In the Hands of a Chef (4 page)
Read In the Hands of a Chef Online
Authors: Jody Adams
T
apenade is easy to make
and infinitely adaptive. I use it both as a condiment and as an hors d’oeuvre. The recipe below produces a tapenade with undiluted olive flavor—just the way I like it when I want to complement a main dish like Monkfish and Clam Bourride (page 218). But when I’m serving tapenade as an hors d’oeuvre, I might add another seasoning or two, such as a couple of teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme, more garlic, a pinch of hot red pepper flakes, or several minced sun-dried tomatoes. My favorite olives for tapenade are Provençal Lucques, beautiful pale green olives with pointed tips and a mild flavor, but Picholine, manzanilla, or cracked green Greek olives all make fine alternatives, with different nuances in flavor. Tapenade keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator.
MAKES 1 CUP OR 20 TO 25 HORS D’OEUVRE SERVINGS
1 cup pitted green olives (about 1 to 1 ¼ pounds unpitted; see box) 3 anchovies, rinsed 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed ½ garlic clove, minced 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 loaf French bread, cut into ½-inch-thick slices and toasted
1.
Combine the olives, anchovies, capers, and garlic in a food processor and pulse to a rough paste, adding the olive oil as necessary. Transfer to a serving bowl and place in the center of a platter.
2.
Arrange the slices of toast around the tapenade and serve.
S
mashing whole olives with the side of a chef’s knife works fine for small amounts of olives, but to pit olives in quantity, you need a more efficient method. Cover a cutting board with a kitchen towel (this prevents the olives from rolling all over the place). Spread as many olives as will fit in a single layer on the towel. Cover with a second kitchen towel, then bash the olives once or twice with a heavy skillet. A quick glance beneath the towel will tell you if you need to hit them again—the pits and flesh should separate easily.
Purchase about
1¼
pounds of whole small green olives to make 1 cup of pitted olives. You can buy slightly less if you’re using a larger, fleshier variety like manzanillas.
T
he name
bagna cauda
comes
from
bagno caldo
, Italian for “hot bath, “ referring to the warm dipping sauce served with raw vegetables in the Piedmont section of Italy. I’ve departed from the traditional version by lightly roasting some of the vegetables first instead of serving them raw, a step that adds considerably to the depth and complexity of their flavor.
MAKES 12 TO 16 HORS D’OEUVRES OR 4 APPETIZER SERVINGS
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil ½ cup thinly sliced garlic 12 anchovies, rinsed and finely chopped 2 tablespoons unsalted butter Pinch of hot red pepper flakes ½ pound Jerusalem artichokes ½ small celery root (about ½ pound) ½ pound cauliflower
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large yellow pepper, roasted (see page 99), peeled, stemmed, and seeded, and cut into quarters
1 large red pepper, roasted (see page 99), peeled, stemmed, and seeded, and cut into quarters 8 scallions, trimmed
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed of stalks and tough outer layers, cut lengthwise in half, cored, and thinly sliced crosswise
4 celery stalks from the heart, peeled and cut lengthwise in half
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley for garnish
DO AHEAD:
Trim the Jerusalem artichokes, celery root, cauliflower, peppers, and scallions and refrigerate until ready to roast. Keep the Jerusalem artichokes and celery root in a nonreactive container, covered with water into which you’ve squeezed the juice of half a lemon to prevent discoloration.
1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2.
Heat ½ cup of the olive oil with the garlic over medium heat until the garlic becomes tender and aromatic, a couple of minutes. Add the chopped anchovies, butter, and pepper flakes and remove from the heat. Cover to keep warm, allowing the ingredients to steep until the sauce is needed.
3.
Peel and trim the Jerusalem artichokes, and cut into 2-inch chunks. Do the same with the celery root. Break the cauliflower into uniform pieces. Toss the Jerusalem artichokes, celery root, and cauliflower in a large bowl with the remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables on a sheet pan (save the olive oil) and roast until tender and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Give them a toss after 10 minutes so they cook evenly.
4.
While the vegetables are roasting, toss the peppers and scallions in the bowl with the leftover olive oil. Add them to the sheet pan for the last 5 minutes of roasting.
5.
Season the bagna cauda with salt and the lemon juice. Arrange the roasted vegetables in the center of a large platter, then surround them with the sliced fennel and celery sticks. Pour the sauce (reheat if necessary) over the vegetables, garnish the platter with the lemon wedges and parsley sprigs, and serve.
S
occa are rustic crepes sold
by vendors in Nice’s open-air markets and in workingmen’s cafés. Made of chickpea flour, alone or in combination with wheat flour, they’re traditionally cooked over wood fires on large flat copper pans called
plaques
, some a couple of feet wide, and cut into wedges for individual servings. The flavor has a cozy, toasty quality that places it within the realm of comfort food. This recipe makes thinner mini-socca, about 6 inches in diameter, and although they’re usually eaten plain, I’ve taken the liberty of adding a filling. An herbed mixture of spinach and feta with garlic goes well with the rustic socca flavor.
Socca are actually quite easy and fairly quick to prepare, but if you’re making them for the first time, you might want to make them ahead to spare yourself any anxiety. This recipe makes enough batter for about 20 hors d’oeuvre-sized socca, so you can afford to mess up a few and still have more than enough to complete the dish. A nonstick sauté pan makes a fine substitute for a crêpe pan, as long as it has sloping sides (making it easier to pick up an edge and flip the socca over).
MAKES 16 HORS D’OEUVRES
SOCCA
2 cups chickpea flour (available in health food stores and good Italian markets)
1¼ cups water, plus more if needed
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil for cooking the crêpes
FILLING
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 pound flat-leaf spinach, trimmed of thick stems, washed, and dried
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley ¼ cup chopped fresh oregano ¼ cup chopped fresh mint ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro ½ pound feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
DO AHEAD:
The socca can be made a day or two in advance, tightly wrapped, and refrigerated until ready to use.
1.
Combine the flour, water, eggs,
¼
cup of olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and beat well. Allow the batter to sit for 30 minutes.
2.
Stir the batter, then check the consistency. It should be the consistency of traditional wheat flour crêpe batter, that is, the thickness of heavy cream. If the batter is too thick, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. (You will have about 3 cups of batter.)
3.
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Ladle about 2 tablespoons of batter into the hot pan, then quickly tilt the pan to make a thin even circle of batter about 6 inches across. Cook the socca
until it just starts to color, about 30 seconds, then carefully peel it away from the pan (it should come free easily), flip it, and cook the other side, adding more oil as needed. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter. Stack the socca as they finish cooking so they don’t dry out. You should end up with around 20 crêpes. Select the best 16 and set the remainder aside for another use (hint: with powdered sugar, jam, or honey for breakfast tomorrow). If you’re making the socca ahead, let the stack cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to use them.
4.
To make the filling, heat ¼ cup of olive oil and garlic in a large sauté pan over medium heat until the garlic becomes aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the spinach, cover, and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Drain, if necessary, and let cool. Add the chopped herbs and crumbled feta to the spinach, mixing well.
5.
Lay the 16 socca on a counter. Imagine each socca as a clock face and distribute the spinach mixture evenly among the socca, placing it in the upper right quadrant of each crêpe (between 12 o’clock and 3 o’clock). Fold each crêpe in half (along the 3 o’clock-9 o’clock axis), then in half again so it’s folded in quarters.
6.
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Place a platter in the oven.
7.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Add the folded crêpes and cook, turning once, until golden brown and crisp on each side, 3 to 5 minutes. You may have to do them in two batches. Transfer to the warm platter
as you finish them. Serve warm or at room temperature.
A
nyone who makes soups on
a regular basis eventually becomes interested in stocks, because stocks mean better soups. With stocks, you can also make risotto, braise meats, and prepare reduction sauces. When I don’t have homemade stock in the freezer, I use high-quality canned low-sodium chicken broth to braise vegetables; my husband uses it for risotto. But for a special meal where I want to use the best ingredients I can get my hands on, I prefer homemade stock. This chapter teaches you to make three basic stocks—chicken, fish, and lobster—all you’ll need for even the fanciest dishes in this book.
The soup recipes range from the simple to the complex. Orzo in Chicken Broth with Many Greens and Asiago is a one-two-three recipe; Lobster, Corn, and Smoked Fish Chowder is almost instant (provided you have the ingredients on hand), whereas Roasted Tomato and Farro Soup simmers for the better part of an hour. Fresh Tomato Soup with Seared Eggplant Sandwiches is a whimsical reworking of a couple of tried-and-true classics; other selections will probably be new to you, like Fresh Green Pea Soup with Shaved Radicchio and Pistachios or Clam and White Bean Soup with Fennel, Anchovy, and Lemon. Whether you’re looking for a formal first course, a hearty entrée, or just comfort in a bowl, you’ll find it here.
T
his simple, straightforward recipe makes
a rich stock with a clean flavor. As a base for soups, sauces, or braising liquids, it beats the pants off anything that you can buy in a can. The quality of your ingredients, however, will make a significant impact on the final product. This recipe calls for 5 pounds of chicken parts; make sure that includes
at least
1 pound of legs and thighs, preferably more. Even better if the parts come from organic free-range chicken. If you have a really large stockpot, and the freezer space, the quantities are easily doubled.
If you have a leftover duck or goose carcass, especially one with shreds of meat still attached to it, you can substitute it for an equal amount of chicken parts to make duck or goose stock. Goose stock makes an exquisite risotto (see page 174). Since most of us only have either of these fowl around after roasting them, the likelihood is that you’ll have leftover carcasses, mostly bones. I roast two geese on Christmas Day and then make stock from the carcasses and as many odd scraps as I can find after dinner. If, however, you cook only one goose or duck, make up the difference with a package of chicken legs or thighs. The stock will still have a pronounced flavor of goose or duck.
Homemade chicken stock will keep for 5 days refrigerated; boil refrigerated stock before using it if it is older than a day or two. Refrigerate the stock for several hours before freezing. Frozen stock will keep for up to 6 months; boil before using.
MAKES 3 QUARTS
4 bay leaves
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
2 sprigs thyme
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
5 pounds chicken parts—backs, necks, and/or wings, etc., with at least 1 pound legs and/or thighs
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1. Pile the bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and peppercorns in the middle of a piece of cheesecloth and tie into a bundle. Set aside.
2. Rinse the chicken parts under cold running water. Put into a stockpot and add just enough water to come ½ inch below the top of the chicken parts (the bones will settle down during cooking). Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the vegetables and bundle of herbs. Move the pot toward you so it sits 2 inches off the center of the burner. This will cause the fat and impurities to collect at the edge of the pot closest to you, making it easier to skim them off. Simmer for I ½ hours, skimming occasionally.