Monday, July 27, 2020

The Devil Made Me Do It

What’s cooking? Preserved Lemons and Warm Green Vinaigrette





The Kitchen Goddess got a little carried away in this post, so here’s the short-form:

1. The etymology of “idle hands” – ok, not funny, but interesting.

2. Easy instructions for preserving lemons. Which you’ll want to do after reading #3.

3. A perfectly wonderful and seriously useful recipe for Warm Green Vinaigrette. The KG had it at almost every meal (even on hard-boiled eggs, for breakfast), until she ran out.

Even after four months of this pandemic... experience, I wake up almost every morning with a check of all my faculties, wondering if that tingling feeling means anything. Then I get up, have breakfast, and realize it was probably just the need for food and coffee.

I read the paper – not for any news, because it’s almost all the same stuff these days (politics and Covid case counts), but for the occasional piece on science or the arts or fun things to do with your small children, even though the small children in my family are nearly 1,700 miles away. I send links or actual clippings from that last category of pieces to my daughter-in-law, in hopes of helping her cope, but mostly as just something to do. That would be because I’ll take almost any excuse to keep from having to clean up/organize my office.

The office cleaning/organizing thing is easier to avoid if I just stay in the kitchen. But you know the old saying about idle hands... Would you like to know where that saying comes from? Of course you would.

Way back in the 4th century, St. Jerome wrote, “engage in some occupation, so that the devil may always find you busy.” A thousand years later, Chaucer ran with a similar thought in the “Prologue to the Second Nun’s Tale” from The Canterbury Tales: “An idle man is like a place that has no walls; the devils may enter on every side.”.

Then the Protestants got hold of it. According to my New Jersey minister, Martin Luther (in the 16th century) was the first theologian to suggest that our work in the world was as important as the holiness that the monastery sought to achieve. And The Living Bible in 1971 cemented the concept into its translation, with “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece.” Leave it to the Protestants...

Okay, enough of that.

So when the Kitchen Goddess finds herself with time on her hands, it’s hard to know where the devil will take her. The latest urge was inspired by a recipe for Warm Green Vinaigrette, which included as an ingredient “preserved lemon.”

In the past, when the KG had a need for preserved lemon, she either found some in jars at Whole Foods, or substituted lemon zest and a bit of lemon juice, which doesn’t quite fit the bill. Preserved lemons deliver a mellower taste than you get with fresh lemon – a mildly tart, yet intense lemony flavor. But the process of making them takes 3-4 weeks. Hmmm... she said to herself, 3-4 weeks... I think I have that kind of time.



It turns out that the actual work of preserving lemons takes maybe a half hour. You hear that? Thirty minutes. The rest of the time, you’re just shaking them up once a day. I remembered doing the preparations once when we lived full-time in New Jersey, then putting the jar on a shelf in my pantry. I discovered it several years later, when we were moving, and while those lemons might have been well preserved, I had no real interest in investigating.

But I know that many of you now also have some extra time. And – to repeat – this project just needs shaking/turning the jar once a day, to encourage the salt to dissolve and distribute itself in the brine. Moreover, once you have some, they’ll keep at least a year – maybe longer, as long as they stay submerged in the brine.

The internet has enough YouTube videos and written recipes for preserving lemons to make your head spin. But I thought this was the simplest and most straightforward. It comes from Julia Moskin in The New York Times, who (in the grand tradition of recipe borrowing) adapted it from Paula Wolfert in Wolfert’s 1973 book, Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco.

Preserved Lemons

Adapted from Julia Moskin in The New York Times

Ingredients
When I saw how tightly they pack,
I shifted to a smaller jar.
5-6 lemons for preserving [Kitchen Goddess note: Organic is recommended because you’ll be eating the skins. If you can’t find organic, let the lemons sit in some vinegar water for a few minutes, then rinse. KG used Meyer lemons, but regular are fine.]
2-3 more lemons for juice
Kosher salt

Special equipment: one medium-sized jar with a tight-fitting lid – whatever size will fit the number of lemons you want to preserve – sterilized in the dishwasher or in a large pot where it can sit raised off the bottom (use a footed baking rack or steamer), in boiling water for 5 minutes. I used a 17-ounce Mason jar with a clamp lid, which I read works better than the ones with ring-type lids. (Don’t boil the rubber gasket.) In that little 17-ounce jar, I fit 6 Meyer lemons.

Directions
Scrub the lemons clean. Slice the ends off each lemon, then cut into quarters lengthwise from the top to within ½ inch of the bottom, leaving them attached at one end.



Cover the bottom of the jar with 2-3 tablespoons of kosher salt. Lightly pack each lemon with kosher salt, then reshape the fruit and fit the lemons into the jar. Press on the lemons as you fit them into the jar, to release the juice. Break some of the lemons apart if necessary, to fit in as many as you can. As you get one layer set, sprinkle more salt before adding another layer.


Press the lemons down to release their juices. Squeeze the additional lemons into the jar until juice covers everything.

Close the jar and let the lemons ripen at cool room temperature, shaking the jar every day (to dissolve the salt and distribute the brine) for 3-4 weeks, or until the rinds are tender. Then store the jar in the refrigerator.

As you can see in the photo above, the Kitchen Goddess had a handy aid to make sure the lemons were all submerged. It’s called a Pickle Pebble, and you can get a package of 4 for $18.95 at amazon.com. The generic name is fermentation weights, and they’re available at a number of websites or kitchen stores. They’re not mandatory – KG was on amazon.com and saw them, and it was like a little twinkle she could not resist. You can just add more juice.



To use the preserved lemons, remove a piece of lemon and rinse it. (My understanding is that you can add more fresh lemons to the brine as you use them up, but am thinking I’ll just wait until I’ve used the entire jar’s worth.) Recipes usually call for the minced rind to be added at the very end of cooking or used raw; the pulp can be added to a simmering pot.



What would you do with preserved lemons if you had some?
You might make Chicken Tagine, a traditional Moroccan dish that’s both easy and impressive. With a little research, the Kitchen Goddess has unearthed a handful of chicken recipes that she plans to try and pass on to you... soon. Preserved lemons are also good on grilled fish and braised veggies.

Here’s that warm vinaigrette over scallops that were already perfectly delicious, suddenly even more so.

Or try this delightful and flexible, light and bright, tart and savory warm green vinaigrette. (Is that enough helpful adjectives?) The Kitchen Goddess is amazed at how well it transforms the simplest salads, gives a dressy touch to asparagus or green beans, and adds sparkle to a dinner of sautéed scallops over rice. (See above.) And according to the originator of the recipe, any leftover sauce is great spooned over creamy ricotta.


Warm Green Vinaigrette

Adapted from Laurie Ellen Pellicano in Taste Magazine.

Makes 1 cup of dressing.

Ingredients
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 hefty sprigs of fresh oregano
1 tablespoon roughly chopped capers
5-6 Castelvetrano olives, or other meaty green olives, roughly chopped (enough to make 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced preserved lemons (about ¼ of one lemon, flesh included)*
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

*Kitchen Goddess note: Be sure to rinse the lemon wedge in cold water and pat it dry before using it.

Directions
Heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the oregano sprigs together in a small skillet over medium-low heat. As the heat rises, the oil will tend to sputter with the oregano. This is normal. Once the sputtering picks up and the oregano leaves have turned dark and stiff (3-4 minutes), remove the sprigs with small tongs or a fork, and let them drain on paper towels.

Add the chopped capers to the oil and cook for 1-2 minutes, until they appear to be lightly browned. Add the olives, and cook the mixture an additional 1 minute, stirring regularly just to lightly fry the olives. Turn the heat off, but leave the skillet in place on the warm burner.

Stir in the Dijon mustard, preserved lemon, and white wine vinegar, then whisk in the remaining ½ cup olive oil. Finely crumble the fried oregano leaves between your fingers, and add them to the vinaigrette.

Stir well to combine. Add salt and several fresh grinds of black pepper, to taste. If you’re going to be using the vinaigrette immediately, leave it in the skillet or saucepan until you’re ready. Otherwise, scrape it into a jar or other container to be stored in the fridge. Use warm or at room temperature;
if you store it refrigerated, temper it in a microwave or skillet/saucepan over low heat when ready to use.


Happy lemon preserving, everyone!


Friday, July 3, 2020

A Fortune for You, Too

Whats cooking? Fennel Frond Pesto, Asian Peanut Sauce, and Smoked Oyster Caesar Salad





This is my new favorite from a Chinese fortune cookie. It arrived in a takeout delivery last week, and I thought it seemed perfect for sharing.

Some people tell me they think the Kitchen Goddess never serves anything but fabulous meals. Hahaha... They should ask my husband,  – but wait until I’m out of the room. We’ve been married now for 43 years. That’s 15,695 days. So, even if we count only dinners, and consider that, on average, we either went out or ordered take-out food for 2 of the 7 days of each week, that’s still somewhere in the neighborhood of 11,000 meals. Ok, ok – I’ll take off another 1,000 for takeout.

That number should put me solidly in the ballpark of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule for success. Phooey. I can guarantee you that quite a few of those meals were, at best, meh. A few were out and out disasters. But we persist – with enthusiasm. At worst, they make good stories.

My earliest noteworthy failure was a roast beef – in our first year of marriage. What I most remember is chewing and chewing and chewing. And deciding never to try that again. I have held to that decision.

Then there was the soup I worked on for hours before pouring the entire batch down the disposal. I recall that it had an overwhelming flavor of peanut butter, and I considered serving it anyhow, then changed my mind. That’s when I developed my mantra: If it doesn’t taste good, throw it out and order pizza.

In more recent years, there was the fried chicken I served to my gourmet group. Definitely meh, even after three rounds of experimentation. So sad. And just last week, I made The New York Times recipe from Ferran Adrià (yes, of el Bulli fame) for tortilla Española, which featured an interesting technique; but I actually tossed the leftovers after asking my prince if he wanted any more and he said, “No.” The tone wasn’t “No, thanks” or “Not tonight” or “Maybe for lunch tomorrow.” Just “No.” Now, I haven’t given up on that one, but the message from my first attempt was clear.

These are only a few I can quickly recall. I try not to dwell on them. So I encourage you, in these days when we are all – still – doing more cooking than usual, to try something new, something that sounds like fun or a great flavor. And regardless of how it turns out, don’t lose that enthusiasm.

* * *

In the spirit of trying something fun, I herewith present to you three – yes, three – recipes that I swear you can complete in 15 minutes. That’s 15 minutes each, of course, starting from when you’ve collected all the ingredients. Now, my darling hubby swears that I have no idea how long 15 minutes is. He’s probably right. But they really are fast and easy, and impressively flavorful.

So let’s just say that if you took an hour one afternoon (or at midnight, which is mostly when the KG gets inspired), you could whip these three items into shape and have the makings of several really nice dinners that can be ready quickly yet still feel special.

The first is Fennel Frond Pesto. Did you ever wonder if there was something you could do with those lacy fronds from the top of the fennel bulb? This is the answer. You know how much the Kitchen Goddess loves pesto. It’s sort of an obsession, but I can’t imagine anyone being hurt from eating too much pesto. This one in particular is delightfully herby, combining the slightly bitter flavor of the fronds and the capers that gets tempered by the mild meatiness of the olives and the creamy pecans. The lemon adds that light, bright element that just makes you want more.

I’ve used this sauce in just about as many ways as I could think of, and it works for all of them. Here's a sample:

on scrambled eggs for breakfast
thinned with a little extra oil and drizzled over asparagus or other cooked veggies
as a crudité dip for raw veggies
spread on baked salmon or whitefish.

I also gave small jars of it to two friends. One friend emailed me, raving about how wonderful it was on a dish of shrimp and pasta, and insisting on the recipe. The other returned the empty jar and told me that she’s not much of a cook but that if I make any more of this stuff, she’ll take another jar.




Fennel Frond Pesto

Inspired by Daniel Gritzer of Serious Eats (seriouseats.com)

Makes 2 cups.

Ingredients
2 cups fennel fronds, loosely packed (not the thick stalks – just the feathery fronds and the very thin stalks they grow on)
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
⅓ cup seeded olives [KG used a mix of castelvetrano and oil-cured black Italian olives]
½ cup pecan halves (or walnuts or pine nuts-- try it with whatever you have)
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
juice and zest of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon capers, drained
rounded ½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons best quality olive oil


Directions
Combine all ingredients but the oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the processor until the ingredients form into a grainy consistency. Set the processor to run and slowly add the olive oil. Once the olive oil is incorporated, run the processor for another 10-15 seconds to achieve a relatively smooth purée.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Stores well in the fridge or the freezer.




*   *   *

I plan to try next with garnishes of crushed peanuts and matchstick cuts of cucumber.

Asian Peanut Sauce


I can’t think where I first stumbled across this, but as a huge fan of peanut butter (just not in soup), and an equally huge fan of that Asian peanut sauce, I had to make some immediately. It wasn’t a natural part of the dinner I had planned that night, but I didn’t care. And it was amazing. Like a friggin’ miracle. So there.

The sauce is not just good on noodles; it also works well as a satay sauce for skewered chicken or beef, or a dipping sauce for California rolls. And I have my eye on an Asian salad, but more on that another day.

Makes ½ cup, or enough to sauce 4 ounces of linguine pasta (or whatever kind of pasta you have in the house). But I was only cooking for 2. My new plan is to double or triple these quantities so I have some at hand when the mood strikes me. You might do the same.

Ingredients
Linguine or other long, thin pasta, or soba noodles
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons hot water
1½ teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Mirin (or rice vinegar, or cider vinegar in a pinch)*
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
¼ teaspoon powdered garlic*
Optional garnishes: crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, chives, cilantro, cucumber batons

Kitchen Goddess notes on the ingredients: 1. Mirin is a sweetened rice wine, so if you use a vinegar substitute, you may find that the mix needs a bit of sugar. My understanding is that brown sugar sweetens this dish better than white sugar. I used Mirin, because I had it. But of course. 2. You know what a purist the KG is, so this use of powdered garlic instead of fresh is an attempt to maintain the smooth texture of the sauce. If you don’t care about the texture and want a bigger garlic hit, feel free to use 1-2 small cloves of garlic, minced. 3. It is in fact easier to use 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger than the 2 teaspoons of fresh, but if you like that bite that fresh ginger delivers, you'll want the fresh. If you just want the flavor, ground ginger will be fine.

Directions
Set a pot of well salted boiling water on the stove and cook the noodles until a bit al dente.

Meanwhile, combine the peanut butter and the hot water until the mixture is smooth and consistent. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Toss with the noodles and serve with garnishes of your choice.

*   *   *


Smoked Oyster Caesar Salad

Adapted from Justin Warner, The Laws of Cooking... and How to Break Them (2015).

You may remember the Kitchen Goddess’s fascination with Justin Warner’s debut cookbook, The Laws of Cooking... and How to Break Them. This young man has an amazing imagination when it comes to food and food combinations. Many of his ideas are just downright fun. Like this take on the classic Caesar salad, which uses smoked oysters (a KG favorite) instead of anchovies, and... [wait for it] oyster crackers instead of croutons. So easy, so different, so delicious.

Serves 4, though you’ll have enough dressing and croutons for 4 more.

Ingredients
For the dressing:
2 egg yolks
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¾ cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil like canola)
One small (3.7-ounce) can smoked oysters packed in oil

For the croutons:
2 cups oyster crackers
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving

For the salad:
2 romaine hearts
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino-Romano cheese


Directions
For the dressing:
In a food processor (or a blender), pulse together the egg yolks, lemon juice, Dijon, garlic, Worcestershire and salt until thoroughly combined. With the machine running, slowly add the vegetable oil in a thin stream.

Drain the oil from the oysters, reserving 1 tablespoon of the oil for the croutons. Add the drained oysters to the dressing and pulse (blend) until smooth. Set aside.

For the croutons:
In a small skillet over medium-high heat, toss together the crackers, olive oil, black pepper, and the reserved oyster oil. Toast the crackers, tossing often, until they take on some color and start to brown. Remove the crackers to a bowl and set aside to cool.

For the presentation:
Swipe a spoonful of the dressing on each plate (to keep the lettuce from sliding around).
Lop off the base of each romaine heart, and slice the hearts in half lengthwise. Place a half face-up on the dressing, then drizzle with additional dressing. Top with croutons, additional black pepper, and a sprinkling of Pecorino-Romano, and serve.




Kitchen Goddess note: As I mentioned above, you’ll have lots of dressing from this recipe. You can either buy more romaine hearts and invite more guests, or save the rest for another dinner. Warner says the dressing is great in a potato salad, and I believe him. I like having some on hand anytime, as a dressing on other, relatively plain types of salads.