I’ve never been a fan of Valentine’s Day, with all the red hype and floral expectations.
Perhaps, I’m jaded by the years of working in restaurants. As my old boss used to say, “This one’s for the house.” The night is so busy that we plan menus based on ease and efficiency, not on elegance, creativity or fun. Restaurateurs just want to get to midnight with grace and minimal damage to the restaurants’ reputations for slow service.
Or maybe it’s the high expectations of the “holiday.” I love grocery shopping on Valentine’s Day, watching all the flustered boyfriends: grocery list in one hand, bouquet of flowers in the other. You can see the worry and determination in their eyes to create the most romantic, most delicious meal…
I’m sure I sound like the Grinch at Christmas, but I much prefer the authentic times, the idle Tuesday evenings… when the love and gratitude for our friends and loved ones shows off effortlessly.
Boyfriends have come and gone, and my favorite Valentine’s Days remain the evenings I’ve spent with friends: Sitting by the fireplace with a lovely meal and bottle of wine. And eating ice cream out of the carton for dessert.
Wishing you happiness and love, today and always.
CAULIFLOWER – SPINACH VICHYSSOISE This soup is terrific served hot or cold.
3 tablespoon Butter 1 shallot — peeled and chopped ½ apple, peeled, cored and diced 1 celery stalk 4 garlic cloves 1 head cauliflower – cored and chopped 2 leek – washed ¼ cup white wine 6 cups water 1 cup spinach 1/4 cup cream (opt.)
Heat a large pot over medium flame. Melt butter. Add shallots, apple, celery, garlic, cauliflower and leeks. Sauté until cauliflower begins to turn limp and brown a little. Deglaze with white wine. Cover vegetables with water, and simmer until soft, about 20 minutes.
Purée soup with cream, and return all but 1 cup to pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Purée remaining soup with spinach. Put in a separate pot.
To serve: ladle white vichyssoise into bowl. Ladle green vichyssoise into the center.
That extra loving touch: Make vanilla oil to garnish soup: Heat ½ cup canola oil with ½ teaspoon curry powder and ½ vanilla bean. Simmer over low heat for 3 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes.
By now, there isn’t much I haven’t seen… I recognize sprouting okra plants by their leaves, broccoli by its stalk and fennel by its fronds. I can distinguish budding kohlrabi from kale just by the shade of green in the leaves. And now I can say I recognize the garlic too!
I’m growing garlic for the first time this year… and even though I’ve seen fresh bulbs and scapes at the market, I had never before seen how it all comes together in the garden. I planted a row of bulbs right next to a row of leeks, the plume of the leaves distinguish the two.
The real tell-tale sign of garlic is the scape – the curly-q sprout that shoots out from the center. The sprout is thicker/denser than the other leaves, round instead of flat with a pointy tip. Garlic growers snip off this sprout to focus the plant’s energy on the growing bulb. And kitchen gardeners take advantage of this early shot of garlic flavor.
It should be noted that there are two types of garlic – hard neck and soft neck. The soft neck variety doesn’t produce the scape, but has longer storage potential. The hard-neck shoots the scape but only stores for 6 months. This year, I’m (trying) growing both.
A few weeks ago,I dug up one stalk to see if and how the bulb was developing. It just looked like a swollen scallion. And the taste was rather mild.
Now, I have the scape. The flavor is all garlic – without the lingering effect which prevents intimate conversation. You can use it in a recipe as you would scallions – cooked briefly or added at the end as a raw garnish.
The other night, I was out of garlic, so I chopped up a scape to use in its stead. I loved the added texture that is missing from chopped garlic. Though, you can’t see it on the fish (that’s a scallion garnish), I could definitely taste it.
From the garden: scapes, scallions and tomatoes (canned last summer)
Seared Hake with Tomato Coconut Sauce
4 – 6 oz. Hake Filets 1 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped 1 lime 1 tablespoon flour 2 tbs. plain oil 1 – 2 garlic scapes, chopped 1 jalapeno, chopped 1 can tomatoes (smoked if possible) ½ can coconut milk Salt and pepper to taste
1. Season hake with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with oregano, and squeeze the juice of ½ the lime on top.
2. Dust hake with flour. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add oil. Gently place hake in pan, and let cook for 5 minutes, undisturbed until a golden crust develops. Flip hake over to cook on the second side.
3. To the hake pan, add the scapes and jalapeno. Make sure they hit the bottom of the pan so they can brown a little. Add the coconut milk and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and continue cooking for just a minute or until the fish is cooked through.
4. Squeeze remaining lime juice on top just before serving.
They say no idea is original, nor is any recipe. Most recipes take inspiration from someone else’s ideas. And my recipe for Juniper Scented Duck with Caramelized Balsamic Sauce and Celeriac Puree is no different.
Lorenza de Medici has a recipe for wild boar stew that has all sorts of unique flavorings and techniques. The marinade and subsequent braising liquid calls for juniper (the pine berry that is also the prominent flavoring in gin), red wine, carrots celery and onions. Separately, she caramelizes sugar with garlic, and then adds red wine vinegar to create a sweet and sour flavor. When the pork is cooked, the meat is pulled out, and the braising liquid (along with all the mushy vegetables) are pureed to act as a thickener to the stew. She finishes the sauce with chocolate, prunes and almonds.
As I often do, I substitute proteins within a recipe… chicken for pork, pork for duck, duck for beef or tuna, and so on… for this recipe, I decided duck breasts would be a fine substitute for the wild boar. And since duck breasts don’t require a long braising time (and in fact suffer from that) more modifications were necessary.
The duck received the same marinade as the original recipe. I then poached a technique from Thomas Keller to cook the duck “sous vide” I removed the skin, rolled up the duck breast lengthwise, the duck was rolled in a blanched cabbage leaf and then wrapped in plastic wrap like a tootsie roll. The whole package is poached in boiling water for 8 minutes for a perfect medium rare.
I liked the idea of the caramelized sugar for a sweet and sour sauce. But since I didn’t have red wine vinegar, I used balsamic instead. I didn’t want to lose the essence of the marinade, so I cooked that until the vegetables were tender, pureed that, and added it to the caramelized balsamic. Going back to the original recipe, I finished the sauce with chocolate. And recognizing my personal preferences, I omit the bay leaves, candied citron, raisins and pine nuts.
The prunes transformed into a tart relish with fresh plums, shallots and thyme.
Celeriac Puree pairs magically with the sauce – complimenting both the sweet and sour flavor, as well as the juniper.
Of course, I couldn’t lose the duck skin. Those went into the oven until they transformed into cracklings.
All together, this was an elegant main meal for the Passover Seder last week. I serve this dish year-round, sometimes with duck, other times with pork tenderloin, and sometimes even with tuna.
Original Recipe:
3 pounds wild boar
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 yellow onions, peeled and roughly chopped
½ bottle red wine
4 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. juniper berries
2 bay leaves
salt
1 tsp. black pepper
¼ cup sugar
½ cup red wine vinegar
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 oz. grated bitter chocolate
1/3 cup raisins, soaked in water
½ cup pitted prunes, soaked in water
¼ cup pine nuts
1 tbs. candied citron, finely chopped.
1. Twenty-fours ahead, put the meat in a good-sized, flameproof casserole together with the carrots, celery and onions. Add the wine and marinate for 24 hours, turning from time to time.
2. On the serving day, remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until it begins to color. Brown the meat on all sides. Strain the vegetables from the marinade add to the meat with the juniper berries, 1 of the bay leaves, salt and pepper. Pour some of the marinade over. Cover and simmer for 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender, adding the remaining marinade, a little at a time.
3. Transfer the meat to a flameproof casserole. Puree the vegetables, then pour them over the meat and reheat. In a sauce pan, melt the sugar with the garlic and remaining bay leaf, and cook until lightly colored. Add the vinegar and bitter chocolate. Boil for a few minutes. Add the sauce to the meat together with the raisins, prunes, pine nuts and candied citron. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes before serving.
Julia’s Revised Recipe
Duck Roulade with Caramelized Balsamic Sauce, Roasted Plums and Juniper
8 duck breasts, skin removed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cups red wine
1 tsp. juniper berries
8 big leaves from savoy cabbage (with no splits or tears)
1/4 cup sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 oz. chocolate or butter
2 plums, quartered and chopped
6 prunes, pitted and chopped coarsely.
1 tsp. thyme, chopped
1 shallot, sliced or diced
salt and pepper to taste
1. Marinate duck with wine, juniper, salt, pepper, carrots, onions, and celery for up to 24 hours.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook cabbage leaves for 1 or 2 minutes, or just until wilted. Drain. Carefully, cut away large rib.
3. Remove duck from marinade.
4. Tear off a piece of plastic wrap about 20 inches long, and lay it across a work surface. Place cabbage leaf down. Roll duck breast, lengthwise into cylinder, and place cylinder of cabbage leaf. Roll leaf around breast. Trim edges, and roll tightly into plastic wrap. Roll both ends of wrap to secure shape and tie with kitchen string. Refrigerate packets until ready to cook.
5. Meanwhile, combine the sugar with the garlic and ¼ cup of water in a small sauce pot. Stir, over high flame just until the sugar dissolves. When the sugar begins to caramelize and turns a deep amber color, add the vinegar. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar re-dissolves (it will seize up with the vinegar is added)
6. Cook marinade in a covered sauce pot over medium flame until carrots are tender. Puree the vegetables with a little bit of the wine and add about 1/2 – 1 cup to the balsamic sauce (taste after adding 1/2 cup and add more to taste). Swirl in chocolate and set aside in a warm place.
7. Toss plums with shallots and thyme. Season with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Mix with prunes
8. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add duck packages and cook for 8 minutes, for medium/medium-rare. Remove from water and let rest for a few minutes before removing the plastic and slicing.
9. Serve with asparagus and celeriac puree
Celeriac Puree
3 knobs celery root (celeriac)
½ – 1 cup cream
truffle carpaccio
salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
Peel celery root. Cut into 1/8th. Put in a pot of cold salted water. Boil the be-jeebies out of it. When tender, drain. Put in a food processor, and puree with approximately 1/2 cup of cream. Add lemon juice, 1 squeeze at a time, until it is seasoned to your taste. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
photo credit: Christine Bergmark, Even' Star Organic Farm
The process of breeding greens for winter-tolerance takes many years. Each spring, after the grueling winter winds have dissipated and the snow has melted, Farmer Brett inspects his fields for survivors. In a field of thousands of plants, maybe 10 have withstood the elements. Before the plants begin to flower, he transplants them within 50 feet of each other. When the plants flower, several weeks later, the bees can pollinate them. And after the plants flower, they generate seeds for subsequent years’ plantings. After several years of breeding out weak plants, Brett has robust and flavorful plants.
Last week, Brett came north to the New England Fruit and Vegetable Conference to talk about cold hardy greens and how New England farmers can adapt this process to the more severe winters.
He brought with him several varieties of greens for sampling and also for cooking dinners at the end of the meetings. The greens are spicy and full of flavor and texture. The overnight frosts that Maryland experienced (before the two feet of snow from two days ago), causes a chemical reaction in the plants which makes them sweeter.
The recipe for Savory Potatoes and Greens comes from his Winter CSA cookbook. I used basil from my garden (that I froze in August) to season the dish.
SAVORY VEGETARIAN GREENS AND POTATOES 3 average sized russet potatoes, washed but with skins on salted water to cover 1 bag (gallon) any of our cooking greens 3 – 6 T mix of olive and neutral oils 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 1 t black pepper ½ to 1 t salt ½ bunch scallions fresh herbs, or 1 t dried oregano, basil, or rosemary
1. Gently boil potatoes until just cooked (skins aren’t all coming off, and a sharp knife inserted into spud encounters a teeny resistance). Remove from pot with a slotted spoon. Let cool, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Use same water to barely blanch greens, and be sure to shock in an ice bath. Drain in colander, and push out all extra water. Chop coarsely. Set aside. In a heavy skillet (works best in seasoned cast iron), sauté onion and garlic ‘til barely soft. Add potatoes and fry, scraping pan bottom often and adding more oil if needed. When potatoes have started to brown, add greens, herbs, and chopped scallion. Cook two minutes more. If needed, season further before serving: this should be hearty, not bland.
2. Can nicely be served with a dollop of sour cream, or of home-made guacamole, or with grated cheddar or Monterey jack, on top. Also really good with 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed (added to skillet right before spuds go in) in lieu of or in addition to other herbs. Hot peppers complement the latter approach well.
My neighbors were on vacation this week, and they offered me their weekly CSA subscription box. The vegetables come from Parker Farm. I knew Steve Parker back when he used to deliver to restaurants. He also used to be a fixture at the Central Square Farmer’s Market, but this year he’s only at the Saturday’s Market in Union Square, Somerville. I especially like to support the farmers I know.
In the spirit of Farm Share Tuesday, I invited a few friends over to enjoy a dinner in the garden eating farm fresh food.In my box this week: yellow carrots, cucumbers, corn, sweet onions, radishes and arugula. To add to the bounty, I still had a few things left from my visit to the farm: Cherokee purple and turtle gold tomatoes, eggs and new potatoes. And to round out the offerings: fresh herbs and celery in the garden.
With Dina in the house, I had to make my now famous Smoked Chicken Salad¸ tossed with celery, carrots, and onion tops, mixed with mayonnaise. I canned peachy mamas at the farm, which made a lovely hors d’œuvreto accompany the chicken, served with crackers.Or if someone has celiac disease, you can use cucumber slices instead of crackers.
The main meal, which coincidentally was gluten-free, manifested itself into: Arugula, Tomatoes and Cucumber, Simply Dressed with Basil, Lemon and Olive Oil
Creamed Corn – the surprise hit of the night
Tortilla Espangola with Smoked Tomato Ketchup
Vietnamese Crepes
(Makes 16 8” crepes)
1/2 Pound Rice Flour 2 Ounces Corn Starch 2 Eggs 1 ½ Cups Coconut Milk 1 Cup Water 2 Teaspoons Salt
2 Teaspoons Turmeric 4 Tablespoons Canola Oil 1 Pound Carrots, Peel, Julienned Or Shredded 6 Red Radishes, Julienned Or Shredded ½ Cup Mint Leaves, Julienned 2 Teaspoons Salt 1 Cup Vinegar 1 Cup Sugar
Pinch Chili Flakes 1 Garlic Clove, Minced 1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
Combine corn starch, rice flour, salt and turmeric in a bowl. Stir in eggs, coconut milk and water. Add more water if the batter is too thick, more rice flour if too thin.
Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high flame. Add 1 tbs. of oil, or enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add 1/3 cup batter to pan, swirl around to create a thin layer.
Cook crepe until crepe is crispy and brown on the bottom. Fold crepe in half. Repeat process with remaining batter.
Mix carrots and radish with salt and let rest for ½ hour, or until carrots are soft. Add mint.
Combine remaining ingredients for sauce in a stainless steel sauce pot. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
Combine carrots/radish with sauce.
Serve crepes with salad.
has a recipe for wild boar stew that has all sorts of unique flavorings and techniques. The marinade and subsequent braising liquid calls for juniper (the pine berry that is also the prominent flavoring in gin), red wine, carrots celery and onions. Separately, she caramelizes sugar with garlic, and then adds red wine vinegar to create a sweet and sour flavor. When the pork is cooked, the meat is pulled out, and the braising liquid (along with all the mushy vegetables) are pureed to act as a thickener to the stew. She finishes the sauce with chocolate, prunes and almonds.