Posts tagged ‘summer’

Aug 3

cedar plank salmon with spearmint sauce

Have you wondered if all we ever eat around here is salad and vegetables and the occasional dessert? no, no, not so! During salmon season (I’m almost embarrassed to say) it’s on our table maybe as much as once a week. Our local newspaper’s food section had a wonderful-sounding salmon recipe last week that I was itching to try. We had a pot brimming with spearmint begging to be crushed and its aromas set free. It was fated.

This dish was so beautiful, so incredibly aromatic that (and now I truly am embarrassed) I was far too impatient to take photos of it. There was going to be no stage-setting. No turning it this way and that and getting the light just so. There was going to be no waiting. I mean none! So here you have it folks. Just as it came off the grill and its fragrant sauce was ladled on. Just before we gobbled it all up, smacking our lips and planning when we’d eat it again next…

This dish was, to my mind, absolutely perfect as it was. No changes were made to the original recipe, other than to halve it since we weren’t feeding a crowd. Therefore, we owe a debt of thanks to chef David Padberg of Portland’s Park Kitchen for the recipe. I’d hug him if he’d have it!

Salmon fillets steeped in the aromas of cedar smoke and steam, then ladled with a variation on salsa verde, made with fresh spearmint leaves. An incredibly delicious flavor combination.

(I hope you won’t be off-put by the addition of chopped anchovies to the sauce. Those and the capers add the perfect bit of salt & fish to complement the salmon…and their flavors were not at all over-bearing. The garlic and hot chili seeds added the perfect hint of heat. The lemon zest – oh you know! Let’s get on with it…

(I’ve halved the recipe for you below as most won’t be feeding 10 to 12. The above-pictured salmon fillet was 1 pound and we had sauce left over. It fed 2 generously – Guinea Pig loves his salmon – with enough left over for lunch the next day.)

Cedar Plank Salmon with Spearmint Sauce

(5 to 6 servings)

Sauce:

3 anchovies, finely chopped (if using salted anchovies, rinse them thoroughly first)
½ cup tightly packed fresh spearmint, finely minced
½ cup tightly packed fresh parsley, finely minced
2 Tablespoons capers, finely minced
¼ cup finely minced shallots
Grated zest of about 1½ lemons
2 smallish cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste

the Salmon:

1 untreated cedar plank
2 pound whole salmon fillet
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons firmly packed brown sugar

To make the sauce: In a medium bowl, mix together the anchovies, herbs, capers, shallots, lemon zest, garlic, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Chef Padberg says to then add lemon juice to taste and allow sauce to sit for at least 1 hour for flavors to meld before serving. I let the sauce sit for quite some time before adding the juice. I waited to add the lemon juice until the salmon went on the grill as I didn’t want the vibrant green to change. Makes nearly 1 cup of sauce.

Jul 31

23 Comments

a crisp of stone fruits

peaches, nectarines,

apricots, cherries, plums

sublime in their ecstasy dancing,

sweating sweet sunny juices of summer

. .

What is it about stone fruits that makes them so amiable and easy-going? Such contented things. Never any squabbling. Never an ego out of control. No matter which of them is in the bunch, it’s in all ways pure sweet harmony.

I’ve made this crisp in many combinations and it always tastes … well, sort of perfect. This time it was with a crowd of them all – some just slightly under-ripe, holding their shape while adding a bit of tartness, other dripping their ripe sweet juices over the cutting board onto the counter. The addition of bing cherries (though no more than a good fragrant handful) colored the entire dish with the blush of magenta. Here is a dessert, baked but simple, without secrets or special formulas, and full of summer’s freshness and freedoms.

Crisp Topping

3 T. unsalted butter, broken into several pieces (see NOTE)
3 T. walnut oil
½ to ¾ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon

NOTE: instead of using a combination of butter and walnut oil, you could simply use 6 T. butter. Or all walnut oil. Or 3 T. butter & 3 T. coconut oil. Such freedom.

Either using your fingers and kneading together the ingredients or using the paddle attachment of your mixer, work the ingredients together until you have a mixture resembling coarse crumbs. Set aside.

The following recipe will fill a 2½-quart gratin dish. On this occasion, I separated the recipe into 3 separate baking dishes, baking them all together, but only serving one. The others will be gently reheated for serving later – perhaps even for some special breakfast, served alongside cold Greek yogurt drizzled in honey.

A Crisp of Assorted Stone Fruits

3 pounds (about 1.5 kg) assorted stone fruits
¼ cup sugar (nice with vanilla bean scented sugar if you have it)
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon coriander
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

When selecting fruits, a combination of ripe and slightly under-ripe fruits work to produce the most balanced flavors.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

Wash fruit, remove stones and pits. Cut cherries in halves, all other fruits in approximately ½-inch slices. Mix the sugar with all the spices and then sprinkle over the fruit. Toss together and tumble into buttered baking dish (or dishes) of your choice. ( See below for baking times.)

Jul 13

44 Comments

green beans in summer

Keeping it simple, keeping it cool.

Fresh, crisp green beans, lightly and barely cooked then chilled. Drizzled with walnut oil. Scattered with toasted walnuts and fresh thyme leaves. Sprinkled with crunchy salt & crumbles of blue cheese. Served with anything off the grill or as one of a trio of summer salads. Simple and cool, like lemonade and a run through the sprinkler, just what we need, just as we need it.

A few secrets to beautifully cooked green beans:

Lots and lots of water…a big pot full of roiling, boiling water.

Lots of salt…way more than you think you’d need.

A quick cooking.

And, unless you’re serving immediately, a good ice-cold bath & toweling off. (the beans, I mean … but it might be just what you need too.)

Why so much water? Because when you drop the beans in, the temperature will naturally drop and will need to return to a boil…that takes far less time the more water you have. Why so much salt? It helps lock in the color AND salted water boils at a higher temperature. (Don’t worry – very little of it will be left on the beans.) As quick a cooking as possible because the longer they’re in hot water the limper and paler they become and the more of their vitamins and minerals they’ll lose. Why the quick ice bath? If you don’t cool them immediately, they’ll continue cooking outside the pot, well beyond their perfect doneness. (Thank you Julia Childs – how to cook good green beans, one of the first things I learned from you as a young cook.)

As usual when presenting vegetables, I’ll leave quantities safely in your own able hands. Here are just a list of ingredients & a few guidelines.

Green Beans in Summer with Walnut Oil, Walnuts & Blue Cheese

Fresh, crisp brightly colored green beans

Walnut oil (so delicious! You won’t be sorry you picked some up if you haven’t already)

Walnuts

Coarse, crunchy salt (like Fleur gris or Maldon) – (See NOTE)

Blue cheese

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

~ ~ ~

NOTE on salt – if you enjoy salt, you’ll much prefer the crunchy little bits of a coarser, slower-dissolving kind in a dish like this. It adds another element & a distinctive texture to this simple dish.

Jul 4

7 Comments

Tuna Salad Nicoise

If ever I see Salad Niςoise on the menu, my choice might just as well have been made for me. Every other listing on the menu gets obscured behind shower-glass. I can’t quite make it out. Reading glasses don’t help. That’s how much I love Salad Niςoise!

The first time I tried this salad, years ago, I prepared it myself. Even though as newlyweds we were counting pennies, I was wanting, so badly, a new cookbook – something really amazing to add to my “library” of two. (Or was it only one?) I’m still kind of perplexed at my choice, because I had next to no experience in the kitchen, but I thought at the time my selection made sense. “Why not start at the top and learn from Julia Child? She has her own TV show! And she speaks French! She probably knows just about everything.” It was blind luck I suppose that I stumbled upon this salad before trying my hand at (deflating) a souffle, or braising beef tongue for Pot-au-feu (gag reflex), or making oeufs en gélee (poached eggs in aspic, if you can imagine!) I fear I never would have found Salad Niςoise if I hadn’t happened upon it before the others! Over the years, it’s undergone a few changes – but nothing major. Some things just possess that kind of status. They’ve earned their place. It’s the sort of thing that you’re a bit awed at the very sight of, you dip your head with respect, allow for a moment of silent appreciation, give in to the smile that’s forcing its way up, then raise two forks and begin! (OK, just one.) For me, that’s Salad Niςoise. It gets me every time.

Tuna Salad Niςoise

(serves 4 main course meals)

This salad originated in Nice, France. It’s fresh, clean, light, summery, deliciously lemony, a little salty here and there…and is one of those things that’s far greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a composed dish – arranged in any manner that suits the artist – that would be you. The key though is to treat each component in a way that brings out the delicious best in it. The ingredients that are cooked are done so separately, and most are then tossed in a little vinaigrette before being arranged on the platter. The components of this salad can ALL be prepared ahead of time, put in their own containers, loaded in the cooler and taken on a picnic, then artfully assembled on site! Can’t you just hear Julia now? “Tres chic picnic!”

I happen to love seared Ahi. Rare. For me, a little satisfies deeply. But, if you don’t have access to it, or aren’t enamored of it, you can use a good canned albacore tuna – when packed in extra virgin olive oil its taste is very good. For years, I bought tuna packed in water, but I’ve learned since that loss of flavor is the price you pay for that exchange. Because more of you will probably opt for the canned tuna, I’ll write the recipe for that. If seared ahi is your preference, I’m assuming you’ll know just what to do – sear in very hot pan one minute or so per side.

Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, minced (or to your taste)
3 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon wine vinegar (not balsamic)
1-1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard or 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & Freshly ground pepper to taste
Fresh or dried herbs – especially fresh thyme leaves

Make a smooth paste of the minced garlic, combined with the salt. Whisk in lemon juice and wine vinegar. Add mustard. Slowly whisk in olive oil, or place it all in a lidded jar and shake until emulsified.

Salad Ingredients

1 head butter lettuce
1 bunch watercress (optional)
8 plum tomatoes, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, (tossed with 2 T. olive oil & 1 T. balsamic vinegar)
5 – 10 sprigs of thyme or lemon thyme
1- 6 or 7 oz. can of albacore tuna in extra-virgin olive oil (preferably troll caught)
3/4 pounds fingerling potatoes (or small white or Yukon Gold potatoes)
4 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half
1/3 cup (or more) Niςoise olives
1/2 pound fresh green string beans
5 anchovies packed in salt (or a 2-oz. tin of flat fillets in olive oil) – Optional !
lemon cut in wedges for serving

Serving suggestion: Serve with toasted crusty bread drizzled with olive oil.

I’m about to give you directions for slow-roasting the tomatoes with olive oil and thyme. They’re really delicious this way, and add a different dimension to this salad, but if you haven’t the time, or would just prefer them un-roasted, then skip to the next step.

Roasting tomatoes. Prepeat oven to 300°F. In a medium bowl, toss the tomatoes with 2 T. olive oil and 1 T. balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper and place cut side down, with a sprig of fresh thyme tucked beneath. Bake for 45 minutes or 1 hour, or until tomatoes are “sun-dried” and lightly caramelized. Read more