Category Archives: entree

Mustard-Roasted Fish from Ina

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4 (8-ounce) fish fillets such as red snapper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces crème fraîche
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons drained capers

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Combine the crème fraîche, two mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it’s barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it’s done.) Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top.  (Serves 4)

 

Shiitake Mushroom Tortellini w/ Soy Cream Sauce from thewoksoflife.com

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  • Olive oil
  • 6 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup minced scallion
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 36-42 square wonton wrappers (1 pack should be enough)
  • ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

In a skillet over medium high heat, add a few good lugs of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and season with salt. Sauté the mushrooms until tender and caramelized. This could take a while, so don’t rush the process! Once the mushrooms are caramelized, you might have some sticky bits at the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with a bit of water.

Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a mixing bowl and add the scallion, crushed red pepper flake, Parmesan, ricotta cheese, egg, and salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble, use a bit of water to dampen the edges of each wonton wrapper, and add a teaspoon of filling to the middle.

Fold in half diagonally so you get a triangle. Make sure there aren’t any air bubbles in the middle, and that the edges are tightly sealed.

Bring the two farthest corners of the triangle together to make a pseudo “tortellini” shape. Continue assembling until you’ve run out of filling.

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the tortellini. In a skillet over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the panko and stir constantly until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add a couple tablespoons more oil to the skillet and add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and cream, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes and add the soy sauces. Season with pepper.

By now, the water for the ravioli should be boiling. Cook the ravioli in the boiling water for 20 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer the ravioli to the sauce and simmer for another 60-90 seconds.

Serve immediately, garnished with your panko pangrittata and more scallions.

 

Tomato Pie from Vivian Howard

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For the Filling
2 cups diced and drained fresh tomatoes
2 cups diced and roasted tomatoes
1 cup caramelized onions
1/2 cup picked basil
salt
pepper
sugar

For the Topping
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1/3 cup grated Fontina
1/2 cup mayo
1 pie crust

For the diced and drained tomatoes
Seed and dice about 3 cups fresh, high-quality tomatoes. Toss them with a little kosher salt and sugar. Set over a colander while you prepare the remaining ingredients if possible. If not, drain for a minimum of an hour. You should be left with about 2 cups of tomato.
For the roasted tomatoes
Seed and dice 4 cups fresh, high quality tomatoes. Toss them with olive oil (at C&F we use garlic oil), plenty of kosher salt, and several sprigs of thyme. Spread this mix out on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. You want the tomatoes to be dry and slightly caramelized, but not burned around the edges.

For the Onions
Peel and slice (with the grain) 4 medium yellow onions. In a large sauté pan, heat 1/4 cup butter. Add the onions and season them with salt. Let the onions simmer and become juicy. Once the situation becomes a bit drier and much of the onion liquid has cooked out, turn down the heat, to its lowest setting and settle in for a long, slow caramelize. To get these onions where they need to be, it could take about 2 hours. You are looking for a medium brown, sweet caramelization.

To Assemble the Filling
Combine the onions, fresh tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Keep in mind, tomatoes take a lot of seasoning to really make them shine in applications like this.

To Bake and Serve
Spread the filling over the bottom of a blind-baked crust. Flatten the topping between wax paper or use your good ol’ hands to create a 1/3 inch thick round of delicious, cheesy topping that spreads nearly to the edges of the pie. Bake at 375 degrees until the top is nicely browned…20-25 minutes. Serve at just over room temperature.

Tips/Techniques
At Chef Vivian Howard’s restaurant, the Chef & the Farmer, they make a tight aioli to fold into the cheeses, but you can substitute your favorite brand of mayo to great effect. As for the crust… Chef Howard will add the crust recipe when she gather it from Kim, their pastry chef. For now, use your favorite crust recipe or even a frozen crust…and blind bake it!

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spaghetti pangrattato with crispy eggs from smittenkitchen.com

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16619466105_a308392a45Crumbs
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 lg or 2 sm garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh or stale coarse plain breadcrumbs panko worked great here
Salt and red pepper flakes, to taste
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
Few fine gratings fresh lemon zest

 

Crispy Egg
1 glug of olive oil per egg
3 eggs
Salt and pepper

Pasta and Assembly
8 ounces dried spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons small capers, drained (rinsed if salted), chopped
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

Make crispy crumbs (pangrattato): Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add garlic and let sizzle for barely a minute, just until it begins to turn a pale golden color. Add breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, rosemary and lemon zest and reduce heat to low, cooking mixture slowly until all of the crumbs are an even golden color, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of well salted water to a generous boil and cook pasta until al dente about 1 to 2 minutes shy of package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water before draining pasta.

Meanwhile, make crispy eggs: Wipe out breadcrumbs skillet. Return to stove over high heat and add a generous glug of olive oil per egg. Once hot enough that the oil begins to smoke, add egg(s). They’re going to hiss and splatter so step back as soon as you do. Spoon some of the cooking oil over the eggs, carefully. Season with salt and pepper. In 1 to 2 minutes, the egg(s) will be brown and very crisp underneath and around the edges. Shimmy a thin spatula underneath the egg(s) (a flexible fish spatula works great here), being careful not to break the yolk. If you’re cooking for someone who shouldn’t be eating runny yolks (ahem), you can flip the egg over and cook it for another 30 seconds or so before removing it. Transfer cooked egg(s) to paper towels to drain.

Assemble dish: Once pasta is drained, return it to the empty pot or a large skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a splash or two (or all, if needed to loosen pasta) of reserved cooking water. Over high heat, toss with capers and parsley for 1 minute. Divide among bowls or plates. Sprinkle with Pecorino, if using, then 1/3 of breadcrumb (pangrattato) mixture. Place an egg over each dish, and break up with a fork. Eat immediately.  Serves 2, in generous heaps, or 3, petitely

 

one-pan farro with tomatoes from smittenkitchen.com

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2 cups water
1 cup farro
1/2 large onion (I usually use a white one, for mildness)
2 cloves garlic
9 ounces tomatoes
1 teaspoons kosher or coarse sea salt
Up to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Few basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons
Grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

Place water and farro in a medium saucepan to presoak (I find just 5 to 10 minutes sufficient) while you prepare the other ingredients. Adding each ingredient to the pot as you finish preparing it, cut onion in half again, and very thinly slice it into quarter-moons. Thinly slice garlic cloves as well. Halve or quarter tomatoes. Add salt, pepper flakes (to taste) and 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan, and set a timer for 30 minutes. Bring uncovered pan (no lid necessary) up to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. When the timer rings, the farro should be perfectly cooked (tender but with a meaty chew), seasoned and the cooking water should be almost completely absorbed. If needed, though I’ve never found it necessary, cook it for 5 additional minutes, until farro is more tender.

Transfer to a wide serving bowl. If there’s enough leftover cooking liquid to be bothersome, simply use a slotted spoon to leave the amount you wish to behind. Drizzle farro lightly with additional olive oil, scatter with basil and parmesan. Eat immediately. Serves: 4 as a side, 2 as a hearty main

 

Salmon Cakes from the splendid table

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Salmon Cakes

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 small red onion, diced
  • 4 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 2 (14-ounce) cans salmon, drained
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon crab boil seasoning (e.g., Old Bay Seasoning)
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Melt the butter in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook until the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. In a large mixing bowl, mash the salmon, using a fork, until no large pieces remain. Add the onion mixture, parsley, capers, Worcestershire sauce, crab boil seasoning, mustard, eggs, and panko. Mix together until well combined. Form into 12 patties. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the cakes and cook until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes, then flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve these with fresh lemon wedges!

Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes

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Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’scookbook, Vegan Brunch. The clever use of tempeh in these cakes yields a unique flakiness and texture—and these are perfect to enjoy during the summer months. I make these cakes on the regular during this season, and alway follow Isa’s recipe exactly, but today I decided I would experiment with different spices and flavors to see what would happen. These tasted fantastic and paired perfectly with some sriracha-Vegenaise dressing.

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8 ounces three-grain tempeh
1/2 small red onion, minced
1 sheet of nori, pulverized into a powder, using a small coffee grinder
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp dill
1 TB sriracha
3 TB Vegenaise
2 TB capers
12 Ritz crackers, smashed (yes, they’re vegan!)
1 TB water whisked with 1/2 tsp Ener-G
1 tsp baking powder
chickpea flour, for dusting the cakes
oil for frying
equal parts Vegenaise and sriracha mixed together, for serving

First, break up the tempeh block into about 8 pieces. Place in a steamer basket with a bit of water, cover and steam for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and mash well with a strong fork.

Add in the next ten ingredients, mixing well. Try making a small patty in your hand—if it molds easily into a patty, you’re all set. If not, try adding a few more crackers at a time until the mixture is firm enough to hold a patty shape. Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours.

When you are ready to prepare the cakes, form the mixture into little patties. Set aside.

Fill a small saucepan with enough oil to submerge the cakes. Heat over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes.

Test the oil’s readiness but dropping a pinch of the chickpea flour into it—if it bubbles up immediately, your ready to fry. Dust two cakes at a time with some of the chickpea flour and slowly slide them into the oil using a slotted heat-resistant spoon. Fry on each side for about 2 minutes and transfer to paper towels to cool and drain.

Serve with the sriracha-Vegenaise dressing. They even taste great cold as a breakfast the following day, dressing included!

Braised Lentils With Mushrooms and Kale from washington post

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  • 1 cup dried French green lentilsIMG_5901
  • 3 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought vegetable broth
  • 8-12 ounces assorted mushrooms (such as cremini, shiitake and oyster), cleaned
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (may substitute sake or sherry)
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (may substitute half-and-half)
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
  • 8 ounces kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped

Rinse the lentils thoroughly. Combine them with the broth in a medium pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat until the liquid is barely bubbling and cook, uncovered, until the lentils have swelled and absorbed much of the liquid and are barely tender but intact and not mushy, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Remove and discard the stems from any mushrooms of the tough-stem variety, such as shiitakes. (For oysters, remove and discard just the thickest part of the bottom of the stem, and leave creminis and button mushrooms intact.) Coarsely chop the mushrooms.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; cook for a few minutes, until it is lightly browned. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for another minute, until the onion just starts to get tender. Add the mushrooms and salt in an even layer. Cook undisturbed for 2 minutes or until the bottom layer is deeply browned. Stir a few times, pack the mushrooms into an even layer again and cook undisturbed for another 2 minutes or until the bottom layer is browned. Repeat another time or two, until all the mushrooms are deeply caramelized and have shrunk, 7 to 9 minutes total.

Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute, then pour in the wine. Deglaze the pan by scraping up all the flavorful brown bits from the bottom. Cook to reduce the wine until no liquid remains.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cream. Let it bubble gently for 2 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened, then add the cooked lentils and their liquid. Stir to combine, taste, and add more salt if needed. Cover the pan and let it cook, barely bubbling, for 5 minutes.

Add the kale to the lentils. Cover and cook until the kale is tender but still bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. Taste, and add more salt, if desired. Divide the lentils among serving bowls and top each with an egg, if using. Serve hot.

Potato-Bean Stew washington post

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  • stew2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder, plus more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 large sweet red bell pepper, seeded and cut into small dice
  • 1 to 2 medium poblano chili peppers and/or Anaheim chili oseeded and cut into small dice OR a 7 oz can of chopped green chilies
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or more as needed
  • 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed well and cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 cup bean-cooking liquid or water, plus more as needed
  • 3 cups drained home-cooked pinto beans or 30 ounces canned, no-salt-added pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 15 ounces canned, tomatoes and their juices
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Juice from 1/2 to 1 lime

Heat a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat for about 1 minute, then add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the onion, chili powder and cumin; cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the bell pepper, chili peppers (to taste), garlic and 1 teaspoon of the salt; cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Stir in the potatoes and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat to low; cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add the bean cooking liquid or water, cover and cook for 15 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender but not mushy. Add more cooking liquid or water if the mixture seems dry.

Gently stir in the beans, along with the tomatoes and their juices. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low; cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Taste and season generously with the black pepper, plus additional salt and/or chili powder, and the lime juice (to taste). Serve hot.

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Farro Risotto from Nigella Lawson

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  • 1/2 cup dried porcini
  • 1/2 cup recently boiled water
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 leek (washed and trimmed), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
  • 2 3/4 cups pearled farro (perlato)
  • 1/4 cup Marsala
  • 5 cups broth, vegetable, chicken, or porcini
  • 8 ounces crimini mushrooms
  • sliced leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled
  • 1/4 cup ricotta
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, to serve

1. Cover the dried porcini with 1/2 cup of recently boiled water, then fill the kettle and put it on the heat again if you are making up the broth with concentrate, cube, or powder. In a wide, heavy saucepan (that comes with a lid) add 2 tablespoons of the oil and the fine jade tangle of leek, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the leeks are softened.

2. Drain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid, then chop them and add them to the pan. Stir well, then add the farro and turn it gently but thoroughly in the pan. Tip in the Marsala and porcini-soaking water and let it bubble up.

3. Make up the broth as wished and add this to the farro pan, stir, bring to a boil, and then clamp on a lid, turn down the heat, and let it cook at a simmer for 30 minutes, until the farro is cooked and all the liquid absorbed.

4. While the farro is cooking, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium-sized frying pan and cook the sliced crimini mushrooms for about 5 minutes or until they begin to soften (they will first seem alarmingly dry) at which point add the thyme, grate in (or mince and add) the garlic, and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are juicy and soft. Remove from the heat if there is still time on the clock for the farro. Once the farro is cooked, take it off the heat, too, and add the cooked mushrooms. Stir in the ricotta and Parmesan (they will melt in the heat of the farro) until the farro is creamy, then sprinkle with parsley and serve.