Spice (5 page)

With this dish, you might enjoy a medium-bodied white wine with silky qualities, like an Australian Semillon.

S
ERVES
4

2 ripe avocados, split, seeded, and scooped

¼ cup tahini

1 tablespoon chopped garlic (about 3 cloves)

3 teaspoons ground cumin

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

1 pound small squid bodies, cartilage removed and washed in cold water

¾ cup milk

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup fine cornmeal

2 teaspoons salt

Fresh black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Aleppo chilies or medium-hot paprika

4 to 6 cups vegetable oil for frying

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

4 lemon wedges

1.
Blend the avocados, tahini, garlic, 2 teaspoons of the cumin, the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt to taste in a food processor, fitted with the metal blade. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy, like sour cream. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly on top of the avocado so that no air gets into it to turn it brown. Set it aside.
continued

2.
Slice across the squid bodies to make ½-inch rings and place them in a small mixing bowl. Cover the squid rings with the milk.

3.
In another small mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, Aleppo chilies, and the remaining 1 teaspoon cumin.

4.
Heat the vegetable oil to 350°F in a medium-large, deep saucepan over medium heat or follow the instructions of a small countertop deep-fryer.

5.
Drain the milk from the squid and toss them evenly in the flour mixture.

6.
Carefully drop the squid rings, one by one, into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pan, and fry them until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to fry the squid in two batches.

7.
Remove the squid with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

8.
Spoon the avocado mixture onto 4 plates and top with the squid and parsley. Serve with lemon wedges.

SALMON

Ninety percent of the salmon caught in the United States comes from Alaska, where the fish is still abundant because fisheries are well managed and the spawning rivers and streams have been well preserved. King salmon is usually available year-round, but much depends upon the weather: when the seas are too rough and the air too cold for fishermen to do their job, the supply drops and prices increase. Salmon fishing regulations are strict, and fishing is also frequently shut off so that the salmon population won’t be depleted.

Wild salmon taste better than farm-raised salmon because of their diet. Wild salmon eat naturally from what is in the wild—lots of shrimp, for example, which lends color to the salmon’s meat—while farmed salmon are fed fish food made from soy, and sometimes dyes and preservatives, not food found in its natural environment.

Salmon labeled
day boat
will be exceptionally fresh, because the fishing boat will have gone out and come back in the same day. Some fish are kept on ice for days when boats go out for long periods in deep water.
Line caught
means that the fishermen haven’t dropped nets and dragged for a huge catch. There is less impact on the marine environment when fish are line caught. Line fishing is more selective, causes less damage to the seabed and fish stock, and provides more jobs, as it is a more labor-intensive method of fishing. Choose only line-caught fish, even though it is usually more expensive.

The best way to get good fish is to get to know your fishmonger and ask where and how the fish were caught.

There are five varieties of wild Pacific salmon:

• sockeye or red

available mid-May through September

• chum

available June through September

• king or chinook

available year-round

• coho or silver

available July through mid-September

• pink

available in July and August

Seared Salmon with Egyptian Garlic and Coriander Sauce

I’m from the Pacific Northwest, and grew up eating salmon. This makes me biased: I prefer the deeper flavor and richer texture of wild Pacific salmon over the farm-raised variety widely available on the East Coast. My favorites are sockeye and king salmon, because they have the wonderfully marbled, high-fat content, producing a deliciously creamy fish. For people living on the East Coast, the taste of farm-raised salmon is probably more familiar, and it’s also easier to find than wild salmon. Either one is fine for this recipe, but if you have never had wild Pacific salmon, it’s worth seeking out.

I like to sear salmon on one side until it’s crispy, cooking it from the bottom up. Salmon’s high oil content (the good kind of oil: omega-3 fatty acid) will render as it cooks to form a crisp bottom, leaving the top side creamy and soft.

The tomato sauce in this recipe, which is just acidic enough to cut through the fish’s richness, is brightened and emboldened with the sweet coriander and toasted garlic. And as a finishing touch, I sprinkle peanuts on the salmon, adding a nutty layer of flavor and texture. I like to use peanuts, too, in honor of my friend Mona Mourad, who managed Oleana for two years and whose family hails from Alexandria, Egypt. There, the peanut crop is abundant, and Egyptians eat a lot of them: as snacks, sprinkled over pilafs, and in dukkah, a spice mix with nuts and seeds. This recipe is dedicated to Mona and her young twins, Nur and Ali.

Serve the salmon with some seared Swiss chard (page 53) or green beans and Rice Cakes (page 65).

A white Chateau Neuf du Pape that is aromatic with citrus, sage, and mineral notes will pair well with the density of the salmon.

S
ERVES
4

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (about 3 large cloves)

2 cups peeled and seeded tomatoes (see page 104), roughly chopped

2 teaspoons lightly toasted, ground coriander

Salt and pepper to taste

Four 7-ounce salmon fillets, boned and skinned

2 tablespoons lightly toasted, roughly chopped peanuts (see page 91)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish

1.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until the butter starts to brown. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring constantly until the garlic toasts and turns golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. The garlic will start to release its sugar and stick to your spoon just before it browns.

2.
Immediately stir in the tomatoes and coriander. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the tomatoes for about 20 minutes, until they are soft and make a sauce. The consistency of the sauce may vary, depending on how juicy the tomatoes are. If it seems too dry, add a teaspoon or more of olive oil and a teaspoon of water.

3.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper and set aside.

4.
Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper on both sides.

5.
In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. When the pan is hot, place each salmon fillet on its skinned side (the oily side, which browns the best) in the pan and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until a nice golden-brown crust begins to form. Lower the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid or heavy foil. Continue cooking the salmon on this side for another 6 minutes, until it’s almost completely cooked except for a little rare spot in the thickest middle part of the fillet. Turn off the heat and flip each fillet over to cook the rare spot, letting the fillets sit for about 3 minutes.

6.
Remove the fillets and place each on a dinner plate, crispy side up.

7.
Top each fillet with ¼ cup of the tomato sauce and sprinkle them with the peanuts and parsley. Serve immediately.

Spoon Lamb

I also call this dish “lamb sauce” because the lamb becomes so tender that you can serve it with a spoon. The use of pomegranate molasses is tricky because it can often be too tart. Always be sure to balance it with lemon juice. Somehow the acidity of the lemon softens the degree of the pomegranate’s tartness. Spoon lamb is great served over a rice or grain pilaf with fresh peas and fresh mint.

Drink a grenache from Gigondas in the Rhone Valley with this dish. Other Rhone blends work well, too, as they’re robust wines that stand up to the intense flavor of the pomegranate molasses.