Spice (29 page)

This is a variation on a dish that was described to me by my friend Gökcen Adar, a wonderful cook who lives in Istanbul. Gökcen cooks his fish in milk with lemon and capers. I decided to give this Greek technique an Arabic twist by using nuts, cinnamon, and orange, which was a risk, given that one rarely sees fish cooked with cinnamon. The risk paid off. People love this combination.

With this dish, try a rich rosé (see page 357) from the Chinon region of the Loire Valley. It is made entirely from cabernet franc, which lends mineral and herbaceous notes.

S
ERVES
4

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup slivered almonds

Four 8-ounce halibut fillets or steaks

3 teaspoons plus ¼ cup kosher salt plus more to taste

1½ pounds fresh spinach, large stems removed, cleaned

2 cups milk

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 4 oranges)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 teaspoons garlic, finely minced (about 3 large cloves)

Lemon wedges

1.
In a 6-to 7-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the almonds and toast them, stirring them with a fork for about 4 minutes, until they are golden brown. Lower the heat if necessary to avoid burning. Set aside. You don’t need to drain off the oil unless it has burned.

2.
Sprinkle the fish with 3 teaspoons of the salt and let it sit for at least 10 minutes (see note below).

3.
Bring a 4-quart pot of water to a boil. Add ¼ cup of salt and the spinach and cook until the spinach is completely wilted, about a minute. Drain and place the spinach in a small bowl of ice water to cool quickly. Squeeze the spinach as dry as you can and set aside.

4.
In a medium sauté pan with a lid (be sure the pan is large enough to hold the fish), mix the milk, orange juice, cinnamon, and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until the milk separates.

5.
Place the milk mixture in the blender and blend it until it becomes smooth again.

6.
Return the mixture to the pan with the fish and spinach and simmer gently on low heat for 5 to 6 minutes. The fish is done when it is white throughout, with no opaqueness at its center. Cook for a few more minutes if the fish is thicker.

7.
Check the seasoning, sprinkle with toasted almonds, and serve with lemon wedges.

Salting Fish

My friend Max Hatziiliades, who built Oleana, taught me how to salt my fish ahead of time. Mediterranean fish is saltier than ours, and he likes to make his fish here taste like the fish back home, in Greece. Don’t worry that your fish will be too salty if you salt it ahead of time. The fish just absorbs the salt throughout, which enhances the flavor.

Black Kale Malfati in Chestnut Soup with Moscato Wine

I ate some amazing spinach
malfati
in the winter of 2004 in a small restaurant in Siena, and it inspired me to create this recipe.
Malfatto
in Italian means “badly made,” which possibly refers to the practice of using leftover ravioli filling to make these dumplings. Despite their name, these dumplings are absolutely delicious.

This is a great dish to serve after the first frost, when the kale is high in sugars (see Farmer Eero’s note on page 55). The black kale in this recipe is deep green in color and tastes like a cross between broccoli and common kale. Other names for this kale include dinosaur kale, Tuscan black kale, and cavolo nero. You can also substitute regular kale, spinach, or chard for the black kale in this recipe if you like.

Moscato
is the Italian word for the muscat grape. This wine brightens up the flavor of the earthy chestnut and helps pick up the sweet caramel flavor of the nutmeg. I like the moscatos from Pantelleria (an island off of Sicily) because they have a nice, dry finish. It’s a natural pairing for this dish.

M
AKES
8
MALFATİ TO SERVE
4

For the Chestnut Soup

4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

1 teaspoon soy sauce (just for dark color, optional)

½ onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)

1 rib celery, roughly chopped

2 cups peeled chestnuts (see note below)

½ cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup dry moscato wine, like that from Pantelleria in Sicily, or fino sherry

For the Malfati

1 cup ricotta cheese, strained over the sink for about 10 minutes in a fine sieve

1 egg

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg plus more for garnish

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup flour plus more for dusting

4 cups chopped black kale, stems removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

To Start the Chestnut Soup

1.
Bring the chicken stock, soy sauce, onion, celery, and chestnuts to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the chestnuts are soft and tender. Cool to a warm temperature.

To Make the Malfati

1.
Place the ricotta in large mixing bowl and whisk for 2 to 3 minutes or until it is smooth and creamy with no lumps.

2.
Add the egg and continue whisking until the egg is incorporated, for another 20 seconds.

3.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in the nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the ½ cup flour and continue to stir until it is incorporated. Chill.

4.
Steam the kale by placing it with the olive oil and a tablespoon of water in a large sauté pan, fitted with a lid, over medium-low heat. Cook the kale until it’s wilted and tender, about 8 minutes. Drain the kale well in a colander, and when it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze a quarter of the kale at a time between your palms, pressing out as much water as possible. You should have about 1 cup of cooked kale. Stir the kale into the malfati mixture.

To Finish the Soup

1.
Pour half the cooled chestnut mixture into a blender and blend with the cream until smooth and creamy.

2.
Strain the chestnut and cream mixture through a fine sieve and season with salt and pepper. Purée the remaining soup and strain.

3.
Place the chestnut and cream mixture back into a saucepan and warm over low heat.

4.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.

5.
Divide the malfati mixture in half and then each half into half again, and then again, so that you have 8 equal pieces, approximately 1 inch around. Roll the pieces in flour to lightly coat the malfati.

6.
Drop each piece, one at a time, into the boiling water. When the water starts to come back to a boil, after 4 to 5 minutes, the malfati should start to float to the top. Remove each malfati with a slotted spoon and place them in a shallow baking dish. Cover the malfati with foil to keep them warm.

7.
Warm 4 large soup bowls in a low oven or by running really hot water over them.

8.
Place two malfati in each bowl.

9.
Stir the lemon juice and moscato into the soup and ladle it over the malfati to come halfway up the dumplings.

10.
Garnish with a dash of freshly grated nutmeg and serve immediately.

A Note on Chestnuts