Mint – Grow. Cook. Eat.

September 17, 2010

Quintessential Summer (Recipe: Sea Bass with Tomatos and Mint)

I shudder to say this, but I’m in a tomato rut. I know I’ll be horrified in February that I could even have such thoughts.

I know, I know… basil and tomatoes are the quintessential food pairing. And this year, both have benefited from the sweltering summer heat. But after weeks of tomatoes and basil, I need to shake it up. Mint and Tomatoes is also a Mediterranean combination with roots closer to Turkey than Italy.

As I thought about dinner last night, I started with mint as my canvas to paint on flavors. Zucchini and bacon came to mind, as did a favorite, Trout with Mint and Bacon.

A simple meal to be sure, but full of bright flavors.

Black Sea Bass with Tomatoes, Mint and Bacon
2 black sea bass filets
1 slice bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup mint leaves
Lemon
1 – 2 tomatoes, sliced
Canola oil or butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1.    Season fish with salt and pepper
2.    In a large skillet, add bacon. Turn heat to medium and cook until bacon releases its fat and begins to crisp. Add the onions and garlic and cook until they are soft. Remove from pan.
3.    Drain all but a thin layer of bacon grease from the pan. Add a little fresh oil or butter, and return the pan to high heat. Sear the fish for 4 minutes on the flesh side. Turn over and continue cooking for 1 minute on the skin side.
4.    Remove from pan and serve with a heavy squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of mint and slices of tomatoes. Sprinkle bacony-goodness on top.

May 28, 2010

Volunteerism

My morning routine includes a pot of coffee, the New York Times and an inspection of the garden.

This time of year, I’m looking to see if radishes are ready to harvest, lettuce ready to cut and if the strawberries are ripe. And of course, I look for stray weeds. I want to catch them when they are still small and easy to pluck out of the ground. Obviously, I appreciate the aesthetic of having a weed-free garden. More importantly, given how hot and dry it’s been lately, I don’t want any intruder depriving my fledgling tomato and cucumber plants from their much needed water and nutrients.

Looking at the thicket of mint, I noticed a few leaves did not belong. As I reached down to pluck them out of the ground, I realized it was, in fact, a tomato plant. An errant seed from one of last summer's tomatoes must have landed in the mint patch. A volunteer.

Who knows what will come up, but for sure it will be a hardy plant. Perhaps it will be a yellow cherry tomato…. I recall several tomatoes split from the combination of rain and heat. I few of those dropped on the ground. Did I not bother to clean them up? I thought I was pretty vigilant with the rampant blight. Or perhaps it’s a Roma tomato. I remember sharing a ripe tomato with one of my favorite four-year-olds. The plum tomato, dry and ideal for stews and sauces, was too mushy for his taste and he spit it out.

Though I’ve been better about labeling plants this year, I’ll mark this one with a big question mark.

April 23, 2010

Creepy Crawlies

I knew it was a mistake… I planted mint in the garden and I didn’t contain it. Mint tends to crawl unabashedly across the garden. Most (smart) people will bury a quart container of mint in the ground. By planting the container in the ground, the roots get protection during the winter months. And the container then contains the roots in the summer to keep the mint at bay.

I, of course, just transplanted the mint directly into the garden, with no means of controlling its growth. When it begins to creep out of control, I yank up the roots, and squelch it back.

If it was only mint that grew this way in my garden, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But now I have other things to contend with… the raspberries, the strawberries, and some lily of the valley. The strawberries went into the garden last year. I only got 4 berries for the entire season, and decided to give them another year to prove their worth. Now, I have potential for about a dozen berries, but they have spread into the tomato and kale patches.

If I let them grow out of control, they will take over the garden, with their roots suffocating other plants, depriving them of water and nutrients. As much as I like raspberries, strawberries and mint, I don’t like them enough to give up lettuces, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

My normal morning routine had been to grab a cup of coffee, head into the garden and take a survey… seeing what’s growing, what’s ready to harvest and pluck out the beginnings of new weeds. Now I head out with a trowel, digging up the roots that have shot up plants above the soil.

August 1, 2009

Beet Tales (Recipe: Beets with Cumin and Mint)

Many moons ago, my sister lived in Morocco to learn Arabic and teach music in a school for the blind. Traveling to a foreign country with a native is perhaps the best way to see a country and avoid the tourist traps and scams. Traveling with my sister at the end of her year was a close second. She spoke (and read) the language fluently, which allowed us to navigate the country and menus quite easily.

When we’d go out to eat, I’d let her order. I recall one café… We placed the typical order, “jusz jasz”: two chickens. The waiter quoted us a price: 80 dirham. What?? My sister pointed to the Arabic menu and with a flawless accent and perfect grammar, she questioned, “But the menu says it’s only 20.”

Another favorite was the vegetable salad. Beets, potatoes and carrots were sautéed in fruity olive oil, seasoned with cumin, coriander and black pepper.

This year, I grew beets for the first time. As the British name, "beetroot," would suggest, they grow underground so it's not obvious when they're ready to harvest. One farmer advised to inspect the shoulders of the root which protrudes from the soil. When they are several inches in diameter, the beets are ready. Also, the leaves should be broad and long. I began harvesting the beets last week, and every time I dug one up, it seemed too small. Alas, once you harvest, you can’t put them back.

With my baby beets, I sautéed them with olive oil, cumin and coriander, and tossed them with mint: the perfume took me back to the summer with my sister, wandering the country together.

Moroccan Style Beet Salad with Mint
5 baby beets or 2 medium beets
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
8 large mint leaves, cut into chiffonade

1. Put beets in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil over high flame. Cover pot and let simmer for 20 minutes, or until beets are tender – a butter knife will insert easily.
2. Remove beets from heat and let cool. The skins should peel off easily.
3. Cut beets into 8th.
4. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium flame. Add cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook until spices become aromatic. Add the beets, and warm through, tossing to coat in scented oil.
5. Remove from heat and serve. Sprinkle mint on top, and a squeeze of lemon.

July 27, 2009

Suspiciously Delicious

Yep, that's Dina picking up a plastic bag of green stuff from a prearranged drop-off. Not suspicious at all, nope.

Hopefully, my neighbors don’t call the cops on her. This is Cambridge, MA, after all. And we know what could happen. Despite all the controversial media, I left a bag of mint on the front porch for Dina. I think I’m safe, though, since my neighbors also partake of my bounty of herbs: I regularly find 4-year old Oliver in the mint patch having a little snack.

Lord knows, I can’t possibly consume all the herbs on my own. I enjoy what I can throughout the summer, and freeze more for the winter. But even still the garden produces more than I can enjoy. I joke that I’ll start a farm-stand at the end of my driveway and peddle my excess herbs (and vegetables).

On Saturday evening, Dina returned for dinner with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. Seems like a fair trade, don’t you think?

This recipe comes courtesy of www.epicurious.com. It sounds like the same as the one Dina used.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2 cups packed fresh mint leaves
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)

In a blender blend cream, milk, and mint until mint is finely chopped. In a saucepan bring cream mixture just to a boil and cool 15 minutes. Whisk in eggs and sugar and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let custard boil or it will curdle.) Pour custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Chill custard, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day. Chop chocolate. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and stir in chocolate. Put ice cream in freezer to harden.

May 10, 2009

Mint, Part Deux

After the mojitos, which I accidentally made too strong, I needed dinner. With plenty more mint in the garden (and bacon in the fridge) I prepared another favorite, simple recipe…

Trout with Mint and Bacon
3 slices bacon, diced
4 rainbow trout fillets
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon canola oil (opt.)
1/4 cup mint, chiffonade
lemon
salt and pepper to taste.

1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until the fat renders and the bacon begins to crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan to drain on a paper towel, but save the fat.

2. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Dust with flour and spank off any excess.

3. Reheat the pan with the bacon fat over medium high flame. If you don't have enough fat you can add a little canola oil. Add the trout fillets, flesh side down, and cook for 5 minutes on the first side, until the flesh is lightly golden. Flip over and cook for 3 minutes on the skin side.

4. Place the fish on a serving platter. Sprinkle bacon and mint on top. Squeeze lemon over the whole thing.

May 8, 2009

Mint is the New Sage

In typical fashion for mint, its roots have surreptitiously crept to the far reaches of my garden. When I laid down the mulch a few week ago, I ruthlessly pulled up roots over a foot away from the base hoping to stave off its explosion. Nonetheless, after a few days of warm weather, my mint plant has erupted.

But unlike sage, whose prolific growth I lamented here , here and probably 5 other posts, I can utilize mint in a plethora of recipes.

First on the list, Mint Mojitos:

Mojito
yields 1 cocktail
4 tsp. sugar
1 ½ oz. rum
5 mint sprigs
½ lime, juiced
Crushed ice
soda water or 7-up to taste

Using a muddle or a wooden spoon, crush ice with mint and sugar, until sugar dissolves. Add rum and lime juice. Pour over crushed ice, stir in soda or 7-up. Taste to adjust for sugar, rum, mint or lime.

Mojito Photo Credits to the ExPat Files: