following variations - dried anchovies, peanuts, moong beans. Also, combinations of the afore-mentioned.
They are insanely addictive and not to be missed if you can find a local Indonesian market.
One that particularly stand out are called rempeyek. They are made with rice flour, coconut milk, spices and an extra ingredient.
The CC has seen the "extra" in the following variations - dried anchovies, peanuts, moong beans. Also, combinations of the afore-mentioned.
They are insanely addictive and not to be missed if you can find a local Indonesian market.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Julia was Right!
Turns out that butter is just better!
Particularly for sautéeing scallops.
And most of the fat just stays behind in the pan anyway, and you can drain them. They are rendered sweet and juicy just the way they were meant to be.
Of course, it matters that you get fresh scallops not frozen ones.
Particularly for sautéeing scallops.
And most of the fat just stays behind in the pan anyway, and you can drain them. They are rendered sweet and juicy just the way they were meant to be.
Of course, it matters that you get fresh scallops not frozen ones.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Miso-Glazed Cod
This is one of the simplest recipes that the CC has ever provided. It's basically a "shake-n-bake" with fancier ingredients, and definitely what you want in summer time when it's too hot to cook.
The only caveat is that you must prep it a day before.
Prepare a small side-salad (also cold) and you have a simple summer meal.
Ingredients
2 cod fillets
1/3 cup sake
1/3 cup mirin
4 tbsp miso paste
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
Recipe
Mix the ingredients together to a paste, and let the cod fillets marinate in it overnight in the refrigerator. (The CC just puts them all in a plastic bag.)
Turn the broiler on. Broil the fillets for 4 minutes.
(If you like you can reduce the marinade in a skillet over high heat and pour over the broiled fillets. This "pan sauce" is amazing!)
The only caveat is that you must prep it a day before.
Prepare a small side-salad (also cold) and you have a simple summer meal.
Ingredients
2 cod fillets
1/3 cup sake
1/3 cup mirin
4 tbsp miso paste
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
Recipe
Mix the ingredients together to a paste, and let the cod fillets marinate in it overnight in the refrigerator. (The CC just puts them all in a plastic bag.)
Turn the broiler on. Broil the fillets for 4 minutes.
(If you like you can reduce the marinade in a skillet over high heat and pour over the broiled fillets. This "pan sauce" is amazing!)
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
A Classical Keralan Lunch
A blast from the past but fun to remember nevertheless!
(Counter-clockwise) Spicy fish curry, papaddum, avial,
fried prawns, red lentils with coconut, rosematta rice
fried prawns, red lentils with coconut, rosematta rice
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Cashew Curry
This recipe really really rocks!
(Source: S. H. Fernando with some help from Peter Kuruvita.)
Cashew Curry
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups raw cashews
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 onion (diced fine)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2" piece ginger (minced)
2" stalk lemongrass
3-5 green chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tbsp Maldive fish flakes
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro (diced fine)
salt to taste
Recipe
Soak the cashews in water overnight. Yes, this is important.
Boil the cashews along with the turmeric until tender roughly 10-12 minutes. The CC used fresh turmeric but feel free to use the powdered stuff. Drain and set aside.
In a pan, heat some oil. When shimmering, add the curry leaves. Be careful since they tend to splatter. Add the onions, green chillies, garlic, lemongrass, ginger and fish flakes and fry for a bit till the onions are soft but not so much that they caramelize.
Add the cashews and the coconut milk, and bring to a boil on low heat. Add the coriander powder and let cook for about 6-7 minutes at a very low heat.
Sprinkle the cilantro just before serving.
Rice
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
6 pods cardamom
1 leaf pandanus (optional)
1 3/4 cups water.
Recipe
Fry the whole cardamoms in some oil until fragrant. Add the rice and the pandanus leaf and fry till well coated. Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let cook covered until done (roughly 10 minutes.)
(Source: S. H. Fernando with some help from Peter Kuruvita.)
Cashew Curry
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups raw cashews
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 onion (diced fine)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2" piece ginger (minced)
2" stalk lemongrass
3-5 green chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tbsp Maldive fish flakes
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro (diced fine)
salt to taste
Recipe
Soak the cashews in water overnight. Yes, this is important.
Boil the cashews along with the turmeric until tender roughly 10-12 minutes. The CC used fresh turmeric but feel free to use the powdered stuff. Drain and set aside.
In a pan, heat some oil. When shimmering, add the curry leaves. Be careful since they tend to splatter. Add the onions, green chillies, garlic, lemongrass, ginger and fish flakes and fry for a bit till the onions are soft but not so much that they caramelize.
Add the cashews and the coconut milk, and bring to a boil on low heat. Add the coriander powder and let cook for about 6-7 minutes at a very low heat.
Sprinkle the cilantro just before serving.
Rice
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
6 pods cardamom
1 leaf pandanus (optional)
1 3/4 cups water.
Recipe
Fry the whole cardamoms in some oil until fragrant. Add the rice and the pandanus leaf and fry till well coated. Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let cook covered until done (roughly 10 minutes.)
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Dinner chez le CC
Mizuna Salad
Broiled Hake with miso, mirin and shoyu
♥
Roasted Garlic and Duck-fat Ciabatta
New York Cheddar
♥
Strawberries
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Summer Sizzle
The city has gone from cold and rainy to muggy and stifling in the blink of an eye! Even eating is hard to do let alone contemplate slaving over a hot stove for hours.
In that spirit, here's a terrific recipe for a marinade for fish.
Two tablespoons white miso, 4 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp sake.
Marinade the fish.
Put in a broil-proof pan, add more of the marinade on top and broil for four minutes.
Serve with a cool salad.
In that spirit, here's a terrific recipe for a marinade for fish.
Two tablespoons white miso, 4 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp sake.
Marinade the fish.
Put in a broil-proof pan, add more of the marinade on top and broil for four minutes.
Serve with a cool salad.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Cooking Myths (Part 3)
There seems to be pervasive myth that if you remove the seeds from a green chilli then it loses its heat.
Except that all the heat of a chilli is in the skin not the seeds.
Remove them for aesthetic reasons but don't be under any delusion that you are reducting the heat quotient!
Except that all the heat of a chilli is in the skin not the seeds.
Remove them for aesthetic reasons but don't be under any delusion that you are reducting the heat quotient!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Dancing Fish Flakes
One of the spookiest presentation tricks used in Japanese pub food (izakaya) is topping hot food like takoyaki (fried octopus balls) with very thin shavings of katsuobushi.
The heat rising from the freshly fried food makes the thin shavings vibrate to and fro like seaweed.
It's both spectacular and creepy at the same time!
The heat rising from the freshly fried food makes the thin shavings vibrate to and fro like seaweed.
It's both spectacular and creepy at the same time!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Drunken Noodles with Shiitake & Cashews
Every time the CC reads one of those ridiculous vegan recipes written by a chick – and yes! it's always a chick – even when the flavor pairings are quite attractive, he realizes that they have absolutely no idea of what actually makes the recipe tick at either a deep scientific or cultural level.
This is one of those recipes.
So the CC being the CC went back and reworked the recipe back to what it should've been in the first place. The integrity of the recipe has been preserved (still the same flavor combinations), and it's still vegan!
At the heart of it, the recipe is a classic Japanese dashi-laden broth with udon noodles except that the broth has been infused with classic Indian flavors. Textural variation is added by the addition of cashews (definitely not Japanese since they are New World!) The mushrooms add the umami-oomph as explained here, and there are carrots for color and nutrition.
The recipe is terrific! (The CC's version not the zombie vegan chick's version which is positively upchuck-worthy!)
May technique and culture win over mindless zombie cultists! (Not terribly likely but one can only hope.)
Ingredients
4 cups dashi
1" ginger (chopped coarsely)
4-6 green chillies
1 pack udon noodles
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup carrots (cut into fine sticks)
1/2 cup cashews
2 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
salt
1/4 cup cilantro (finely chopped)
1 scallion (cut at a steep diagonal)
Recipe
Roast the cashews in the oven at 375°F for about 15 minutes. Be careful since they have a tendency to burn.
Meanwhile make the dashi. You can make it vegan by making it shōjin ryōri style by just using konbu.
Then add the ginger, green chillies, soy sauce, mirin, salt and sugar to it and let it stew gently for about 15 minutes. Strain, and toss the ginger and green chillies.
Toss in the shiitake mushrooms and carrots and set aside.
Taste. It should have a strong bite but be balanced in its flavor. Adjust as necessary.
Cook the udon noodles. Drain and pour them into individual bowls.
Top with the broth, cashews, scallions and cilantro.
This is one of those recipes.
So the CC being the CC went back and reworked the recipe back to what it should've been in the first place. The integrity of the recipe has been preserved (still the same flavor combinations), and it's still vegan!
At the heart of it, the recipe is a classic Japanese dashi-laden broth with udon noodles except that the broth has been infused with classic Indian flavors. Textural variation is added by the addition of cashews (definitely not Japanese since they are New World!) The mushrooms add the umami-oomph as explained here, and there are carrots for color and nutrition.
The recipe is terrific! (The CC's version not the zombie vegan chick's version which is positively upchuck-worthy!)
May technique and culture win over mindless zombie cultists! (Not terribly likely but one can only hope.)
Ingredients
4 cups dashi
1" ginger (chopped coarsely)
4-6 green chillies
1 pack udon noodles
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup carrots (cut into fine sticks)
1/2 cup cashews
2 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
salt
1/4 cup cilantro (finely chopped)
1 scallion (cut at a steep diagonal)
Recipe
Roast the cashews in the oven at 375°F for about 15 minutes. Be careful since they have a tendency to burn.
Meanwhile make the dashi. You can make it vegan by making it shōjin ryōri style by just using konbu.
Then add the ginger, green chillies, soy sauce, mirin, salt and sugar to it and let it stew gently for about 15 minutes. Strain, and toss the ginger and green chillies.
Toss in the shiitake mushrooms and carrots and set aside.
Taste. It should have a strong bite but be balanced in its flavor. Adjust as necessary.
Cook the udon noodles. Drain and pour them into individual bowls.
Top with the broth, cashews, scallions and cilantro.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Ras-el-Hanout
The name translates to "top-of-the-house" meaning the best spice blend that the spice house has to sell.
Each Moroccan spice house tries to outdo the other in the exoticism of their ingredients. This is just good advertising and product differentiation at play.
Given below is the CC's version which is adapted from Paula Wolfert and Mourad Lahlou.
It's also correctly "scaled-down" as explained here because most books give industrial-sized versions which rather than goad the CC into pawing his way to the kitchen make him contemplate on the elegance of takeout.
Ingredients
1 nutmeg
2 blades of mace
1 cinnamon stick (or cassia)
6 cloves
12 peppercorns
1 dried red pepper
1 small piece dried galangal
6 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp lavender
1/2 tsp grains of paradise
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried ginger powder
1/2 tsp aniseed (or fennel)
10 dried rose buds
large pinch of saffron
Each Moroccan spice house tries to outdo the other in the exoticism of their ingredients. This is just good advertising and product differentiation at play.
Given below is the CC's version which is adapted from Paula Wolfert and Mourad Lahlou.
It's also correctly "scaled-down" as explained here because most books give industrial-sized versions which rather than goad the CC into pawing his way to the kitchen make him contemplate on the elegance of takeout.
Ingredients
1 nutmeg
2 blades of mace
1 cinnamon stick (or cassia)
6 cloves
12 peppercorns
1 dried red pepper
1 small piece dried galangal
6 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp lavender
1/2 tsp grains of paradise
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried ginger powder
1/2 tsp aniseed (or fennel)
10 dried rose buds
large pinch of saffron
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Spring is Here
That means asparagus!
Also procured at the markets today — mizuna, parsley, cod, clams.
Still a little early for vegetables because of the cool weather we're having lately.
Also procured at the markets today — mizuna, parsley, cod, clams.
Still a little early for vegetables because of the cool weather we're having lately.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Maldive Fish Flakes
They are fish flakes that are made from skipjack tuna which is the same fish that the Japanese use to make katsuobushi.
The difference is that while the Japanese process involves smoked drying followed by a precise fermentation and sun-drying, the Sri Lankan process involves just sun-drying the lean parts of the fish.
They "dissolve" in the dish and lend it a deep umami flavor, and it's absolutely indispensible to Sri Lankan food.
The difference is that while the Japanese process involves smoked drying followed by a precise fermentation and sun-drying, the Sri Lankan process involves just sun-drying the lean parts of the fish.
They "dissolve" in the dish and lend it a deep umami flavor, and it's absolutely indispensible to Sri Lankan food.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Trip to New Orleans
The CC departs for New Orleans tomorrow.
He will leave with a Mark Twain quote:
He will leave with a Mark Twain quote:
New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.Oysters, ahoy!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Rolled Anchovies with Capers
These are anchovy fillets that are rolled around a caper. Eaten as an antipasto with some toasted bread or a cracker, it's like a rush of umami to the mouth.
How come the CC had never experienced them before?
They should be marketed as adult candy!
How come the CC had never experienced them before?
They should be marketed as adult candy!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
The Triumphant Return
The CC is back! Or at least the CC's computer is back from the dead.
Shopping trip in Astoria today.
Spanakopita, feta, salted anchovies, anchovies with capers, seafood salad, tarasamolata, baklava.
Happiness is a great grocery store!
Shopping trip in Astoria today.
Spanakopita, feta, salted anchovies, anchovies with capers, seafood salad, tarasamolata, baklava.
Happiness is a great grocery store!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Computer Crash
The CC has had a catastrophic hard-drive crash. Luckily, he's a big believer in backups so it should be fine.
The blog will be on hiatus for a week or so till he can get stuff up back and running.
The blog will be on hiatus for a week or so till he can get stuff up back and running.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Pasta with Anchovies, Greens & Beans
The Tuscans really really love their beans. They are mocked as being mangiafagioli (= bean-eaters) but they understand the glory of the bean.
This is a simple straightforward dish that has really deep complex flavors. It's umami-laden and nutritionally complete and costs almost nothing.
The frugal Tuscans know a few things!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup rigatoni (substitute by penne)
1/2 cup borlotti beans (fresh or dried, read below)
6 anchovies
3 cups wild greens (e.g. wild arugula, dandelion greens, etc.)
2 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
olive oil
parmigiano-reggiano (grated)
sea salt
black pepper
Recipe
First, cook the beans in salt water. If they are fresh, they will take less than 15 minutes to cook. If dried, about an hour. Separate but reserve the water.
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Toss in the pasta and cook until al dente (roughly 12 minutes.)
Meanwhile, fry the garlic in some olive oil. When golden, toss in the anchovies, and the beans. Sauté for a while. Add the beans and fry for about a minute. Toss in the water reserved above. Toss in the greens and cook for about 2 minutes.
Toss with the pasta, and serve with the parmesan and plenty of fresh black pepper.
This is a simple straightforward dish that has really deep complex flavors. It's umami-laden and nutritionally complete and costs almost nothing.
The frugal Tuscans know a few things!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup rigatoni (substitute by penne)
1/2 cup borlotti beans (fresh or dried, read below)
6 anchovies
3 cups wild greens (e.g. wild arugula, dandelion greens, etc.)
2 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
olive oil
parmigiano-reggiano (grated)
sea salt
black pepper
Recipe
First, cook the beans in salt water. If they are fresh, they will take less than 15 minutes to cook. If dried, about an hour. Separate but reserve the water.
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Toss in the pasta and cook until al dente (roughly 12 minutes.)
Meanwhile, fry the garlic in some olive oil. When golden, toss in the anchovies, and the beans. Sauté for a while. Add the beans and fry for about a minute. Toss in the water reserved above. Toss in the greens and cook for about 2 minutes.
Toss with the pasta, and serve with the parmesan and plenty of fresh black pepper.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Fada ni Khichdi
Documentary evidence has it that when the Emperor Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame) finally conquered what is modern-day Gujarat, he was so enamored of the extraordinarily humble khichdi (a traditional rice and lentils dish) that he insisted that the royal chef make it regularly!
The chef, used to making much fanciful stuff, was more than a little peeved at making something so pedestrian. The royal chef fancified it a bit (but not too much) and a compromise was reached of making it at most "once in a while" which translated to "weekly" since Emperors can insist on pretty much get away with anything that they desire!
That this is not just some legend comes down to us in the form of the royal chef's cookbook/notes which have survived intact.
What this tells you is that even Emperors get tired of the same ol', same ol' no matter how fancy it is. Novelty is the name of the game, and even a peasant dish from a newly conquered territory can fascinate the Emperor and from there on, be elevated to finer culinary standards.
It should be noted that this is a trend among most high-end restaurants today which are busy trampling all over themselves to turn offal and lentils into new dishes, both substances being the cheapest of the cheap, and thus the provenance of the peasant not the gourmand.
The dish below is a traditional variation on the Gujarati khichdi that uses cracked wheat instead of rice (again variation and novelty, and it's even "traditional".)
The idea works on the same principle as a risotto but the mixture tends towards the soft and chewy but not mushy. The vegetables add color, nutrition and texture.
Ingredients
1 cup yellow moong daal (split yellow daal)
3/4 cup bulgur wheat #3 (coarsest grind)
1 cup potatoes (diced into cubes)
1 cup green peas
1 cup green beans (diced)
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup carrots (diced into cubes)
1 cup onions (diced fine)
2 tbsp ginger + green-chilli paste
1/2 tsp turmeric
sea salt (to taste)
1 stick cinnamon
3 cloves
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black peppercorns
asafoetida
3 tbsp ghee
Recipe
Soak the moong daal and the cracked wheat in ice cold water separately for at least 30 minutes.
Remove, and dry thoroughly.
(To be blunt, this last part is painful because it's hard to get enough surface area to get the stuff to dry thoroughly. Do the best you can but remember, the drier it gets after soaking, the greater your chances of making the dish "memorable".)
In a seperate vessel, bring roughly 4 cups of water to a simmer. Keep warm.
Bring the ghee to a simmer. Toss in the cinnamon and fry for a bit. When fragrant, toss in the cumin, cloves, black peppercorns and asafoetida. Fry for a bit. Add the onions and fry languidly for 3-4 minutes until limp but not colored. Add the turmeric and ginger-green chilly paste and fry for a while.
Fry the potatoes for a bit.
Then fry the daal and the cracked wheat for a bit. Add 3 cups of water, and let cook at a low simmer for about 8 minutes. Add more hot water if it gets dry.
Towards the end, add the rest of the vegetables and let cook together. (Yes, this is a little tricky since you need to time everything exactly.)
The chef, used to making much fanciful stuff, was more than a little peeved at making something so pedestrian. The royal chef fancified it a bit (but not too much) and a compromise was reached of making it at most "once in a while" which translated to "weekly" since Emperors can insist on pretty much get away with anything that they desire!
That this is not just some legend comes down to us in the form of the royal chef's cookbook/notes which have survived intact.
What this tells you is that even Emperors get tired of the same ol', same ol' no matter how fancy it is. Novelty is the name of the game, and even a peasant dish from a newly conquered territory can fascinate the Emperor and from there on, be elevated to finer culinary standards.
It should be noted that this is a trend among most high-end restaurants today which are busy trampling all over themselves to turn offal and lentils into new dishes, both substances being the cheapest of the cheap, and thus the provenance of the peasant not the gourmand.
The dish below is a traditional variation on the Gujarati khichdi that uses cracked wheat instead of rice (again variation and novelty, and it's even "traditional".)
The idea works on the same principle as a risotto but the mixture tends towards the soft and chewy but not mushy. The vegetables add color, nutrition and texture.
Ingredients
1 cup yellow moong daal (split yellow daal)
3/4 cup bulgur wheat #3 (coarsest grind)
1 cup potatoes (diced into cubes)
1 cup green peas
1 cup green beans (diced)
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup carrots (diced into cubes)
1 cup onions (diced fine)
2 tbsp ginger + green-chilli paste
1/2 tsp turmeric
sea salt (to taste)
1 stick cinnamon
3 cloves
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black peppercorns
asafoetida
3 tbsp ghee
Recipe
Soak the moong daal and the cracked wheat in ice cold water separately for at least 30 minutes.
Remove, and dry thoroughly.
(To be blunt, this last part is painful because it's hard to get enough surface area to get the stuff to dry thoroughly. Do the best you can but remember, the drier it gets after soaking, the greater your chances of making the dish "memorable".)
In a seperate vessel, bring roughly 4 cups of water to a simmer. Keep warm.
Bring the ghee to a simmer. Toss in the cinnamon and fry for a bit. When fragrant, toss in the cumin, cloves, black peppercorns and asafoetida. Fry for a bit. Add the onions and fry languidly for 3-4 minutes until limp but not colored. Add the turmeric and ginger-green chilly paste and fry for a while.
Fry the potatoes for a bit.
Then fry the daal and the cracked wheat for a bit. Add 3 cups of water, and let cook at a low simmer for about 8 minutes. Add more hot water if it gets dry.
Towards the end, add the rest of the vegetables and let cook together. (Yes, this is a little tricky since you need to time everything exactly.)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Kinoko Gohan
The Japanese are great mushroom lovers. Even the Japanese word for "mushroom" has a wonderful etymology. It's comes from 木 (ki =tree) and 子(ko derived from kodomo =child.) It means "child of tree" since mushrooms grow under trees.
This is a mushroom lovers' dish. It's a basic every day dish in the same vein as asari gohan except that it uses mushrooms instead of clams.
There is a trick here though.
A variety of mushrooms all of varying textures are first cooked in umami-laden dashi, and then separated. The rice is then cooked in the doubly umami-laden mushroom broth.
There is a synergistic effect from the glutamate ions in the dashi and the 5'-ribonucleotide guanosine monophospate that is found in mushrooms. When foods rich in glutamate are combined with ingredients that have ribonucleotides, the resulting intensity of taste is far far higher than the sum thereof!
Completing the experience, you have a textural addition of seaweed and scallions.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cup japonica rice
1 package shimeji mushrooms
8 shiitake mushrooms
3 eringii mushrooms
1/2 cup oyster mushrooms
1/2 cup maitake mushrooms
1/2 cup enoki mushrooms
1 piece aburaage (fried tofu)
1 piece ginger (julienned as fine as you can)
1 cup dashi
2 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp mirin
2 tsp sugar
salt
1 bunch scallions (sliced at a steep diagonal)
nori (julienne strips)
Recipe
Wash and "polish" the rice in cold water until the surface starch is eliminated and the water runs clear. Takes between 4-6 washings. Drain and let sit wet for at least 30 minutes.
Soak the aburaage in boiling water to remove the oily part. Remove after 10 minutes, and cut up.
Boil the mushrooms and aburaage with the dashi, ginger, soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar and salt for just 3-4 minutes. The mushrooms should still have a bite.
Separate the mushroom broth from the mushrooms.
Cook the rice in this broth till done. Top with the mushrooms, cover the lid and let sit for 7-8 minutes.
Top each portion with the sliced nori and scallions.
This is a mushroom lovers' dish. It's a basic every day dish in the same vein as asari gohan except that it uses mushrooms instead of clams.
There is a trick here though.
A variety of mushrooms all of varying textures are first cooked in umami-laden dashi, and then separated. The rice is then cooked in the doubly umami-laden mushroom broth.
There is a synergistic effect from the glutamate ions in the dashi and the 5'-ribonucleotide guanosine monophospate that is found in mushrooms. When foods rich in glutamate are combined with ingredients that have ribonucleotides, the resulting intensity of taste is far far higher than the sum thereof!
Completing the experience, you have a textural addition of seaweed and scallions.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cup japonica rice
1 package shimeji mushrooms
8 shiitake mushrooms
3 eringii mushrooms
1/2 cup oyster mushrooms
1/2 cup maitake mushrooms
1/2 cup enoki mushrooms
1 piece aburaage (fried tofu)
1 piece ginger (julienned as fine as you can)
1 cup dashi
2 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp mirin
2 tsp sugar
salt
1 bunch scallions (sliced at a steep diagonal)
nori (julienne strips)
Recipe
Wash and "polish" the rice in cold water until the surface starch is eliminated and the water runs clear. Takes between 4-6 washings. Drain and let sit wet for at least 30 minutes.
Soak the aburaage in boiling water to remove the oily part. Remove after 10 minutes, and cut up.
Boil the mushrooms and aburaage with the dashi, ginger, soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar and salt for just 3-4 minutes. The mushrooms should still have a bite.
Separate the mushroom broth from the mushrooms.
Cook the rice in this broth till done. Top with the mushrooms, cover the lid and let sit for 7-8 minutes.
Top each portion with the sliced nori and scallions.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
The Thermodynamics of Tagines
Tagines work like closed nuclear cooling towers. The purpose of the hyperboloid cover is to cool the evaporating liquid and recycle it back slowly into the cooking pot thus allowing it to cook at a low temperature in the barest of liquid.
This also has the advantage of having the meat, vegetables or fish cook in their own broth. The broth is extracted from the underlying ingredients, turned into steam which condenses and drops back down. You get an intensely brothy liquid since the entire system is "sealed" for all practical purposes.
The heat supply from the flame is kept intentionally low. This is basically a very efficient braise with the heat coming from below rather than all around. It's very heat efficient compared to a traditional braise since you are not wasting time heating an oven where air is actually a very poor conductor of heat. Important for a culture where fuel was traditionally a very large expense.
Ancient science figured out empirically but actually quite amazing!
This also has the advantage of having the meat, vegetables or fish cook in their own broth. The broth is extracted from the underlying ingredients, turned into steam which condenses and drops back down. You get an intensely brothy liquid since the entire system is "sealed" for all practical purposes.
The heat supply from the flame is kept intentionally low. This is basically a very efficient braise with the heat coming from below rather than all around. It's very heat efficient compared to a traditional braise since you are not wasting time heating an oven where air is actually a very poor conductor of heat. Important for a culture where fuel was traditionally a very large expense.
Ancient science figured out empirically but actually quite amazing!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
A Korean Meal in K-Town
Watermelon juice and soju, grilled octopus, and why yes! that's spam in the last picture! Memories of the Americans, and indigenizing rations to make them more appetizing. (The Philippines has a similar concept too.)
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Shrimp Shells
If you buy fresh shrimp, save the shells. Boil in water for about 10-12 minutes, and it will make an amazing umami-laden shellfish broth.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Medieval Recipes for Spring Fever
Almost every civilization has a system by which they link food with bodily "humors" and attempt to control it.
The Romans had one, and India has one. China has a very elaborate one.
The "humors" (= dosha) in the Indian Ayurvedic system are called vāta (wind), pitta (bile) and kapha (phlegm.)
While the system dates back to the second millenium BCE, there is a particularly intriguing book written by a royal physician in the 16th century.
Ksemakuthuhalam was written by one Ksemasarma (clearly an attributive name rather than a real one since ksema means "welfare".)
Let's get right off the bat to the one of the best recommendations:
In any case, spring is here and the CC, quite clearly, has all of his dosha's completely and utterly out of sync. It's time to overcome all this buildup of vāta, pitta, etc.
Let's get medieval!
The Romans had one, and India has one. China has a very elaborate one.
The "humors" (= dosha) in the Indian Ayurvedic system are called vāta (wind), pitta (bile) and kapha (phlegm.)
While the system dates back to the second millenium BCE, there is a particularly intriguing book written by a royal physician in the 16th century.
Ksemakuthuhalam was written by one Ksemasarma (clearly an attributive name rather than a real one since ksema means "welfare".)
Let's get right off the bat to the one of the best recommendations:
During spring season, one should overcome the buildup of vāta, pitta and kapha by respectively embracing, kissing and enjoying intercourse with a damsel in the middle of her youth, moon-faced, lotus-eyed and made-up for the occasion.The CC wonders what he recommends for a damsel with the buildup of vāta, pitta, etc. Perhaps a moon-faced, lotus-eyed, etc. young man? Or a moon-faced, etc. damsel?
In any case, spring is here and the CC, quite clearly, has all of his dosha's completely and utterly out of sync. It's time to overcome all this buildup of vāta, pitta, etc.
Let's get medieval!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A Sensational Woman in a Man's World
Anne Vallayer-Coster may very well be forgotten now but it's important to know that she was recognized as a progidy in her time. Her precocious talent was recognized, and rewarded at the French court particularly by Marie Antoinette.
What ended her career was the French revolution and the guillotine. Still she managed to maneuver her way by painting for Napoleon and died at a ripe old age.
Her masterpiece is the Still Life with Lobster.
In order to understand why it must, absolutely must be a lobster, you must read this.
What ended her career was the French revolution and the guillotine. Still she managed to maneuver her way by painting for Napoleon and died at a ripe old age.
Her masterpiece is the Still Life with Lobster.
In order to understand why it must, absolutely must be a lobster, you must read this.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
A Medieval Evening
The CC is making a lamb tagine with apricots, dates and almonds.
He just made his own ras el hanout and the house smells like a garden.
Pictures and recipes to follow.
He just made his own ras el hanout and the house smells like a garden.
Pictures and recipes to follow.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Polenta
Let's get the obvious out of the way first.
Polenta is delicious but it's a pain to make. Thankfully, it's not difficult, it just requires a Zen attitude where you do nothing but stir. Patiently. (Bring a book and learn how to read it with the other hand!)
The discovery of the New World is what made corn popular in Europe. It transformed ancient food patterns into new ones with the discovery of a "cheaper" cereal.
Polenta is finely ground corn meal that is cooked slowly with water, salt and spices. It needs to be stirred frequently to prevent it from sticking, and this is boring. Also, towards the tail end it has a tendency to splatter so one must be careful.
Traditionally, it was made in a copper kettle that was hung over the fire with the kettle being whirled while the housewife walked back and forth doing her chores. The "mush" was poured out from the spigot and nobody asked too many questions.
Today alas, we have to stir it manually in an open pot over the stove. At least the non-stick coatings make this a relatively straightforward job!
There are multiple ways to enjoy it afterwards.
One is as a wet mush which is served as an accompaniment to meats, gravies, etc.
Another is to cook it and then pour it into a dish (and sometimes baked) where it will solidify into a "cake" which you can then cut up and serve with meats, gravies, etc.
Third is to take the solidified version and fry it again in olive oil or butter and some herbs to amp up the flavor. If you mentally thought that this is how you reheat it in older times in the absence of a microwave, give yourself a gold star.
The CC frequently makes it with dashi instead of plain water to give it a bit of an umami oomph.
Like all dishes that have multiple incarnations, preferences abound. The CC's is for the solider version.
Polenta is delicious but it's a pain to make. Thankfully, it's not difficult, it just requires a Zen attitude where you do nothing but stir. Patiently. (Bring a book and learn how to read it with the other hand!)
The discovery of the New World is what made corn popular in Europe. It transformed ancient food patterns into new ones with the discovery of a "cheaper" cereal.
Polenta is finely ground corn meal that is cooked slowly with water, salt and spices. It needs to be stirred frequently to prevent it from sticking, and this is boring. Also, towards the tail end it has a tendency to splatter so one must be careful.
Traditionally, it was made in a copper kettle that was hung over the fire with the kettle being whirled while the housewife walked back and forth doing her chores. The "mush" was poured out from the spigot and nobody asked too many questions.
Today alas, we have to stir it manually in an open pot over the stove. At least the non-stick coatings make this a relatively straightforward job!
There are multiple ways to enjoy it afterwards.
One is as a wet mush which is served as an accompaniment to meats, gravies, etc.
Another is to cook it and then pour it into a dish (and sometimes baked) where it will solidify into a "cake" which you can then cut up and serve with meats, gravies, etc.
Third is to take the solidified version and fry it again in olive oil or butter and some herbs to amp up the flavor. If you mentally thought that this is how you reheat it in older times in the absence of a microwave, give yourself a gold star.
The CC frequently makes it with dashi instead of plain water to give it a bit of an umami oomph.
Like all dishes that have multiple incarnations, preferences abound. The CC's is for the solider version.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
An Ode to Fried Onions
They are brilliant of course, particularly on topping rice as many a mujaddara-fan probably knows.
They are a bit of a pain to make so the CC decided to do some scientific tinkering around. He quickly realized that if you could have the onions lose moisture naturally before frying then the frying would be faster, and there'd be less splattering (both worthy goals to pursue.)
Naturally, that brought the humble refrigerator into light since modern refrigerators are dessicators. The fridge is a natural dehydrating agent since they dry out the main cavity to prevent growth of bacteria and mold. Sticking the onions sliced up thinly overnight in the refrigerator tends to dry them out which is not a good thing normally but it's brilliant for fried onions!
They are a bit of a pain to make so the CC decided to do some scientific tinkering around. He quickly realized that if you could have the onions lose moisture naturally before frying then the frying would be faster, and there'd be less splattering (both worthy goals to pursue.)
Naturally, that brought the humble refrigerator into light since modern refrigerators are dessicators. The fridge is a natural dehydrating agent since they dry out the main cavity to prevent growth of bacteria and mold. Sticking the onions sliced up thinly overnight in the refrigerator tends to dry them out which is not a good thing normally but it's brilliant for fried onions!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Buttermilk Roast Chicken & Green Bean Salad
This is the closest you are likely to come to the ethereal ideal of the Southern fried chicken without frying the chicken.
It pulls out all the tricks of marination to make it memorable.
Most importantly, it can all be made ahead of time and quickly assembled on a Monday (attn: office monkeys!)
Also, this assembly totally and utterly rocks for a picnic (or an office) eaten at room temperature.
For the vegetarians, the side salad is slap-your-mama good™ so there's something in here for everyone.
It just requires a tiny bit of effort ahead of time. For about 5 minutes. Surely even you have that!
Ingredients (Buttermilk Roast Chicken)
8 chicken thighs, or legs (with skin)
2 cups buttermilk
5 cloves garlic (smashed)
1 tbsp sweet paprika
4 tbsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp sea salt
Recipe
Marinate the chicken with the buttermilk, smashed garlic, sweet paprika, pepper and sea salt for at least 24 hours. Preferably 48.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
On a baking dish, arrange the chicken legs. (Throw the marinade away.) Drizzle with olive oil lightly and sprinkle some more paprika, sea salt and black pepper.
Roast for roughly 30 minutes until they are a bit brown.
Ingredients (Green Bean Salad)
1 lb green beans (trimmed)
1 large red onion
2 stalks celery
4 radishes (sliced real thin)
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sea salt
olive oil
Recipe
Slice the onion into really fine rings.
Whisk the vinegar, water, sugar and the sea salt together. Soak the onion rings in the mixture for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
Heat a small skillet with the olive oil. Fry the almonds until they are golden. Remove and let cool. When cool, cut into halves or thirds. (Yes, this matters. Roasting the almonds is simply not the same here.)
Assemble an ice bath. Water + Ice.
Heat a pot of water. Dunk the trimmed beans into the boiling water for about 5-6 minutes until tender. Dump out the water. Dump the beans into the ice-bath.
Remove the onions from the pickling liquid. Keep the liquid.
Assemble the salad. Beans, celery, radishes, almonds.
Make a vinaigrette with the pickling liquid and toss everything together.
Slap-your-mama™ while eating!
It pulls out all the tricks of marination to make it memorable.
Most importantly, it can all be made ahead of time and quickly assembled on a Monday (attn: office monkeys!)
Also, this assembly totally and utterly rocks for a picnic (or an office) eaten at room temperature.
For the vegetarians, the side salad is slap-your-mama good™ so there's something in here for everyone.
It just requires a tiny bit of effort ahead of time. For about 5 minutes. Surely even you have that!
Ingredients (Buttermilk Roast Chicken)
8 chicken thighs, or legs (with skin)
2 cups buttermilk
5 cloves garlic (smashed)
1 tbsp sweet paprika
4 tbsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp sea salt
Recipe
Marinate the chicken with the buttermilk, smashed garlic, sweet paprika, pepper and sea salt for at least 24 hours. Preferably 48.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
On a baking dish, arrange the chicken legs. (Throw the marinade away.) Drizzle with olive oil lightly and sprinkle some more paprika, sea salt and black pepper.
Roast for roughly 30 minutes until they are a bit brown.
Ingredients (Green Bean Salad)
1 lb green beans (trimmed)
1 large red onion
2 stalks celery
4 radishes (sliced real thin)
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sea salt
olive oil
Recipe
Slice the onion into really fine rings.
Whisk the vinegar, water, sugar and the sea salt together. Soak the onion rings in the mixture for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
Heat a small skillet with the olive oil. Fry the almonds until they are golden. Remove and let cool. When cool, cut into halves or thirds. (Yes, this matters. Roasting the almonds is simply not the same here.)
Assemble an ice bath. Water + Ice.
Heat a pot of water. Dunk the trimmed beans into the boiling water for about 5-6 minutes until tender. Dump out the water. Dump the beans into the ice-bath.
Remove the onions from the pickling liquid. Keep the liquid.
Assemble the salad. Beans, celery, radishes, almonds.
Make a vinaigrette with the pickling liquid and toss everything together.
Slap-your-mama™ while eating!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Pasta with Pistachios, Meyer Lemon and Broccoli
Nobody in their right mind would call this an "Italian" recipe.
It has California written all over it in the good sense of the word not the "other" one but the CC is not going to get into that particular Vietnam.
That having being said, it's quite an intriguing flavor combination, and with the right fresh ingredients definitely knocks it out of the park.
This being the season for Meyer lemons, and also the season where brassica fatigue has set in, is probably the right time to make something that will make your tastebuds perk up.
There are some real curveballs here at least if you are used to cooking Italian food. The "pesto" is heated up which sounded really strange but actually is correct once you understand which ingredients are being used.
This is a homage not "authentic" and should be clearly understood as such.
It's also freakin' delicious!
Ingredients
2 cups penne (anything long and tubular)
1 cup pistachios
1 cup parsley
1/2 cup mint
2 cloves garlic
4 dried red chilli peppers
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano
2 Meyer lemons (zested and rest juiced)
1/2 cup olive oil (your finest!)
2 cups broccoli florets
parmigiano reggiano (grated)
black pepper
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Roast the pistachios for about 8 minutes. Let cool.
Grind to a coarse powder in a food processor. Set aside.
Meanwhile, put the lemon zest, parsley, mint, garlic, dried red chilli peppers, olive oil and parmigiano-reggiano in the same food processor, and grind to a loose paste.
There is some parallelism below so read carefully before execution.
For the pasta, heat some water with tons of sea salt. When the water comes to a rolling boil, add the pasta and let cook for 9 minutes. Add the broccoli and let cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Grab a cup of the boiling pasta water, and add it to the paste above. Add the coarse powdered pistachios and cook in a skillet at medium high heat for about 2 minutes.
Drain the pasta and the broccoli and put in a large bowl.
Add the cooked "pesto" above, and the juice from the lemons.
Toss, and let sit for about 4-5 minutes.
Serve with the parmigiano reggiano on top with additional black pepper.
It has California written all over it in the good sense of the word not the "other" one but the CC is not going to get into that particular Vietnam.
That having being said, it's quite an intriguing flavor combination, and with the right fresh ingredients definitely knocks it out of the park.
This being the season for Meyer lemons, and also the season where brassica fatigue has set in, is probably the right time to make something that will make your tastebuds perk up.
There are some real curveballs here at least if you are used to cooking Italian food. The "pesto" is heated up which sounded really strange but actually is correct once you understand which ingredients are being used.
This is a homage not "authentic" and should be clearly understood as such.
It's also freakin' delicious!
Ingredients
2 cups penne (anything long and tubular)
1 cup pistachios
1 cup parsley
1/2 cup mint
2 cloves garlic
4 dried red chilli peppers
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano
2 Meyer lemons (zested and rest juiced)
1/2 cup olive oil (your finest!)
2 cups broccoli florets
parmigiano reggiano (grated)
black pepper
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Roast the pistachios for about 8 minutes. Let cool.
Grind to a coarse powder in a food processor. Set aside.
Meanwhile, put the lemon zest, parsley, mint, garlic, dried red chilli peppers, olive oil and parmigiano-reggiano in the same food processor, and grind to a loose paste.
There is some parallelism below so read carefully before execution.
For the pasta, heat some water with tons of sea salt. When the water comes to a rolling boil, add the pasta and let cook for 9 minutes. Add the broccoli and let cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Grab a cup of the boiling pasta water, and add it to the paste above. Add the coarse powdered pistachios and cook in a skillet at medium high heat for about 2 minutes.
Drain the pasta and the broccoli and put in a large bowl.
Add the cooked "pesto" above, and the juice from the lemons.
Toss, and let sit for about 4-5 minutes.
Serve with the parmigiano reggiano on top with additional black pepper.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Roman Inheritance
If you look back far enough, human taste hasn't changed much and you can spot the modern in the ancient and vice versa.
Apicius refers to a collection of Roman recipes compiled somewhere in the late fourth to early fifth century. It's attributed ot Marcus Gavius Apicius, a Roman gourmand who lived in the first century (and hence the collection is extraordinarily unlikely to have written by him.)
Recipe 89 goes as follows:
Even though the CC has translated coliculis as "cauliflower", it could equally well have been cabbage or broccoli, or even all of them (all members of the brassica family really.) There is considerable leeway here.
You can see the similarities in a classical Sicilian recipe that uses pasta instead of boiled spelt (perhaps couscous would be closer?) with cauliflower, onions (substituting for leeks), anchovies, raisins and pinenuts. The only difference is the seasoning which calls for saffron not cumin, and the tomato paste which is entirely New World for reasons explained here.
The anchovies are the exact replacement for garum which is nothing more than a fish sauce made with anchovies. The Thai nahm pla or the Filipino patis are the closest modern equivalents.
You too can eat like a Roman gourmand. Indulge!
Pasta with Cauliflower, Anchovies, Raisins, Pine Nuts & Saffron
Ingredients
2 cups rigatoni (or penne.)
1 head cauliflower (separated into medium-sized florets)
1 large red onion (chopped)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup raisins
6 anchovies (preferably salt-cured)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp saffron
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
breadcrumbs
Recipe
Toast the breadcrumbs and set aside. Toast the pine nuts until golden. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil at medium heat. When shimmering, add the cauliflower and fry languidly for 6-8 minutes. Add the onions and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, and the anchovies and fry. The anchovies will "dissolve" as they fry. Add a cup of water, the raisins, sea salt, and black pepper, and let cook at low heat.
Meanwhile make the pasta until al dente. Drain.
The cauliflower mixture should be just slightly on the wet side. If dry, add some more water.
Toss in the saffron, and the pasta, and mix thoroughly.
Serve with the roasted breadcrumbs on top, and more black pepper if you like.
Apicius refers to a collection of Roman recipes compiled somewhere in the late fourth to early fifth century. It's attributed ot Marcus Gavius Apicius, a Roman gourmand who lived in the first century (and hence the collection is extraordinarily unlikely to have written by him.)
Recipe 89 goes as follows:
Coliculis conditis ut supra superfundes alicam elixam cum nucleis et uva passa; piper asparges.The "as above" refers to an earlier recipe (87) where the sauce consists of garum, olive oil, wine and cumin topped with fried leeks.
Over the young cauliflower, seasoned as above, pour boiled spelt with pine nuts and raisins; sprinkle with pepper.
Even though the CC has translated coliculis as "cauliflower", it could equally well have been cabbage or broccoli, or even all of them (all members of the brassica family really.) There is considerable leeway here.
You can see the similarities in a classical Sicilian recipe that uses pasta instead of boiled spelt (perhaps couscous would be closer?) with cauliflower, onions (substituting for leeks), anchovies, raisins and pinenuts. The only difference is the seasoning which calls for saffron not cumin, and the tomato paste which is entirely New World for reasons explained here.
The anchovies are the exact replacement for garum which is nothing more than a fish sauce made with anchovies. The Thai nahm pla or the Filipino patis are the closest modern equivalents.
You too can eat like a Roman gourmand. Indulge!
Pasta with Cauliflower, Anchovies, Raisins, Pine Nuts & Saffron
Ingredients
2 cups rigatoni (or penne.)
1 head cauliflower (separated into medium-sized florets)
1 large red onion (chopped)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup raisins
6 anchovies (preferably salt-cured)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp saffron
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
breadcrumbs
Recipe
Toast the breadcrumbs and set aside. Toast the pine nuts until golden. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil at medium heat. When shimmering, add the cauliflower and fry languidly for 6-8 minutes. Add the onions and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, and the anchovies and fry. The anchovies will "dissolve" as they fry. Add a cup of water, the raisins, sea salt, and black pepper, and let cook at low heat.
Meanwhile make the pasta until al dente. Drain.
The cauliflower mixture should be just slightly on the wet side. If dry, add some more water.
Toss in the saffron, and the pasta, and mix thoroughly.
Serve with the roasted breadcrumbs on top, and more black pepper if you like.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Spicy Curried Clams with Chickpeas
This is clearly a French thought on how to Indianize a recipe.
The CC expounded long ago and on length on the role of curry powder in the global 19th century economy so there's no point in repeating that.
The recipe is awesome. And quick. And nutritious. And weekday compatible.
So just grab a baguette, pour a glass of steely dry white wine, agree to not quibble about the origins and just enjoy it, alright?
Ingredients
18 clams
1 small red onion (chopped fine)
1/2" ginger (julliened)
1 green chilly (crushed)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
2 tbsp curry powder
1 cup white wine
1 cup chickpeas (cooked)
sea salt
black pepper
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 lime (juiced)
Recipe
The recipe is fairly obvious.
Cook the chickpeas. The CC promises not to scoff if you use canned. However, it's best to cook them ahead of time.
Fry some olive oil at medium heat, and toss in the onions, ginger, garlic and green chilly paste. Fry languidly for 6-8 minutes Toss in the clams. When coated, toss in the white wine, black pepper, and the curry powder. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer.
As the clams open, remove them and place them in the serving bowls.
Add the chickpeas, and reduce until it's a wet mixture but not too dry. Add some water if its too dry. Serve over the clams. Add lime juice, and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with crusty bread.
The CC expounded long ago and on length on the role of curry powder in the global 19th century economy so there's no point in repeating that.
The recipe is awesome. And quick. And nutritious. And weekday compatible.
So just grab a baguette, pour a glass of steely dry white wine, agree to not quibble about the origins and just enjoy it, alright?
Ingredients
18 clams
1 small red onion (chopped fine)
1/2" ginger (julliened)
1 green chilly (crushed)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
2 tbsp curry powder
1 cup white wine
1 cup chickpeas (cooked)
sea salt
black pepper
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 lime (juiced)
Recipe
The recipe is fairly obvious.
Cook the chickpeas. The CC promises not to scoff if you use canned. However, it's best to cook them ahead of time.
Fry some olive oil at medium heat, and toss in the onions, ginger, garlic and green chilly paste. Fry languidly for 6-8 minutes Toss in the clams. When coated, toss in the white wine, black pepper, and the curry powder. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer.
As the clams open, remove them and place them in the serving bowls.
Add the chickpeas, and reduce until it's a wet mixture but not too dry. Add some water if its too dry. Serve over the clams. Add lime juice, and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with crusty bread.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
R.I.P. Katy Dalal
This is clearly two years too late but the CC just found out.
One of the doyennes of Parsi cooking passed away.
She was an archaelogist by training, and a cookbook writer by avocation. Her books are accurate and detailed as would befit a scholar. Produced in the days where substance matters more than form, they are tough on the eyes but delicious in the belly. Even the title was inviting Jamwa Chaloji (Let's Partake).
Farewell.
(Link: Obituary.)
One of the doyennes of Parsi cooking passed away.
She was an archaelogist by training, and a cookbook writer by avocation. Her books are accurate and detailed as would befit a scholar. Produced in the days where substance matters more than form, they are tough on the eyes but delicious in the belly. Even the title was inviting Jamwa Chaloji (Let's Partake).
Farewell.
(Link: Obituary.)
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Farmers' Market Haul
Some really excellent broccoli, parsley, pea shoots (a bit early!), carrots, clams, some cod.
They didn't have any marrow bones. Oh well!
They didn't have any marrow bones. Oh well!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Baked Cod with Golden Roasted Potatoes & Thyme
The pairing of fish and thyme is a classic combination all over the Mediterranean. Paired with golden roasted potatoes and a salad, it's a simple superb dish.
If you're wondering if this is not just a variation of this, you'd be right. You can't invent new tricks all the time. This is nothing more than the combinatorial approach to cooking which is the proverbial housewife's savior everywhere from Japan to India to the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
The CC will have a lot more to say about this subject but that's for a later post.
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 large cod fillet.
6-8 small roasting potatoes
4-6 sprigs thyme
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
Recipe
Preheat an oven to 375°F.
Toss the potatoes with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. Roast them for 15 minutes. Pull them out and toss again carefully to make sure they don't stick to the bottom. Toss springs of thyme all over them. Roast for another 20 minutes.
Meanwhile season the cod fillet by rubbing it with olive oil. Season with sea salt, black pepper and thyme.
Pull the pan out of the oven. Push the potatatoes aside to one side of the pan. Place the cod fillet gently on the other side and roast for 10 more minutes. Don't overcook it.
A quick salad with a nice lemony-vinaigrette pairs really well with this dish. (The salad above has thinly cut radishes added to give it some crunch and textural complexity.)
If you're wondering if this is not just a variation of this, you'd be right. You can't invent new tricks all the time. This is nothing more than the combinatorial approach to cooking which is the proverbial housewife's savior everywhere from Japan to India to the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
The CC will have a lot more to say about this subject but that's for a later post.
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 large cod fillet.
6-8 small roasting potatoes
4-6 sprigs thyme
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
Recipe
Preheat an oven to 375°F.
Toss the potatoes with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. Roast them for 15 minutes. Pull them out and toss again carefully to make sure they don't stick to the bottom. Toss springs of thyme all over them. Roast for another 20 minutes.
Meanwhile season the cod fillet by rubbing it with olive oil. Season with sea salt, black pepper and thyme.
Pull the pan out of the oven. Push the potatatoes aside to one side of the pan. Place the cod fillet gently on the other side and roast for 10 more minutes. Don't overcook it.
A quick salad with a nice lemony-vinaigrette pairs really well with this dish. (The salad above has thinly cut radishes added to give it some crunch and textural complexity.)
Monday, February 27, 2012
An Old Woman Fries Eggs
One of the great paintings by Velázquez is that of an old woman frying eggs while a young boy looks on and helps her.
The wonderful chiaroscuro is a joy to behold with the light appearing to come from the left. It was painted during his Seville period.
(Source of painting: Wikipedia.)
But what is she doing?
She is making huevos fritos con puntilla. These are eggs fried in hot olive oil where the oil is flicked around the edge of the egg to achieve a delicate lacey frill like that of a traje de Sevillana.
The evidence is the hot oil that she should be flicking over the edges of the egg whites with her wooden spoon. This is a reasonably high-risk procedure with the chance of hot droplets of oil splashing all over. Her right sleeve covers her hand to protect it but not her left. Most importantly, since this procedure can easily make the egg whites overcooked without the yolk having set, she seems instructing the boy to add a slug of olive oil to the earthenware cooking pot to cool down the oil.
She seems to be about to speak to him but his interest seems to have wandered. He just wants his abuela to make the damned eggs, and enough with the instruction already.
The eternal drama of youth and old age captured in a succint way!
The wonderful chiaroscuro is a joy to behold with the light appearing to come from the left. It was painted during his Seville period.
(Source of painting: Wikipedia.)But what is she doing?
She is making huevos fritos con puntilla. These are eggs fried in hot olive oil where the oil is flicked around the edge of the egg to achieve a delicate lacey frill like that of a traje de Sevillana.
The evidence is the hot oil that she should be flicking over the edges of the egg whites with her wooden spoon. This is a reasonably high-risk procedure with the chance of hot droplets of oil splashing all over. Her right sleeve covers her hand to protect it but not her left. Most importantly, since this procedure can easily make the egg whites overcooked without the yolk having set, she seems instructing the boy to add a slug of olive oil to the earthenware cooking pot to cool down the oil.
She seems to be about to speak to him but his interest seems to have wandered. He just wants his abuela to make the damned eggs, and enough with the instruction already.
The eternal drama of youth and old age captured in a succint way!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Winter Mac 'n Cheese
When winter strikes, there's nothing like a warm oven and some comfort food.
This, of course, is a classic but it's been gussied up with winter vegetables. It takes a little longer because you have to roast all the vegetables separately but it's wonderful when it all comes together.
The trick with vegetables of the brassica family (brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc.) is to roast them. It brings out the inherent sweetness in them without the smelly part (which occurs if you boil them.) They also happen to be absurdly nutritious.
The house will smell really nice with all the roasting and if you really want to amp it up a notch, a little truffle oil will take it to the next level.
Ingredients
4 cups whole-wheat penne
1 head radicchio (sliced into thin strips)
1 small cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 large carrot (diced)
butter
2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup gruyère (grated coarsely)
1 cup parmigiano-reggiano (grated coarsely)
4 tbsp fresh rosemary (chopped fine)
4 tbsp fresh thyme
breadcrumbs
nutmeg
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
2 tbsp truffle oil (optional)
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toss the radicchio with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake for about 15-18 minutes. Remove.
Toss the cauliflower with olive oil and pepper (no salt! - otherwise the mixture will be overly salty) and roast for about 15 minutes. Remove.
Cook the penne in heavily salted water until under al dente (about 12 minutes.)
Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Heat the butter. Add the flour, and let it cook at medium low heat until it is golden (but not brown). Add the milk and continue stirring. The sauce will continue to thicken. Add the salt, black pepper, nutmeg, rosemary and thyme, and take it off the heat.
Combine the penne, the sauce, vegetables, the cheeses, and truffle oil (if using) in a oven-proof casserole. Top off the dish with the breadcrumbs (this is the real secret to success!)
Bake covered for about 30 minutes. Bake uncovered for about 12-15 minutes until the top is golden and crispy.
This, of course, is a classic but it's been gussied up with winter vegetables. It takes a little longer because you have to roast all the vegetables separately but it's wonderful when it all comes together.
The trick with vegetables of the brassica family (brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc.) is to roast them. It brings out the inherent sweetness in them without the smelly part (which occurs if you boil them.) They also happen to be absurdly nutritious.
The house will smell really nice with all the roasting and if you really want to amp it up a notch, a little truffle oil will take it to the next level.
Ingredients
4 cups whole-wheat penne
1 head radicchio (sliced into thin strips)
1 small cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 large carrot (diced)
butter
2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup gruyère (grated coarsely)
1 cup parmigiano-reggiano (grated coarsely)
4 tbsp fresh rosemary (chopped fine)
4 tbsp fresh thyme
breadcrumbs
nutmeg
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
2 tbsp truffle oil (optional)
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toss the radicchio with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake for about 15-18 minutes. Remove.
Toss the cauliflower with olive oil and pepper (no salt! - otherwise the mixture will be overly salty) and roast for about 15 minutes. Remove.
Cook the penne in heavily salted water until under al dente (about 12 minutes.)
Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Heat the butter. Add the flour, and let it cook at medium low heat until it is golden (but not brown). Add the milk and continue stirring. The sauce will continue to thicken. Add the salt, black pepper, nutmeg, rosemary and thyme, and take it off the heat.
Combine the penne, the sauce, vegetables, the cheeses, and truffle oil (if using) in a oven-proof casserole. Top off the dish with the breadcrumbs (this is the real secret to success!)
Bake covered for about 30 minutes. Bake uncovered for about 12-15 minutes until the top is golden and crispy.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Arroz caldoso con sepia y coliflor
This is an entirely unusual recipe in that it sounds positively weird on paper but is absolutely delicious in practice.
Arroz caldoso is the ultimate comfort food. Rice, protein and seasonings in a soupy broth that is absolutely perfect when the weather gets cold.
Best of all, it reheats wonderfully (attn: office dwellers) and the taste improves with time.
It's Valencian in origin, and originally features cuttlefish (sepia) but lacking that, the CC used squid.
You will notice below that the technique is entirely unusual. Instead of the onions and garlic being sautéed first, the squid is. There is logic here. Squid needs to be either cooked very little, or a long time otherwise you get a rubbery unappetizing texture. This recipe uses the latter method.
Ingredients
2 cups Valencian short-grain rice (substitute by Arborio)
6 cups fish broth
1/2 lb tomatoes (passed through a food mill)
1 lb cauliflower florets
1 lb cuttlefish (or squid) cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, coarsely grated
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp saffron
1 tsp sweet paprika (preferably Spanish smoked)
4 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped fine)
sea salt
Recipe
Combine the broth and saffron in a pot and keep warm over a very low flame.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In an oven-proof casserole, heat the olive oil, and sauté the squid. Sprinkle with the sea salt while this is happening. Stir in the cauliflower, garlic and grated onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and cook for 3 minutes. Turn the heat to low and let cook for 10 minutes.
Stir in the paprika, rice, and sauté until the rice is well coated with the mixture. Pour in the broth and boil for 5-8 minutes until the rice is slightly done. Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered until the rice is still al dente.
The mixture should be still soupy at this point.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve.
Arroz caldoso is the ultimate comfort food. Rice, protein and seasonings in a soupy broth that is absolutely perfect when the weather gets cold.
Best of all, it reheats wonderfully (attn: office dwellers) and the taste improves with time.
It's Valencian in origin, and originally features cuttlefish (sepia) but lacking that, the CC used squid.
You will notice below that the technique is entirely unusual. Instead of the onions and garlic being sautéed first, the squid is. There is logic here. Squid needs to be either cooked very little, or a long time otherwise you get a rubbery unappetizing texture. This recipe uses the latter method.
Ingredients
2 cups Valencian short-grain rice (substitute by Arborio)
6 cups fish broth
1/2 lb tomatoes (passed through a food mill)
1 lb cauliflower florets
1 lb cuttlefish (or squid) cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, coarsely grated
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp saffron
1 tsp sweet paprika (preferably Spanish smoked)
4 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped fine)
sea salt
Recipe
Combine the broth and saffron in a pot and keep warm over a very low flame.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In an oven-proof casserole, heat the olive oil, and sauté the squid. Sprinkle with the sea salt while this is happening. Stir in the cauliflower, garlic and grated onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and cook for 3 minutes. Turn the heat to low and let cook for 10 minutes.
Stir in the paprika, rice, and sauté until the rice is well coated with the mixture. Pour in the broth and boil for 5-8 minutes until the rice is slightly done. Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered until the rice is still al dente.
The mixture should be still soupy at this point.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Asari Gohan
This is a basic every day dish that is so amazing that you will be forever checking how you lived your life before it. It's nutritionally complete, visually appealing, complex enough to be served at a state dinner. (In short, the platonic ideal of a Japanese dish.)
It's neither complicated nor hard in the least but it requires a fairly elaborate explanation of how all the pieces actually work.
Ingredients
12-18 clams
1/3 cup sake
1 tbsp ginger (cut into fine matchsticks)
1 cup japonica rice
2 cups kombu dashi
1/4 cup carrots (cut into matchsticks)
1/4 cup shiitake mushrooms (cut into matchsticks)
1 tbsp ginger (cut into fine matchsticks)
2 tbsp tamari (soy sauce)
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
1 scallion (white and green parts sliced thin at a steep diagonal)
nori (sliced really thin)
Recipe
The first thing that you must do is wash the rice in cold water. The rice must be "polished" with your hands until all the surface starch is eliminated, and the water runs clear. Typically, this takes anywhere from 4-6 washings.
Drain the rice and let it sit wet for at least 30 minutes. (Yes, this matters.)
Add 1/3 cup of the sake to the ginger. Bring to a boil. Steam the clams. Remove as they open, and shuck them.
When all the clams are done, filter the liquid (= clam broth) through a cheesecloth/paper towel and reserve.
Combine the dashi, clam broth, 2 tbsp of sake, the tamari and the mirin. Add the rice, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and cook till the rice is well done.
The logic of this step is that the rice is cooked in an intensely umami-laden broth that makes it completely irresistible. Add to that the fact that esterification takes place means that it's almost impossible to resist.
Top with the clams, the scallion and the nori, and serve.
The clams add the protein, the scallion and the nori, the textural interest.
It's neither complicated nor hard in the least but it requires a fairly elaborate explanation of how all the pieces actually work.
Ingredients
12-18 clams
1/3 cup sake
1 tbsp ginger (cut into fine matchsticks)
1 cup japonica rice
2 cups kombu dashi
1/4 cup carrots (cut into matchsticks)
1/4 cup shiitake mushrooms (cut into matchsticks)
1 tbsp ginger (cut into fine matchsticks)
2 tbsp tamari (soy sauce)
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
1 scallion (white and green parts sliced thin at a steep diagonal)
nori (sliced really thin)
Recipe
The first thing that you must do is wash the rice in cold water. The rice must be "polished" with your hands until all the surface starch is eliminated, and the water runs clear. Typically, this takes anywhere from 4-6 washings.
Drain the rice and let it sit wet for at least 30 minutes. (Yes, this matters.)
Add 1/3 cup of the sake to the ginger. Bring to a boil. Steam the clams. Remove as they open, and shuck them.
When all the clams are done, filter the liquid (= clam broth) through a cheesecloth/paper towel and reserve.
Combine the dashi, clam broth, 2 tbsp of sake, the tamari and the mirin. Add the rice, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and cook till the rice is well done.
The logic of this step is that the rice is cooked in an intensely umami-laden broth that makes it completely irresistible. Add to that the fact that esterification takes place means that it's almost impossible to resist.
Top with the clams, the scallion and the nori, and serve.
The clams add the protein, the scallion and the nori, the textural interest.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
The Haul (from Astoria)
Anchovies, octopus, Greek chickpeas, the large white beans, bulgur wheat (of two grades), spanakopita, dried oregano, taramosalata, tzatziki, amazing pita bread.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Hazelnut Crusted Cod with Roasted New Potatoes
One of the tricks that professional chefs have is to give thematic unity to a seemingly disparate ensemble.
The dish below is an example of that.
The cod has been crusted with a mixture of hazelnuts, breadcrumbs, thyme and lemon zest.
The potatoes have been roasted with harissa, olive oil and thyme.
The vinaigrette for the salad in the background is made with lemon juice, thyme and hazelnut oil.
As you can see there's a clear thematic element of lemon, hazelnuts and thyme running through the ensemble.
There is also a clear visual and methodic disparateness. Textures, colors, cooking methods all separate to provide interest but tied into an integrated whole at an underlying level.
The dish below is an example of that.
The cod has been crusted with a mixture of hazelnuts, breadcrumbs, thyme and lemon zest.The potatoes have been roasted with harissa, olive oil and thyme.
The vinaigrette for the salad in the background is made with lemon juice, thyme and hazelnut oil.
As you can see there's a clear thematic element of lemon, hazelnuts and thyme running through the ensemble.
There is also a clear visual and methodic disparateness. Textures, colors, cooking methods all separate to provide interest but tied into an integrated whole at an underlying level.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Organic Chemistry Rules!
One of the great tricks of Japanese cuisine is to cook "stuff" with sake (or mirin) and dashi.
Traditionally, the simplest dish of rice would have this but it extends in general to tons of dishes.
The reason is something that Coco Chanel would know like (the smell of) the back of her hand.
It's esterification.
When an alcohol and an acid — in this case, the various glutamic acids in the dashi — react with the alcohol, you create a whole range of esters. Esters are what give the fragrant fruity smells that we all love.
Add to that, the umami from the dashi and you realize that just "plain rice" is a killer dish.
As far as the CC is aware, this is unique in the world. He has not seen this technique being used anywhere else.
Traditionally, the simplest dish of rice would have this but it extends in general to tons of dishes.
The reason is something that Coco Chanel would know like (the smell of) the back of her hand.
It's esterification.
When an alcohol and an acid — in this case, the various glutamic acids in the dashi — react with the alcohol, you create a whole range of esters. Esters are what give the fragrant fruity smells that we all love.
Add to that, the umami from the dashi and you realize that just "plain rice" is a killer dish.
As far as the CC is aware, this is unique in the world. He has not seen this technique being used anywhere else.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Break
The CC has been taking unusually long hiatuses as of late but he's going to take an even longer one.
Headed to India for even more culinary adventures. Back at the end of January with wondrous photos and recipes!
Headed to India for even more culinary adventures. Back at the end of January with wondrous photos and recipes!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year's Eve
The menu:
Cheese platter (Stilton, Montbriac)
Crusty Baguette
Figs stuffed w. Almonds, Rosemary & Sea-Salt
Spicy Pickled Mushrooms
Walnuts caramelized w. Rosemary & Sea-Salt
Olives
Figs w. Prosciutto
Plenty of Champagne, of course!
Happy New Year!
Crusty Baguette
Figs stuffed w. Almonds, Rosemary & Sea-Salt
Spicy Pickled Mushrooms
Walnuts caramelized w. Rosemary & Sea-Salt
Olives
Figs w. Prosciutto
Plenty of Champagne, of course!
Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Food as Metaphorical Horror
Humans have always had a slightly complex relationship with food in as much as it reminds them of their animal origins. For starters, carnivores that we may be, we have always had a slightly problematic relationship with slaughter and novelists, artists and film makers have exploited that endlessly.
Here are some of the best food metaphors in the interest of horror that the CC knows of in the medium of film.
Rules of the Game Rosemary's Baby Repulsion
Saló
Here are some of the best food metaphors in the interest of horror that the CC knows of in the medium of film.
Slaughter as a metaphor for the ruthless elimination of an entire generation in World War I.
Bonus: Made in 1939. Looks forward presciently and sees a repeat upcoming.
If you can make tea horrifying, you have real cinematic skill.
Bonus: The Lipton tea ad-placement near the end of the movie.
It's straightforward enough to horrify using a skinned putrefying rabbit but it takes a special talent to turn toast and (exhausted) marmalade into one for a horrific sexual frigidity gone awry.
The perfect meeting of medium and subject. Integrated into the film as a logical progression of horrors, Pasolini mentioned that he intended it as a "commentary on the horrors of fast food".
(You'll have to see this one. Can't reveal it without giving it away.)
Bonus: Nails.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The Warrior Class Enters the Kitchen
After the Meiji Restoration, the carrying of swords was banned for the samurai class. Since there was significant industry in providing swords to the samurai, as basic economic theory would tell you, the merchants evolved the product into something else.
That something was the production of knives for professional cooking.
Japanese knives are unique in the world. They are arguably closer to swords than they are to Western knives. For starters, they are frequently, but not always, single-ground (sharpened on exactly one side.) In the modern world, double-beveled knives do exist (e.g. santoku which evolved as a response to the French chef's knife) but the rule still stands.
They are also made to a much harder temper and and seriously sharp. You can cut a piece of paper just by gently caressing it against the blade.
Also, the number and variety of precision knives is far higher than what you would see in a traditional French kitchen. The level of detail and control is far far higher.
Lastly, the tradition of sword-like skills in the kitchen made evolve as a matter of routine, an equally important culture of safety skills. Japanese chefs cut away from the body never towards it. Equally importantly when doing fine fillet-work, the knife will angle away from the body while the top is restrained with the flat-face of the left hand. At all points in time, the blade is kept away from the body. It is quite amazing to watch a master knivesman in action.
Like all highly evolved technical cultures, there's an elaborate array of knives and an elaborate vocabulary to describe their properties, relative merits and demerits but that's just grind for a later post.
That something was the production of knives for professional cooking.
Japanese knives are unique in the world. They are arguably closer to swords than they are to Western knives. For starters, they are frequently, but not always, single-ground (sharpened on exactly one side.) In the modern world, double-beveled knives do exist (e.g. santoku which evolved as a response to the French chef's knife) but the rule still stands.
They are also made to a much harder temper and and seriously sharp. You can cut a piece of paper just by gently caressing it against the blade.
Also, the number and variety of precision knives is far higher than what you would see in a traditional French kitchen. The level of detail and control is far far higher.
Lastly, the tradition of sword-like skills in the kitchen made evolve as a matter of routine, an equally important culture of safety skills. Japanese chefs cut away from the body never towards it. Equally importantly when doing fine fillet-work, the knife will angle away from the body while the top is restrained with the flat-face of the left hand. At all points in time, the blade is kept away from the body. It is quite amazing to watch a master knivesman in action.
Like all highly evolved technical cultures, there's an elaborate array of knives and an elaborate vocabulary to describe their properties, relative merits and demerits but that's just grind for a later post.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving
The CC has been in absentia for a while. Life sometime gets in the way. But he's back!
Here's the Thanksgiving menu chez CC:
Acorn Squash stuffed with wild mushrooms
♥
Pear, chanterelles & prosciutto stuffing
♦
Fingerling potatoes with figs & thyme
♦
Brussel sprouts with pomegranate vinegar, black walnuts & pomegranates
♦
Pears poached in red wine with stilton
Here's the Thanksgiving menu chez CC:
Acorn Squash stuffed with wild mushrooms
♥
Pear, chanterelles & prosciutto stuffing
♦
Fingerling potatoes with figs & thyme
♦
Brussel sprouts with pomegranate vinegar, black walnuts & pomegranates
♦
Pears poached in red wine with stilton
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Bibingka
Rice cake made with fermented rice flour and coconut milk. It's very slightly sweet with a smoky flavor. It's baked in a banana leaf, and is best experienced literally out of the charcoal oven.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Pili Nuts
The CC had never heard of them before he went to the Philippines.
They have a very high fat content, and are completely unique in taste. The best way to describe it would be like the bastard love child of hazelnuts and brazil nuts.
They are a delicacy because they have an incredibly short shelf-life (that's because of the high fat content which would cause them to go rancid quickly in the hot climate of the Philippines.)
They are frequently blanched and turned into sugary desserts but they could equally well work in a savory dish like any other nut.
Needless to say, they are quite impossible to find outside the Philippines.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Yikes Meter!
Seen today on a menu, "pad thai tacos".
There is so much wrong with this the CC can't even begin to enumerate. Perhaps there's a reason that those two countries are so far apart?
This is the kinda bullshit that gives "fusion" a bad name.
There is so much wrong with this the CC can't even begin to enumerate. Perhaps there's a reason that those two countries are so far apart?
This is the kinda bullshit that gives "fusion" a bad name.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Mathematician's Approach to Japanese Cooking
One of the key insights into the nature of cooking is that all cuisines respect the role of limited resources.
One of these limited resources is the number of ingredients that can plausibly be obtained. Traditionally, this has always been limited by the seasons.
If you have limited resources then you might think that you'd have a limited number of dishes. But you'd be wrong!
Humans recognized quite early on that we are easily bored. We crave novelty and variety. The same ol', same ol' was as dreary a millenium ago as it is today.
Traditonally, most cooking was done by women, and women were responsible for coming up with "inventive dishes" each day (to stave off that afore-stated boredom.) They were forced, at the metaphorical gunpoint, to get creative about it.
Lo and behold, the Japanese discovered the combinatorial game. Have a vast amount of ingredients at hand but assemble a dish with just a few and rotate them daily. In fact, outsource a few so that you only need to assemble the rest (the Ricardo-principle applied to cuisine.)
Needless to say, one can't do this with a hard-core mathematician's approach since that would lead to entirely unappetizing dishes so a few rules are imposed on top of that to maintain visual appeal, textural interest and nutritional completeness.
If you understand this then the rules of the so called washoku become entirely obvious.
The rules of go shiki (five colors), go mi (five tastes), go hou (five methods), go kan (five senses) are nothing more than a rulebook to ensure complexity - visual, textural, and nutritional.
The traditional dish is not made with five ingredients. It's closer to between seven and nine in practice. That would imply that you scale as where n is the number of starting ingredients (and n is very large to start with.) However, the above rules cut down the number of possibilities.
In any case, you are still left with a vast set to play with. Enough to stave off boredom before the seasons change which will alleviate the boredom anyway, and by the time next year rolls around nobody will remember that you played the same game last year!
One of these limited resources is the number of ingredients that can plausibly be obtained. Traditionally, this has always been limited by the seasons.
If you have limited resources then you might think that you'd have a limited number of dishes. But you'd be wrong!
Humans recognized quite early on that we are easily bored. We crave novelty and variety. The same ol', same ol' was as dreary a millenium ago as it is today.
Traditonally, most cooking was done by women, and women were responsible for coming up with "inventive dishes" each day (to stave off that afore-stated boredom.) They were forced, at the metaphorical gunpoint, to get creative about it.
Lo and behold, the Japanese discovered the combinatorial game. Have a vast amount of ingredients at hand but assemble a dish with just a few and rotate them daily. In fact, outsource a few so that you only need to assemble the rest (the Ricardo-principle applied to cuisine.)
Needless to say, one can't do this with a hard-core mathematician's approach since that would lead to entirely unappetizing dishes so a few rules are imposed on top of that to maintain visual appeal, textural interest and nutritional completeness.
If you understand this then the rules of the so called washoku become entirely obvious.
The rules of go shiki (five colors), go mi (five tastes), go hou (five methods), go kan (five senses) are nothing more than a rulebook to ensure complexity - visual, textural, and nutritional.
The traditional dish is not made with five ingredients. It's closer to between seven and nine in practice. That would imply that you scale as where n is the number of starting ingredients (and n is very large to start with.) However, the above rules cut down the number of possibilities.
In any case, you are still left with a vast set to play with. Enough to stave off boredom before the seasons change which will alleviate the boredom anyway, and by the time next year rolls around nobody will remember that you played the same game last year!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Radish Salad with Dried Anchovies (Dilis)
This is an entirely inspired dish that you are unlikely to find in any Filipino cookbook. That's because it's a simple side-dish that is unlikely to make it into cookbooks which tend to feature fancier stuff.
It follows the most primitive principles of food. Use fresh ingredients, and touch them up minimally.
The ingredients are simplicity themselves - white radish (daikon), tomatoes, ginger, patis (fish sauce) and vinegar, along with dried anchovies (dilis.)
Served with warm rice, it's the perfect comfort food, and yet texturally complex and nutritionally complete.
Ingredients
4 tomatoes
1/2 radish
4-6 tbsp vinegar (to taste)
2 tbsp patis
4 green chillies (minced)
2 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 cup dried anchovies
salt to taste
Recipe
Cut the radish into paper-thin slices. A mandoline will help here.
Dice the tomatoes roughly.
Mix all the ingredients together except the anchovies.
Mix in the anchovies right before serving (so that they remain crisp and don't turn soggy.)
It follows the most primitive principles of food. Use fresh ingredients, and touch them up minimally.
The ingredients are simplicity themselves - white radish (daikon), tomatoes, ginger, patis (fish sauce) and vinegar, along with dried anchovies (dilis.)
Served with warm rice, it's the perfect comfort food, and yet texturally complex and nutritionally complete.
Ingredients
4 tomatoes
1/2 radish
4-6 tbsp vinegar (to taste)
2 tbsp patis
4 green chillies (minced)
2 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 cup dried anchovies
salt to taste
Recipe
Cut the radish into paper-thin slices. A mandoline will help here.
Dice the tomatoes roughly.
Mix all the ingredients together except the anchovies.
Mix in the anchovies right before serving (so that they remain crisp and don't turn soggy.)
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Luck Factor
Well, we've had a late blast of summery weather, and the tomatoes were still super-ripe at the farmers' market. The CC got there early, and they were selling them for very cheap so the CC bought a ton, and made tomato sauce out of it. It was promptly frozen for future use.
When life gives you tomatoes, you must make tomato sauce!
When life gives you tomatoes, you must make tomato sauce!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Ibus
Rice and coconut milk in palm leaves that is boiled. Eaten with fruits or sugar.
To be fair, the CC appreciated it more than he loved it. Wonder if it would've been different with spicy food.
To be fair, this is a wondrous food just not to the CC's taste which shies away from desserts in general.
To be fair, the CC appreciated it more than he loved it. Wonder if it would've been different with spicy food.
To be fair, this is a wondrous food just not to the CC's taste which shies away from desserts in general.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Spicy Japanese Crack (in red and green)
There is a spicy Japanese condiment called yuzukoshō (柚子こしょう) which consists of yuzu peel and chilli peppers which are then fermented.
It is very spicy (a little bit goes a long way), and has a strong citrusy scent from the yuzu peel. It takes on the color of the chilli peppers used — red chilli peppers yield an orange paste, and green chilli peppers yield a dull green paste.
Traditionally, it's used for nabemono dishes but its popularity means it's showing up everywhere.
This stuff is addictive. Once you use it you can't go back.
It is very spicy (a little bit goes a long way), and has a strong citrusy scent from the yuzu peel. It takes on the color of the chilli peppers used — red chilli peppers yield an orange paste, and green chilli peppers yield a dull green paste.
Traditionally, it's used for nabemono dishes but its popularity means it's showing up everywhere.
This stuff is addictive. Once you use it you can't go back.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Keats
Food as a means of seduction. A theme as old as time.
Stanza XXX from the "The Eve of St. Agnes".
Stanza XXX from the "The Eve of St. Agnes".
And still she slept an azure-lidded sleep,
In blanched linen, smooth, and lavender’d,
While he from forth the closet brought a heap
Of candied apple, quince, and plum, and gourd;
With jellies soother than the creamy curd,
And lucent syrops, tinct with cinnamon;
Manna and dates, in argosy transferr’d
From Fez; and spiced dainties, every one,
From silken Samarcand to cedar’d Lebanon.
Monday, September 19, 2011
A Bad Wind
It is said that "it's an ill wind that blows no good", and sometimes that can be literally true.
The north-east experienced torrential rain and extreme flooding with Hurricane Irene but apparently there's a silver lining.
From NPR: Irene Aftermath: When It Rains, It Spores.
When Hurricane Irene tore through the Northeast last month, it caused severe flooding and damage to homes, trees and power lines. But it also left behind something rather delicate: mushrooms.
Foragers say they've seen more fungi in the past few weeks than ever before.
There are more than 1,000 mushroom varieties in these woods, McDonagh says, but she eats only about 24 of them. She recommends taking a course on edible fungi before foraging alone.
The CC is a proud member of the New York Mycological Society ("only society that has had zero deaths, and we 'plan to keep it that way'") and goes foraging from time to time. However, he was not aware of this tendency for mushrooms to sprout after summer storms (although it makes perfect logical sense in hindsight.)
Oh well! There will be more storms in the years to come ...
The north-east experienced torrential rain and extreme flooding with Hurricane Irene but apparently there's a silver lining.
From NPR: Irene Aftermath: When It Rains, It Spores.
When Hurricane Irene tore through the Northeast last month, it caused severe flooding and damage to homes, trees and power lines. But it also left behind something rather delicate: mushrooms.
Foragers say they've seen more fungi in the past few weeks than ever before.
There are more than 1,000 mushroom varieties in these woods, McDonagh says, but she eats only about 24 of them. She recommends taking a course on edible fungi before foraging alone.
The CC is a proud member of the New York Mycological Society ("only society that has had zero deaths, and we 'plan to keep it that way'") and goes foraging from time to time. However, he was not aware of this tendency for mushrooms to sprout after summer storms (although it makes perfect logical sense in hindsight.)
Oh well! There will be more storms in the years to come ...
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Spicy Tingly Peanuts
The CC received these in the mail as a gift. They are totally addictive - your mouth is on fire, all tingly and numb from the Sichuan peppercorns and all you can think of is you need some more.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Fall is Here!
Last tomatoes of the season. Still amazing, and you can cook up a storm without the house turning into a sauna.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Pesto Trapanese
While the traditional pesto is from Liguria, this one is from Trapani in Sicily.
It's made with the typical products of the region — almonds, tomatoes, chilli peppers. You can see both the medieval and North African influences in this dish.
It's simple yet sultry in that summery way.
Ingredients
1/2 cup almonds (blanched, skins removed)
1 clove garlic
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp grated Pecorino
1/2 cup (tightly packed) mint leaves
2 dried red chilli peppers
4 tomatoes (peeled, cored, diced)
1 tsp sea salt
Recipe
Put all the ingredients in a food processor, and process till blended. Leave it slightly grainy so that it has some consistency.
Toss with long-strand pasta that has been drained, and is still hot.
Serve immediately.
It's made with the typical products of the region — almonds, tomatoes, chilli peppers. You can see both the medieval and North African influences in this dish.
It's simple yet sultry in that summery way.
Ingredients
1/2 cup almonds (blanched, skins removed)
1 clove garlic
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp grated Pecorino
1/2 cup (tightly packed) mint leaves
2 dried red chilli peppers
4 tomatoes (peeled, cored, diced)
1 tsp sea salt
Recipe
Put all the ingredients in a food processor, and process till blended. Leave it slightly grainy so that it has some consistency.
Toss with long-strand pasta that has been drained, and is still hot.
Serve immediately.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
The Syncretic Culture
If there is a a single word that could be used to sum up Filipino culture, the word would be "syncretism".
Over the millenia, the islands that now comprise the Philippine nation have encountered a myriad of cultures and synthesized them into a coherent whole. The influences range from Malay, China, Indonesia and Japan (geography), to India and the Arab world (trade routes and conquest), to Spain and America (colonial.)
In an increasingly post-modern world — "Sushi and Coca-Cola" — as a friend of the CC's so memorably put it; it is extraordinarily surprising that a syncretic food culture should not just be unknown but invisible to the point of surprise when it is mentioned.
There are primarily three reasons for this.
The first that hits the tongue directly is that Filipino food lacks a sharp flavor profile. There is nothing that "hits" you in the way that, say, Thai food does. Instead, the emphasis is on extraordinarily fresh ingredients prepared simply.
This makes it doubly ironic since the phrase "extraordinarily fresh ingredients prepared simply" could equally well be attached to Italian food which has been the subject of food fetishization for the last twenty years.
In an increasingly super-marketized world, it is simply not possible to experience the absolute wondrous nature of this food. In fact, one could argue that in large cities like Manila, this nature has been lost for a very long time.
The CC ate the most magical pork grilled with nothing but salt in the rural Philippines. The pig had been freshly slaughtered. Two days later, it was prepared again on the CC's request but it was nowhere near as good.
The explanation?
My sister prepared it. She doesn't know how to do it. She washed the meat but it's the blood that gives it the taste."
You can absolutely forget about eating stuff like this in a super-market world. In short, you are unlikely to have a "Filipino food experience" unless you actually use the absolutely best ingredients that money can buy. When done right, it should rightfully blow your brains out even lacking the afore-mentioned sharp flavor profile.
The second reason, and this comes from the simple fact that almost any great food culture is the food of poverty. Not only is there an extraordinary "waste-not, want-not" attitude to food but that there is positive celebration of offal.
(Incidentally, the Spaniards amped up this already ingrained agrarian logic, particularly the love of pork, to unprecedented levels.)
Given conventional food mores towards the "nasty bits" then, there seems to be this ick-factor that a lot of people will have to overcome.
(You can read Fuchsia Dunlop talk about the same phenomenon in the context of traditional Chinese cuisines.)
In Filipino culture, every organ is not just eaten but celebrated. Tuna jaw, tuna ovaries, pig lungs, pig offal in pig's blood, you name it. There's a dish. When mentioned, there's almost always a wistful sigh, "Oh, I miss that." (which has its own sentimental ick-factor, "Didn't we just eat that last night? How can you miss it?")
Since we live in a world of increasing offal-fetishization, this argument is going to become increasingly irrelevant. In five years when offal goes mainstream, that will be the time when the hoi-polloi "discover" Filipino food.
The third and very likely, the dominant reason of the invisibility of Filipino food, is that they have never had in the entirety of their history, a firm royalty. Sure, there have been local rulers and chieftains but there has never been an Emperor.
It may come as a surprise that an accident of history like that would have profound consequences on how we eat today but it does. Cultures that have had a firm sense of royalty and there are many -- French, Thai, Italian, Japanese, Indian, Chinese -- have not only a history of "fine dining" but an entire cadre of dishes that effectively migrated "top-down". From the Emperor downwards to the royal classes and then downwards to the middle-classes. Additionally, there is a very strong sense of what constitutes "fine dining", and a sense of how to go about it.
Modern restaurant culture at the highest end is nothing more than a generalization of royal cuisine. In short, you are still a slave to the whimsies of an emperor of a country that you have never visited and whose name you still don't know.
The pursuit of food as an active object of desire, discussion, detail has always been something that could only be pursued by the relatively well-off. That it even shows up in mass culture (TV shows, food porn!) is based on the fact that we are extraordinarily more economically productive than people in the 16th century. The average person can afford to waste their time in a pursuit that goes beyond daily sustenance. The Industrial Revolution has done its job, and extraordinarily well to boot.
If you were not particularly flush with money in older times, and wanted to eat great food, presentation and all, the only mechanism open to you would have to know someone a member of the elite, and be invited to dine at their table. The elite, after all, have always had their servants to make their food. Excellence was expected as a routine matter of course. If they were bored of the ordinary excellence that came out of their own kitchen, they would just finagle an invitation to dine at their friends' places where they would encounter an ordinary excellence that was totally different from their routine ordinary excellence.
(On a side note, that's why great artists with patrons have always eaten well. They may not be from the elite themselves but the influence rubbed off.)
In the Philippines, this sense of "older times" would be a scant twenty or thirty years ago. The food culture is still evolving because of the absence of a strong sense of royalty and a mechanism of presenting the cuisine. Thankfully, the modern world via its restaurant culture is doing its job, and increasingly in the places where money is flush, you see Filipino cuisine presented in all its glory.
The aging conservative Rimsky-Korsakov once warned his budding student, Stravinsky, about the strange delightful harmonies in Debussy's music -- "Better not listen to him, otherwise you risk getting accustomed to it, and you might even like it."
"Better not eat Filipino food, otherwise you risk getting accustomed to it, and you might even like it."
Over the millenia, the islands that now comprise the Philippine nation have encountered a myriad of cultures and synthesized them into a coherent whole. The influences range from Malay, China, Indonesia and Japan (geography), to India and the Arab world (trade routes and conquest), to Spain and America (colonial.)
In an increasingly post-modern world — "Sushi and Coca-Cola" — as a friend of the CC's so memorably put it; it is extraordinarily surprising that a syncretic food culture should not just be unknown but invisible to the point of surprise when it is mentioned.
There are primarily three reasons for this.
The first that hits the tongue directly is that Filipino food lacks a sharp flavor profile. There is nothing that "hits" you in the way that, say, Thai food does. Instead, the emphasis is on extraordinarily fresh ingredients prepared simply.
This makes it doubly ironic since the phrase "extraordinarily fresh ingredients prepared simply" could equally well be attached to Italian food which has been the subject of food fetishization for the last twenty years.
In an increasingly super-marketized world, it is simply not possible to experience the absolute wondrous nature of this food. In fact, one could argue that in large cities like Manila, this nature has been lost for a very long time.
The CC ate the most magical pork grilled with nothing but salt in the rural Philippines. The pig had been freshly slaughtered. Two days later, it was prepared again on the CC's request but it was nowhere near as good.
The explanation?
My sister prepared it. She doesn't know how to do it. She washed the meat but it's the blood that gives it the taste."
You can absolutely forget about eating stuff like this in a super-market world. In short, you are unlikely to have a "Filipino food experience" unless you actually use the absolutely best ingredients that money can buy. When done right, it should rightfully blow your brains out even lacking the afore-mentioned sharp flavor profile.
The second reason, and this comes from the simple fact that almost any great food culture is the food of poverty. Not only is there an extraordinary "waste-not, want-not" attitude to food but that there is positive celebration of offal.
(Incidentally, the Spaniards amped up this already ingrained agrarian logic, particularly the love of pork, to unprecedented levels.)
Given conventional food mores towards the "nasty bits" then, there seems to be this ick-factor that a lot of people will have to overcome.
(You can read Fuchsia Dunlop talk about the same phenomenon in the context of traditional Chinese cuisines.)
In Filipino culture, every organ is not just eaten but celebrated. Tuna jaw, tuna ovaries, pig lungs, pig offal in pig's blood, you name it. There's a dish. When mentioned, there's almost always a wistful sigh, "Oh, I miss that." (which has its own sentimental ick-factor, "Didn't we just eat that last night? How can you miss it?")
Since we live in a world of increasing offal-fetishization, this argument is going to become increasingly irrelevant. In five years when offal goes mainstream, that will be the time when the hoi-polloi "discover" Filipino food.
The third and very likely, the dominant reason of the invisibility of Filipino food, is that they have never had in the entirety of their history, a firm royalty. Sure, there have been local rulers and chieftains but there has never been an Emperor.
It may come as a surprise that an accident of history like that would have profound consequences on how we eat today but it does. Cultures that have had a firm sense of royalty and there are many -- French, Thai, Italian, Japanese, Indian, Chinese -- have not only a history of "fine dining" but an entire cadre of dishes that effectively migrated "top-down". From the Emperor downwards to the royal classes and then downwards to the middle-classes. Additionally, there is a very strong sense of what constitutes "fine dining", and a sense of how to go about it.
Modern restaurant culture at the highest end is nothing more than a generalization of royal cuisine. In short, you are still a slave to the whimsies of an emperor of a country that you have never visited and whose name you still don't know.
The pursuit of food as an active object of desire, discussion, detail has always been something that could only be pursued by the relatively well-off. That it even shows up in mass culture (TV shows, food porn!) is based on the fact that we are extraordinarily more economically productive than people in the 16th century. The average person can afford to waste their time in a pursuit that goes beyond daily sustenance. The Industrial Revolution has done its job, and extraordinarily well to boot.
If you were not particularly flush with money in older times, and wanted to eat great food, presentation and all, the only mechanism open to you would have to know someone a member of the elite, and be invited to dine at their table. The elite, after all, have always had their servants to make their food. Excellence was expected as a routine matter of course. If they were bored of the ordinary excellence that came out of their own kitchen, they would just finagle an invitation to dine at their friends' places where they would encounter an ordinary excellence that was totally different from their routine ordinary excellence.
(On a side note, that's why great artists with patrons have always eaten well. They may not be from the elite themselves but the influence rubbed off.)
In the Philippines, this sense of "older times" would be a scant twenty or thirty years ago. The food culture is still evolving because of the absence of a strong sense of royalty and a mechanism of presenting the cuisine. Thankfully, the modern world via its restaurant culture is doing its job, and increasingly in the places where money is flush, you see Filipino cuisine presented in all its glory.
The aging conservative Rimsky-Korsakov once warned his budding student, Stravinsky, about the strange delightful harmonies in Debussy's music -- "Better not listen to him, otherwise you risk getting accustomed to it, and you might even like it."
"Better not eat Filipino food, otherwise you risk getting accustomed to it, and you might even like it."
Saturday, August 20, 2011
The Power of Chickpeas
Abu el-Heidja has deflowered in one night(Source: The Perfumed Garden of Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi.)
Once eighty virgins, and he did not eat or drink between,
Because he surfeited himself with chickpeas,
And had drunk camel's milk with honey mixed.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Ginataang Hipon
This was the single best home-cooked meal that the CC had in the Philippines.
It doesn't get simpler than this but it's a flavor complex. Texture from the fresh bamboo shoots, corn and shrimp, flavor from the coconut milk and the fresh chilli leaves, color from the shrimp, corn, and chilli leaves, umami from the fish sauce (patis.)
It's a flat-out masterpiece.
It doesn't get simpler than this but it's a flavor complex. Texture from the fresh bamboo shoots, corn and shrimp, flavor from the coconut milk and the fresh chilli leaves, color from the shrimp, corn, and chilli leaves, umami from the fish sauce (patis.)
It's a flat-out masterpiece.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Tuna
Euphemistically, called "tuna collar" in English, it's the jaw of the tuna (panga in Tagalog.)
So incredibly delicious you have no idea. Sushi lovers step up to the plate. This one was marinaded in garlic and ginger before being grilled on a lonely beach on a deserted island.
Eaten with calamansi, soy sauce and hot chilli peppers (not shown.)
The CC still dreams about it!
So incredibly delicious you have no idea. Sushi lovers step up to the plate. This one was marinaded in garlic and ginger before being grilled on a lonely beach on a deserted island.
Eaten with calamansi, soy sauce and hot chilli peppers (not shown.)
The CC still dreams about it!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Heat Quotient
Hotter than Brangelina fucking on a rickety tin terrace. Nine and half pounds of tomatoes - the lust, the lust!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Acquisitions
Vast quantities of dried anchovies (bulinaw), tiny dried shrimp, organic sugarcane vinegar from Ilocos(sukang iloko), calamansi jam, and crab roe fat (taba ng talangka.)
The last is a Filipino specialty which is both utterly delicious and heart-cloggingly fatty.
The last is a Filipino specialty which is both utterly delicious and heart-cloggingly fatty.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Coconuts & Aliens
Coconut trees are known to bear "alien mutant" coconuts. They contain much more flesh, and almost no liquid coconut water. Instead, it contains a gelatinous gel-like substance, and the coconut meat is only loosely adhered to the hard kernel.
These "mutant coconuts" are called macapuno in Tagalog and they are a delicacy. (The regular coconuts are called niyog.)
It's easy enough to figure out which coconuts are macapuno by tapping them since they have a markedly different density structure and will "sound" different.
Once a coconut tree bears a macapuno, it will continue to bear some fraction of its fruits in that form.
Human ingenuity being what it is, we can now breed trees that will yield these alien coconuts with 80% probability.
The flesh is "meatier", "stringier" and tastes quite different from regular coconuts. It's frequently used in desserts by boiling them in sugar syrup.
Delicious!!!
These "mutant coconuts" are called macapuno in Tagalog and they are a delicacy. (The regular coconuts are called niyog.)
It's easy enough to figure out which coconuts are macapuno by tapping them since they have a markedly different density structure and will "sound" different.
Once a coconut tree bears a macapuno, it will continue to bear some fraction of its fruits in that form.
Human ingenuity being what it is, we can now breed trees that will yield these alien coconuts with 80% probability.
The flesh is "meatier", "stringier" and tastes quite different from regular coconuts. It's frequently used in desserts by boiling them in sugar syrup.
Delicious!!!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Summer Vacation Time
Well, the CC is off to culinary adventures in the Philippines (more Spanish influences!)
Back in a few weeks!
Back in a few weeks!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Garcia da Orta
People frequently ask the CC what he finds so endlessly fascinating about Spain, and the simple answer is that due to their complex society and insane wealth, they produced the most interesting personalities in science and art on the entire planet for their time.
The expulsion of the Jews due to the Reyes Catolicos (Ferdinand II and Isabella I in 1492) caused a massive upheaval among the highly intellectual community of Jews in Spain. They either converted (conversos) or fled.
The Orta family fled to nearby Portugal — little did they know that the Inquisition was coming there next.
Garcia de Orta was born in 1501 or 1502. He was trained as a physician, and practiced medicine in Lisbon. With the growing power of the Inquisition, he fled to India in 1534 and settled in Goa serving kings, governors and viceroys.
He was clearly successful. He was even granted a lease to the then worthless islands of what is now modern-day Bombay (!) though he never lived there.
His culinary claim to fame is his masterpiece Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India (Conversations on the simples and drugs of India) which is the unique book that tells us about the culinary knowledge of pre-New-World India.
It's written in the Galileo-style of conversations between the author and an imaginary colleague, Ruano, and basically walks us through all the known culinary spices and herbs in alphabetical order.
It should be noted that there wasn't a strict distinction between cuisine and medicine in those days (courtesy of Galen) and there is considerable evidence that he was a polymath speaking sufficiently in half a dozen local Indian languages (besides the usual Greek, Latin, Arabic which was expected of an educated man of his generation.)
While his life was not tragic, his story does end tragically. He died in 1568 but was "convicted" posthumously of "Judaism" and his remains were exhumed and burned in an auto da fé in 1580.
What's unique about his work is his independence of "received wisdom" of Greek, Latin or Arabic authorities. It's a strict example of the scientific method where claims have to be demonstrated not just stated as truth.
For all the tragedy, it is useful to know that he was well received in his time, and respected for his unique orignality.
The expulsion of the Jews due to the Reyes Catolicos (Ferdinand II and Isabella I in 1492) caused a massive upheaval among the highly intellectual community of Jews in Spain. They either converted (conversos) or fled.
The Orta family fled to nearby Portugal — little did they know that the Inquisition was coming there next.
Garcia de Orta was born in 1501 or 1502. He was trained as a physician, and practiced medicine in Lisbon. With the growing power of the Inquisition, he fled to India in 1534 and settled in Goa serving kings, governors and viceroys.
He was clearly successful. He was even granted a lease to the then worthless islands of what is now modern-day Bombay (!) though he never lived there.
His culinary claim to fame is his masterpiece Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India (Conversations on the simples and drugs of India) which is the unique book that tells us about the culinary knowledge of pre-New-World India.
It's written in the Galileo-style of conversations between the author and an imaginary colleague, Ruano, and basically walks us through all the known culinary spices and herbs in alphabetical order.
It should be noted that there wasn't a strict distinction between cuisine and medicine in those days (courtesy of Galen) and there is considerable evidence that he was a polymath speaking sufficiently in half a dozen local Indian languages (besides the usual Greek, Latin, Arabic which was expected of an educated man of his generation.)
While his life was not tragic, his story does end tragically. He died in 1568 but was "convicted" posthumously of "Judaism" and his remains were exhumed and burned in an auto da fé in 1580.
What's unique about his work is his independence of "received wisdom" of Greek, Latin or Arabic authorities. It's a strict example of the scientific method where claims have to be demonstrated not just stated as truth.
"Don't try and frighten me with Diocorides or Galen because I am only going to say what I know to be true."His empirical work on tamarind stands in stark contrast to the "received wisdom" of Arabic writers which considered them as "dates". By restricting himself to empirical observation, he markedly advanced the science of food in the Indian subcontinent.
For all the tragedy, it is useful to know that he was well received in his time, and respected for his unique orignality.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Dealing With Invasions
This is arguably an excellent idea: Answer for Invasive Species: Put It on a Plate and Eat It.
With its dark red and black stripes, spotted fins and long venomous black spikes, the lionfish seems better suited for horror films than consumption. But lionfish fritters and filets may be on American tables soon.
An invasive species, the lionfish is devastating reef fish populations along the Florida coast and into the Caribbean. Now, an increasing number of environmentalists, consumer groups and scientists are seriously testing a novel solution to control it and other aquatic invasive species — one that would also takes pressure off depleted ocean fish stocks: they want Americans to step up to their plates and start eating invasive critters in large numbers.
“Humans are the most ubiquitous predators on earth,” said Philip Kramer, director of the Caribbean program for the Nature Conservancy. “Instead of eating something like shark fin soup, why not eat a species that is causing harm, and with your meal make a positive contribution?”
Lionfish, it turns out, looks hideous but tastes great. The group had to hire fishermen to catch animals commonly regarded as pests. Mr. Heffernan said he would consider putting them on his menu and was looking forward to getting some molting European green crabs to try in soft-shell crab recipes.
Last summer, the Nature Conservancy sponsored a lionfish food fair in the Bahamas, featuring lionfish fritters and more. They offered fishermen $11 a pound — about the price of grouper — and got an abundant supply.
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