Posts by: Andrew Cohen
This dish uses vanilla paste for a twist on an old favorite along with the nectarine, but it is worth having a jar of the paste around as it makes a great “secret ingredient” to have around. Try it as part of a rub for pork tenderloin with a coffee sauce, or use it with shellfish such as shrimp, scallops, and lobster.
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Pistou is the French equivalent of pesto, but has no nuts or cheese. The cheese is added either to the soup or scattered over the soup at the end. This soup is only inspired and is not a true pistou, just in case any Provençal are reading this.
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Tagged with: carrots • cranberry shelling beans • filet beans • green beans • potatoes • rainbow carrots • San Marzano tomatoes • shelling beans • soup • summer squash • tomatoes • zucchini
Like so many things French, you can find more than one “vrais” (real, true) recipe for soupe au pistou, and the basil paste that gives it its name. Some have tomatoes, some not. A few have cheese. Most do not. None have nuts. That I have seen so far. Since I first learned pistou without tomatoes, that iteration will be v.1.
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You can make this dressing with whatever peppers you wish, but avoid mixing colors or risk winding up with an unappetizing shade of blech. Also, if you use spicy peppers and this is a dressing for a salad, consider using some mild peppers in there to mitigate the heat. If you are making this as a condiment to drizzle onto a plate, go for it.
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Tagged with: Corno di Toro peppers • dressing • padron peppers • peppers • salad • shishito peppers • vinaigrette
These are great straight out of the refrigerator, or make for a great salad, which is what they were first made for.
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This is a salad built on other components made earlier, such as quickles and grilled peppers. The cold crunchy vegetables and vinegar are perfect for appetites flagging in the heat.
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Tagged with: carrots • lettuce • little gem lettuce • nuts • peppers • quickles • salad • Tokyo turnips • tomatoes
Here is a soup inspired by the heat wave that just went through. Although first done cold, it could easily be served warm. To me, this tastes of a fresh raw tomato, where a pureed tomato soup misses that delicate fresh fruity quality you get from a raw tomato. This takes time as you need to let the pureé drip without disturbing it so it stays clear, so plan ahead. You can change the garnish to suit your taste or refrigerator contents.
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This dish makes for an earthy and sweet mélange that is colorful as well. You could blanch the carrots a day before and the beets are roasted and can be done days ahead, so this is good do-ahead party dish. If you don’t mind the beets coloring the carrots, you could even sauté them all at once in the same pan.
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Coulis is a French term for a sauce type that has changed over the years (centuries really). Originally it referred to juices released from meat when cooked, and then later, during the era of nouvelle cuisine, it became a sauce made from fruits or vegetables that was pureed and strained. If it needed to be thickened, it was done through gentle reduction rather than binding it with flour or another starch. Coulis are great for when you want a pure flavor that sings of the ingredient. It is common to use a little pinch of sugar, salt, or a dash of vinegar to help bring out flavors in coulis. Coulis are used as sauces, contrast elements, or even soup bases. You can refrigerate the coulis in a jar or squeeze-bottle and warm it gently in water on the stove. If you allow the coulis to get too hot you will lose the color and the bright flavor. This is a very simple coulis, and easy to prepare quickly.
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This is a twist on the classic Insalata Caprese, with good fresh mozzarella torn or cut into small bits and paired with a cold tomato coulis instead of slices of tomato. The basil appears as an oil, or thin shreds. It can served on a plate, or in a bowl or even a glass. For an elegant appetizer.
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The Salsa Verde v.2 is yet another iteration of a favorite of mine. It is actually the first version I did, but another was posted first, hence the order change-up. This one has marjoram, and is probably the most versatile. Cooking the cauliflower at a slightly lower heat takes a little longer, but allows for a good crisping and prevents burning. Use a heavy skillet also.
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Tagged with: cauliflower
This salad uses two quickles (the carrots were a spin-off of the cauliflower) that, with a little study of the recipe, could be made all together, and you could reduce the volume of final product. Both the quickles are quite good, and last a long while in the refrigerator, so doing them both is a nice way to set yourself up for a couple weeks of crunchy sweet-tart vegetables that are easy to deploy. If lavender is not your thing, use the recipe for Cauliflower, Romanesco, and Carrot Quickles on site (which makes this simpler in that you do the carrots and cauliflower together, and the flavor is a more “traditional” pickle flavor), skipping the romanesco and celery and switching the dressing to a white wine vinaigrette with a very little rosemary in it along with some thyme and a hint of garlic.
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Poaching the salmon the night before makes this a quick dish to assemble after work or if company is coming and you want to spend time with them rather than the stove. Actually, pretty much all the prep can be done the day prior, and all you do is assemble things just before serving. Since this can be a knife and fork type salad, you can leave the lettuce in leaves if you wish instead of tearing them into bite-sized bits.
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The beans get cooked and dropped into a dressing while still hot so they absorb lots of flavor. The tomatoes add bright notes to the salad while the lettuce texture plays well with the other elements. The beans could be made a day or two ahead, and would easily mix into other preparations.
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Tagged with: butter lettuce • celery • cranberry shelling beans • lettuce • salad • shelling beans • tomatoes
This has v.2 appended to it because when I came up with this I wrestled with the idea of cooking the tomatoes first as a base for the potatoes and collards, like this, or where the greens and spuds are cooked, and then dressed with a cold dressing of tomatoes, garlic, onions, and oil and vinegar. In the end, I did both as I am always fascinated how the same ingredients can be put together in different ways to yield “the same but different” results.
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This has v.1 appended to it because when I came up with this I wrestled with the idea of cooking the tomatoes first as a base for the potatoes and collards, or doing it like this, where the greens and spuds are cooked, and then dressed with a cold dressing of tomatoes, garlic, onions, and oil and vinegar. In the end, I did both as I am always fascinated how the same ingredients can be put together in different ways to yield “the same but different” results.
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Roasting the tomatoes with a little sugar before making the glaze intensifies the tomato flavor, and brings out their fruitiness. The glaze is closer to a jam than ketchup, and can be used on cauliflower, squash, fish, chicken, or pork and beef. Add a dollop to braises or a stew of squash, onions, and eggplant.
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