Month: May 2014

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Braised Kale with Lime and Coconut

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I have a new addiction. It’s called Good Eggs and it’s a relatively new online company where you can order fresh food from local farmers and producers and have it delivered at home. It’s only available in Brooklyn, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and San Francisco for now. I ordered for the first time last week and I was immediately hooked. This is basically the kind of stuff you’d find at Union Square Market, but ordered online and brought to your door.

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Don’t get me wrong, I love going to the farmer’s market. Both the one at Union Square and the smaller one near us in Brooklyn. At the peak of the season, I’ve been known to get teary-eyed over the bounty of fruits and vegetables surrounding me (I can get pretty emotional about food). But getting to the market isn’t always possible, especially since it’s not available every day. And some of the producers don’t sell at the market. So Good Eggs comes in handy.

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One of the things I ordered last week was sorrel, which I had read about but never tasted. Oh my goodness, it was a revelation! When Steve came home, I didn’t say a word and I just handed him a sorrel leaf and told him to eat it. His eyes opened wide. “What is that?” he exclaimed. Its sharp lemony flavor is such a surprise and lends itself to so many different uses.

But today is not about sorrel, whose season is pretty much over (next year, I’ll have a recipe with sorrel, when its season comes around again). Today is about kale. I know you’re probably sick of kale. It comes in salads, in smoothies, roasted until crispy or added to soups. Pretty soon it will be in desserts. But the other day, as I was trying to think of a different way of preparing it, I came up with this recipe that seemed different than any other way I had tasted kale before. It combines the sweetness of maple syrup with the zing of lime along with the nuttiness of toasted coconut flakes. Next year, maybe I’ll throw in some sorrel too.

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Braised Kale with Lime and Coconut

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
12oz kale
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper
¾ tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted at 350º F until golden brown
juice of half a lime

Directions:

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add the shallot and cook over moderately high heat until softened and just beginning to brown. Add garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, then add the kale in large handfuls, letting it wilt slightly before adding more. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook over moderate heat until the kale is tender, about 5 minutes.

Remove the lid and cook until much of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes longer. Add the maple syrup and lime juice and cook another 3 minutes.

Serve with toasted coconut flakes sprinkled on top.

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Ultimate Chocolate Ice Cream

DSC02471I really don’t like flying. The loss of control (you’re hurtling through the air at 34,000 feet at unimaginable speeds!), the long periods of sitting down, the dry air and pressure differential (hello explosive sinus headache!), the forced proximity to other people (does your elbow have to rest on my ribs? is that Chanel No. “stale smoke and onions” you’re wearing? what part of I-am-wearing-headphones-so-that-I-don’t-have-to-talk–to-you do you not understand?), are only some of the pleasures of flying that I wouldn’t mind never having to experience again.

We flew back yesterday from Hilton Head Island where we visited Steve’s dad, brother, and sister-in-law. Since Hilton Head Island airport is smaller than a Walmart, the only planes that land there are tiny propeller ones. We got into one that supposedly would fly all the way to Washington D.C. It did, but only after it shook and tumbled as it landed enough to make me think about reaching for the barf bag twice. And then, when safely on the ground, I turned airport mode off on my phone to find a voicemail that – surprise! – our flight to New York was cancelled – thank you for flying US Airways – you are now scheduled to fly tomorrow at 9am – good luck.

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Fortunately, a helpful agent booked us on a Delta flight which would arrive in New York at the same time as our cancelled flight. Then as soon as we sat down in that plane, two college girls sat behind us. And then one of them – tan, dirty blond hair, short shorts – took a really deep breath and started talking without.a.break for the entire flight. Have you read Kerouac’s “On the Road”? The stream of thought chain of words that never lets up? Like that, except less interesting and delivered in the sentence-as-a-question cadence of valley girl speak that continued on through the flight, through the deplaning, all the way into the terminal until the other girl (who barely managed a few “uh-huh”s and “yeah”s the entire time) ducked into a bathroom, presumably to escape.

Hopefully, your Memorial Day travels are a little less eventful. So, as we begin the summer season, I offer you this recipe for the ultimate chocolate ice cream. It’s got a couple of ingredients that are tougher to find and which you can replace. But if you find them, the result will be worthwhile. Almost worth flying for.

DSC02743Ultimate Chocolate Ice Cream

Note: Gianduja is an Italian chocolate spread that contains about 30% hazelnut paste. It comes in blocks and it’s solid, not liquid. If you can’t find it, use good quality milk chocolate instead. I like Sharfgen Berger Extra Rich Milk Chocolate. Also, if you can’t find malted milk powder you can omit it from the recipe, but try to find it. It makes a big difference.

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons black cocoa
3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
125 gr sugar
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup malted milk powder
170g gianduja, chopped (or use good quality milk chocolate)
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Place the chopped gianduja (or milk chocolate) in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add the cream, cocoa, sugar, salt and malted milk powder. Whisk gently while heating over medium heat until combined. When the mixture comes to a boil, pour over chopped gianduja in bowl. Whisk until gianduja is completely melted and incorporated. Add milk and vanilla and whisk to combine.

Let it cool and chill, covered, in the refrigerator. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

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Turkey and Spinach Burgers

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We were in the supermarket, the four of us buying food for the long weekend vacation that we were about to spend in Palm Springs, tossing ideas back and forth on what we could make, when our friend Brad exclaimed “I could make these amazing turkey and spinach burgers one day for lunch!”

I admit it. My initial reaction went something like this in my head: Turkey burgers? With spinach? Are we being punished for something? Maybe if I pretend I didn’t hear him, he’ll forget he said it. 

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Listen, I’m the furthest thing from a food snob. I’ll eat just about anything. But there’s one thing I generally don’t have any desire for:  so-called “healthy food.” To me, the real healthy food (no quotes) is food that’s fresh, made from things that didn’t grow in a lab, and that has not gone through twenty machines in a giant factory before wrapped into plastic and stuck in a freezer.

So, as soon as I heard the words “turkey,” “spinach,” and “burger,” I thought “healthy food.” Which was unfair, because in reality, these burgers are healthy food. However, I was still wary of the idea of burgers made with turkey, a meat usually just a step above styrofoam in flavor, and spinach, the only leafy green that, when cooked, makes me gag.

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But, since Brad is one of my dearest friends and because I know he loves good food as much as I do, I said “Sounds good!” and continued with out grocery shopping. And then when he made these burgers for us and I took a bite, I was happy I trusted his food judgement. This burger’s name belies its flavor. The healthy dose of cumin gives the usually bland turkey meat a jolt of umami. And the chopped spinach and scallions provide not only flavor but also ensure that these burgers are juicy, despite the leanness of the turkey meat.

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Turkey and Spinach Burgers – Slightly adapted from Bon Appétit

Makes 6 small burgers

Ingredients:

1/2 bunch flat-leaf spinach, thick stems removed, leaves chopped (about 3-4 cups)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 pound ground turkey
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Combine spinach, scallions, garlic, turkey, and cumin in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Using a fork, mix gently just to combine. Form turkey mixture into six 1-inch-thick patties.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook patties until golden brown and cooked through (resist the temptation to press down on patties with your spatula while cooking), about 5-6 minutes per side (a meat thermometer inserted in the middle of a burger should read 160° F). Transfer to a plate.

Serve burgers on toasted buns with sliced tomato, pickles, ketchup, and mustard, or any of your favorite condiments.

DO AHEAD: Patties can be formed 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

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Passion Fruit Ice Cream

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My birthday was always my favorite day of the year when I was a kid. My parents made a big deal out of it and since my sister and I had birthdays that were separated by only 4 days, we celebrated them together, even when we were teenagers. Since we were only two years apart, we knew each other’s friends well and had no problem having one party where all of our friends were invited and had fun together.

The time of the year was always great too, because the weather at the end of April was usually warm and dry, while everything was in bloom. Our parents threw us a big party where everyone hung out in our big front yard. There was always music and lots of dancing (my sister and I loved to dance, and still do). There is a photo of me from what was probably my 8th birthday, twirling a girl from my class, most likely to an ABBA or Boney M song (my favorite bands at that time).

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As an adult, I still love my birthday and I still get excited at the prospect of opening presents and celebrating a day that’s all about me. But not all of my adult birthdays have included big parties and dancing. Take this year, for example. The night before my birthday, I had an MRI of my left hip and lower spine to figure out the source of the hip pain and foot numbness that I’ve had since October (it turns out it’s a labral tear, tendonosis, and bursitis). Nothing makes you feel like you’re getting older quite like hip pain. Then I got home and in the middle of dinner a piece of my lower front tooth just fell off. The next day, the day of my birthday, we woke up to freezing temperatures (at the end of April) and one of the rainiest days in the history of New York city. On top of that I had to work all day and teach in the evening.

But before you start to feel sorry for me, I should tell you that after all that I got to come home to a lovely dinner with my amazing husband, who bought me presents and brought me flowers, and finished it all with a hefty scoop of this passion fruit ice cream, one of my favorite desserts. Which is to say, I had a great birthday again.
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Passion Fruit Ice Cream

Note: I use the frozen passion fruit pulp from Goya, which I thaw before adding to the egg yolks. You can also buy fresh passion fruits and extract the pulp yourself. If you do so, you can either strain the seeds or leave them in for the added crunch.

Ingredients:

1 can (14oz sweetened condensed milk)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup passion fruit pulp (see note)
4 large egg yolks

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the passion fruit pulp. Place a mesh strainer on top of a medium bowl and set aside.

In a saucepan, add sweetened condensed milk, cream, sugar, and pinch of salt. Heat, stirring frequently, over medium heat until combined and bubbles start to form.

Temper the egg yolks by slowly pouring about 1/3 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, while whisking constantly. Scrape the tempered egg yolk mixture into the saucepan, again whisking constantly. You’ll notice that the mixture will immediately become thicker. Continue to cook over medium heat for another 4 minutes, stirring constantly with a spatula and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan.

Pour the mixture through the mesh strainer into the medium bowl. Let cool completely and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Freeze the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

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Chicken with Shallots, Tomatoes, and Tarragon

DSC02522I work close to Kalustyan’s, the spice and food emporium that pretty much every chef in the world knows and buys from (they ship everything worldwide). It’s an unassuming place, next to a takeout Indian restaurant called Curry in a Hurry. Inside, there are more spices, sauces, frozen foods, and ingredients than you could ever imagine. The incredibly narrow aisles are surrounded on both sides with shelves up to the ceiling, packed with bags of different sizes that are filled with exotic sounding spices like Anardana (sour pomegranate seeds used as a souring agent), Radhuni (an incredibly pungent spice from Bengal), Jaffna (a hot curry powder from Sri Lanka), and on and on.

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Whenever I am there, it’s hard not to buy things, especially if I’ve never heard of them before, despite not being able to smell or taste them (the bags are sealed shut). I often bring them home and look them up online to try and find a use for them. More than once, they end up forgotten in the back of the spice pantry and eventually thrown out. This time I bought three things I already knew about and had wanted to buy for a while: star anise, ras el hanout (a Moroccan spice blend), and za’atar (a Middle-Eastern spice blend that varies from country to country – I bought the Lebanese kind).

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I’ve already used the ras el hanout to make a rub for pork chops that I pan fried in some oil and finished in the oven. And the za’tar has gone over yogurt with olive oil (known as labneh) and fresh tomatoes with olive oil and salt. The star anise is waiting its turn.

The point I am trying to make is that I am a flavor explorer, as is Steve. Whenever we are in an ethnic market or grocery store, we’ll end up buying things that we’ve never tasted before, always searching for new gustatory experiences.

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So it might come as a surprise when I tell you that until a few months ago I couldn’t really tell you what tarragon tasted like. I knew about it, I’d seen it many times in the store, but I never cooked with it or remembered eating anything with tarragon in it. And then the tarragon epiphany happened. I don’t remember which recipe started this but there was one recipe I tried that called for tarragon and as soon as I bought it and smelled and tasted the sweet anise-like aroma and flavor I knew I would use a lot more of it, something I have happily done since then.

Today’s recipe appeared in the New York Times and I liked its simplicity and flavor profile. I tried to modify it to maintain the crisp skin of the thighs but my attempts were unsuccessful. The only thing that could work is placing the pan under a hot broiler for a few minutes at the end, in order to recrisp the chicken skin.

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Chicken with Shallots, Tomatoes, and Tarragon – Slightly adapted from the New York Times

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 tablespoon flour
½ tablespoon kosher salt
½ tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
7-8 whole medium shallots, peeled, ends trimmed
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 sprigs tarragon
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Directions:

Rinse chicken thighs and pat them very dry with paper towels. Trip any excess fat or skin. Sprinkle over both sides of thighs the flour, salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet set over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, cook the thighs, skin-side down first, in batches if necessary, until the skin is well browned and crisp, about 7-8 minutes. Turn thighs over and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.

Add the whole shallots to the pot and sauté them in the butter and chicken fat until they begin to soften and caramelize, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the shallots from the pot. Lower the heat to medium low. Add the wine to deglaze the pot, stirring with a heatproof spatula, then add the mustard and tarragon. Stir until mustard is almost fully combined. Add the chicken thighs skin side up and nestle the shallots between them.

Cover the pot, turn the heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the lid, raise the heat to medium and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken, 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and stir lightly to combine. Serve immediately. If you want to recrisp the chicken skin, place under a hot broiler for a couple of minutes.