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I have to confess to loving potato chips when they are well made. I also think parsnips are great. I love them for their earthy sweetness. This dish combines the best of them both. There are two ways to cook them here, and there are two shapes that are discussed as well. The round chips are, well, chips, and are great for snacks or as a side, while the ribbons are great as a garnish as well as snack. Having been spoiled by using restaurant deep fryers, I seldom deep fry anything now. If you do wish to deep fry, be sure to use oil at least 1½ inches deep and not to overload the pan or the chips won’t get crisp.
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Here is my riff on a French classic. Although the lettuce may seem an odd thing to include, it really does work here. This recipe is more of a guideline really, as cooking times will depend a lot on the peas. There are many versions of this recipe, and here is one more. The only thing to really watch out for is overcooking the peas, so taste one every few minutes, and when they are almost done, add the lettuce to finish off. This recipe is for 2 cups/2 pounds of peas, which gives a good sized portion to each person. The recipe varies easily enough, so base amounts on the volume of peas you have.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
¼ C onion, minced-or-1 medium shallot, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 roasted red peppers, peeled and seeded, diced
1 Tbsp vinegar such as red wine, rice, sherry, or even balsamic
2 Tbsp white wine such as sauvignon blanc, or chardonnay
Salt and fresh ground white pepper to taste
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INGREDIENTS:
1 frying chicken, 2-3 lbs.8 slices bacon, cut in half
4 Hungarian sweet peppers
1 lg. onion
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Another salad from the Tour Du Fridge Department, or, what leftovers can be transformed into dinner? Leftover farro and lots of peppers led to this. You can use other chewy grains such as wheat berries or barley of you don’t have farro handy. Serve this as a side or part of a mezze/antipasto/appetizer spread.
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This dish uses ingredients that commonly are found in dishes that get named “Persian”. This is a pretty dish with the white cauliflower tinged with the deep purple of the syrup, and then the scattering of creamy pine nuts and green mint. If you are not a fan of mint, substitute fresh marjoram and some flat leaf parsley.
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I use a mortar and pestle for my pesto. I feel the flavors are brighter and the pesto holds its color and flavor longer. The pestle releases all the basil juices into the mortar so there is more basil aroma. Food processors heat the pesto and “cook” the basil, which helps the discoloration. Food processor blades dull quickly and rather than making a clean cut to the basil they tear it, speeding oxidization. I give the food processor version of this recipe further down. If using the food processor, I recommend doing a double batch as a single recipe is hard to get right in a standard sized processor bowl. Also, I just like the process of using the mortar and pestle as I find it meditative. I am more engaged with the food, the sound of the nuts grinding, and especially the smell as the basil gives up its juices. I like pesto for a lot more than just pasta. I mix it into farro or other whole grains, or toss vegetables with it. I also love it as a smear on sandwiches.
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This version of pesto hails from Trapani in Sicily. It features almonds and, more unusual, tomatoes. There are many versions of this recipe-some use cherry tomatoes, some call for plum tomatoes, peeled, or not. Mortar and pestle versus food processor versus blender. 1 clove garlic versus 4. Cheese, or not. Well, here is another version- with regular sized tomatoes given a quick turn on the grill to add flavor and to ease peeling. If you don’t feel like heating the grill, see Chef’s Notes for an alternative to this. If you have nice sweet cherry tomatoes with tender skins, just use those instead, and skip the grilling, or blister them in a skillet filmed with a little oil. Use this pesto as you would with pasta, or try it on grilled vegetables such as peppers or with steamed or roasted cauliflower. Also great as a sandwich smear.
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Favas and Romano cheese are a classic Italian combination, from simply eating small early favas and slices of young Romano to mixing them in dishes. I recently had company that did not eat dairy, but I wanted to use pesto. If you taste a fresh young fava it has a cheesy taste, with a little tang and that hard-to-define eau de barnyard funk, along with a slightly gritty yet creamy texture. Just like Romano cheese. Turns out that tender young favas make an excellent substitute for Romano cheese in pesto. Use this vegan pesto as you would a regular pesto.
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From the National Center of Home Preservation
INGREDIENTS:
7 lbs of 2- to 2-1/2-inch diameter beets4 cups vinegar (5 percent)
1-1/2 teaspoons canning or pickling salt
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
12 whole cloves
4 to 6 onions (2- to 2-1/2-inch diameter) if desired
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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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This is the basic polenta I serve at home in colder weather. When it is warm, I don’t bother with the mascarpone. If you do not use the mascarpone, you might want to up the Romano and/or Parmesan. The mascarpone or cream cheese adds silkiness to the polenta, and the corn stock adds depth and amplifies the natural corn flavor of polenta. You can use vegetable stock, or a meat stock also, or plain water works, too. Exercise caution while making polenta as it bubbles like lava and can burn! Long sleeves and a towel over the hand helps while you learn the ropes.
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This dressing would go well with a salad of arugula and frisee with pomegranate seeds and hazelnuts, or another salad with similar flavors. This dressing would also be a good sauce on chicken or grilled lamb chops, or drizzled over grilled salmon or used to dress lentils while hot.
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For what it’s worth, gratin refers to the cooking vessel and the way it is used, not just the dish itself. Anything can be cooked “au gratin” and the recipe itself is varied. Potatoes alone, or mixed with other roots such as parsnip, turnip, or onion. Mushrooms, kale, artichoke hearts, olives, all these can go in as well. The dish can be made with or without cheese, with cream, milk, stock, or any combination of these. In summer, I make gratins with vegetables that are “wet” (tomatoes, eggplant, etc.) and the only liquid I use is a little bit of flavorful olive oil. In colder months I make traditional creamy, cheesy gratins with roots and tubers. You can be precise in the way you lay in the ingredients or you can be casual. Bear in mind that the thickness of the cuts, the density of the vegetables, and how tightly packed in the dish everything is can affect the cooking times. This recipe is a variation of a quiche I used to make, and it is named for Denise who likes it so much I can never make enough.
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INGREDIENTS:
4 pork loin chops cut thick, around 4-6 oz. each ½ pound of apples such as Granny Smith, Cameo, or Golden Delicious (1 Large or 2 medium), cut into ¼ inch thick slices or ½” cubes 1 medium shallot, minced 1 oz. high quality apple brandy such as Osocalis*, or a French Calvados. Cognac or brandy may be used as well. 4 oz apple cider or juice ½ tsp fresh minced rosemaryContinue reading »
Use port you are drinking, or buy a mid-range port if you wish. Don’t buy a great vintage just for this dressing, but don’t buy something really cheap, and NEVER buy “cooking” port or wine. Typically, any wine product labelled “cooking” will have salt in it. This was to discourage chefs of old from drinking the wine, but it was also made with inferior wine You could use hazel nuts and hazel nut oil if you wish as well.
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Here’s a riff on Pommes Boulangère, the classic French potato dish named for the fact that it was cooked in the bread baker’s oven after all the bread was done and the ovens were cooling. Desiree potatoes are called for in the recipe, but really any waxy potato will do such as Yukon Golds, Yellow Finns, Romanze, Sangre, etc. I think adding the chard brightens the dish and the potatoes can mellow the earthiness sometimes found in chard. This is another dish for your Ben-Riner or mandolin.
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INGREDIENTS:
3-4 medium potatoes such as Romanze or Desiree, sliced into 1/8th inch or ¼ inch slices (around 2 cups or more)
6 slices thick cut bacon, cut into 1 inch long pieces
1 medium brown or white onion, peeled and cut into medium dice
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tablespoon minced thyme
1 teaspoon minced rosemary
Neutral flavored oil if needed
3 eggs
1½ cups half-and-half
Salt and pepper to taste
1 nine-inch pie crust (use your favorite recipe )
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In classic French cuisine, a pave is a cube or squarish block of food resembling old French paving stones. This potato gratin uses little liquid and is cooked under weight so it is compact. This is a two day affair (for the best results, but could be hurried along. See Notes and Tips) and takes a little work, but tastes great and is a nice addition to a fancy meal. Once made, the second day work to get it on the table goes quickly.
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Potato Onion Gratin (without cream)
Gratin refers to the cooking vessel as well as the method of cooking, and the dish itself. So, slipping some vegetables into a gratin dish, cooking them in the oven so the top gets browned and crisp (gratinéed), yields a gratin. I do lots of them in the summer with things like tomato, eggplant, summer squash, and onions, but I love a potato gratin year-round. When it is warmer, I prefer to make them just with stock rather than using dairy such as cream, and I skip the cheese unless I grate some on in the last few minutes. This recipe gives an option for this.
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Think German Potato salad with a South West bent. The Purplette Quickles stand in for regular pickles, and the cilantro dressing takes the recipe South West.
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