A Weeknight Dinner

I recently picked up some local salad greens, cherry tomatoes, and pork tenderloin, and decided to make that into dinner tonight. The greens and tomatoes were simple—tossed with some Brightland olive oil and Champagne vinegar, and a pinch of kosher salt and grind of pepper. And I found a recipe on NYT Cooking for harissa-honey glazed pork tenderloin that was insanely easy and flavorful. I used up the remainder of a jar of rose harissa that I blew through in the course of a week—time to reorder! Here’s the recipe for the pork tenderloin:

Harissa-Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin

¼ cup harissa paste

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 pork tenderloin (1 to 1¼ pounds), silver skin removed, meat halved crosswise

2 teaspoons sunflower or other neutral oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the harissa and honey. On a plate, season the pork all over with salt and pepper. Rub a thin layer of the harissa-honey mixture all over the pork.

Heat the oil in a medium heavy-bottomed (e.g. cast iron) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until very browned on two sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side.

Turn off the heat and remove pork to a plate. Rub the pork all over with the remaining harissa-honey mixture. Return the pork to the skillet and roast until a thermometer in the thickest part registers between 140 and 145 degrees, 8 to 12 minutes. The thinner piece of meat may be ready first, so check both pieces and remove each when done.

Transfer to a cutting board to rest at least 10 minutes, then slice and serve.

Roasted Carrot Salad With Chamoy

Here’s my slight adaptation of Yotam Ottolenghi’s Roasted Carrot Salad with Chamoy. Highly recommended! Note that I included certain quantities in grams. I find it so much more accurate than using cup measures, so please if you don’t have a kitchen scale, get one! They are not expensive and working by weight is just so much easier and more precise.

Roasted Carrot Salad with Chamoy

1 1/2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch x 1/2 inch batons

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons maple syrup

salt and pepper

For the Chamoy sauce:

40 g dried apricots

1 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp sumac

3 tbsp lime juice

1 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper (or gochugaru)

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

For finishing:

10 g mint leaves

5 g dill, roughly chopped

8 dried apricots, sliced thin

30 g roasted almonds, roughly chopped

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp lime juice

Preheat over to 500. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together carrots, olive oil maple syrup, pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Spread the carrots out on he parchment and roast for 18 minutes, tossing the carrots halfway through.

While the carrots are roasting, mix together apricots, maple syrup, sumac, lime juice, chile flakes, garlic, olive oil, and salt in a small food processor, spice grinder (if liquidproof), or blender, until they form a smooth paste. If necessary, add a tablespoon of water to smooth out the paste.

Once carrots are cooked, transfer to a large bowl, add the chamoy, mix well, and set aside for 20 minutes. Finish with herbs, sliced apricots, almonds, olive oil, and lime juice. Serve!

A Weekend in the Kitchen

I didn’t realize until Friday afternoon that I had Monday off, so I hadn’t made any big plans. I decided that I would spend the weekend in the kitchen, trying out some recipes from the new cookbooks I recently acquired. All in all, the resulting dishes were a success, with one little error along the way (read the recipe!).

Recently, I’ve been shopping primarily from the farmer’s market and local farmstand-type grocery shops, selecting what looks beautiful and in season and then figuring out what to do with nature’s bounty. By contrast, working from these recipes required a more traditional approach to sourcing ingredients—the shopping list. I came up with the dishes I wanted to make, then made a shopping list and headed out first to the High Falls Food Co-op, which has mostly local, organic produce, quality meats, a well-stocked bulk bin section, and sundries. I was able to get most of what I needed there, then got the rest at a more conventional grocery store. (I couldn’t help myself and also ended up picking some random produce and meats at the co-op because they looked so appetizing.). Then, I set about cooking.

The first dish I made was Roasted Carrot Salad with Chamoy, from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Flavor. Chamoy is a Mexican condiment that is simultaneously sweet, tangy, salty, sour, and spicy. It is readily available at Latin markets, but this recipe called for making it yourself, which really wasn’t that hard and resulted in a chamoy that was more paste-like in consistency than the usual store-bought kind, which is liquidy. The carrots are tossed in maple syrup and olive oil and roasted on a sheet pan, then mixed with the chamoy sauce and finished with roasted almonds, mint, dill, and dried apricots. The dish was sensational—a riot of flavors, textures, and temperatures. I’ll post my (slight) adaptation of the recipe in a separate post.

The second dish I made was also from Flavor, this time a stuffed eggplant with coconut dal. I made this dish partially because I’ve always been somewhat averse to eggplant, but know that it is a widely beloved vegetable and one I should learn to make friends with. This one is very Indian-inflected—a creamy, coconutty dal made with whole red lentils (not the usual split red lentils), with roulades of eggplant and spinach leaves, stuffed with shredded paneer, cilantro, and mango pickle. I missed a step and did not roast the eggplants first before stuffing them, which definitely affected the final product, but all in all, the constituent flavors were delectable, and the eggplant cooked enough in the final step to be quite tasty, just clearly not as sumptuous as it would have been had it gotten the initial roasting step. If you are a fan of Indian food, I would definitely try making this dish, and even would just make the coconut dal on its own. I plan on introducing that dal into somewhat heavy rotation in my meal planning going forward!

In addition to these two more substantial projects (and Ottolenghi recipes are quite often a project, with tons of ingredients and intermediate preparatory steps and lots of mixing bowls dirtied), I also made some collard greens, which I tossed with a garlic tahini dressing. This idea came from Deborah Madison’s The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and was so simple and mouth-wateringly good, both warm and at room temperature. Basically, in a mortar and pestle, you make a paste of one garlic clove with a little salt, then add a tablespoon and a half of tahini, a tablespoon of yogurt, the juice of half a lemon, and mix it all together into a smooth sauce. The collards are literally just wilted in a large pan for about five minutes, and then tossed with the sauce. So easy, and such a savory, luxurious tasting dish! I will also be making this often when doing meal prep for the week.

There was also some extra spinach left over from the stuffed eggplant recipe, so I did a simple preparation that I have done for years with kale, chard, and other leafy greens. Take a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and throw in a couple of cloves of sliced garlic and a couple of pinches of cracked red pepper. Heat on medium until the cloves of garlic start browning, then throw in the greens, a glug of water, and then stir the greens until they reach the doneness you like. Then, finish with salt and a couple of shakes of red wine vinegar. It’s a classic. To be honest, I prefer it with kale or chard to the spinach, texturally, but flavor-wise it will be a nice addition to meals for the next few days.

Finally, I am currently marinading some chicken thighs in a mix of yogurt, lemon juice, za’atar, and harissa paste to bake Rosy Harissa Chicken later this evening for dinner and a lunch later this week. And that’s my weekend in the kitchen!

Shakshuka

My neighbors recently added six new chickens to their flock, and I was lucky enough to be a beneficiary of their egg largesse, receiving a dozen gorgeous, jewel-like eggs. I also recently acquired some rose harissa, so the first thing that came to mind with what to do with the eggs was shakshuka, a middle eastern dish where tomatoes and red pepper are cooked into a thick sauce on the stovetop and eggs are then dropped into little wells in the sauce, where they poach. It’s easy, and one of the tastiest meals any time of the day.

Shakshuka

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (if you have it)

1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons rose harissa

3 to 6 eggs

1/4 cup feta, crumbled

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Toasted bread or pita for dipping

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a 12-inch lidded saute pan. Add onion and red pepper, pinch of salt. Cook until onion softens and turns translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, smoked paprika (if using), and cook for 30 seconds until garlic releases its fragrance, then add the tomatoes and harissa. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Make wells in the sauce, crack one egg into each. Cover saute pan with lid and allow to cook to preferred runniness, about 4-6 minutes. Sprinkle with feta and parsley and serve with toasted bread or pita for dipping into the sauce! Leftover sauce keeps well for making another batch of shakshuka within the next couple of days.

White Beans, Black Garlic

I recently acquired a bunch of new spices and pantry ingredients, as a result of reading Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Flavor. One of these ingredients was black garlic, which is an East Asian sort of preserved, fermented garlic clove that is stored in the pantry. I had decided to make sort Rancho Gordo Alubia Blanca beans, which are a small white bean, and weirdly didn’t have any regular garlic on hand, so instead I mushed up two small heads of black garlic and threw them in to cook with the beans. The resulting beans and broth were so deeply rich and flavorful that I could barely stop eating it. The black garlic has natural sweetness, tons of umami, a little earthiness, and a little funk, and none of the harshness or piquancy of raw garlic. I couldn’t believe the depth and complexity of flavor coming from literally three ingredients—beans, black garlic, and a little salt. I topped it with some truffle hot sauce and made dinner and lunch out of it for several days. This is a dish I will reprise with regularity, and it’s something that can be put together purely with things in the pantry.

White Beans with Black Garlic

8 oz. Rancho Gordo Alubia Blanca beans (or other small white beans, such as navy)

2 small heads of black garlic

Kosher salt

Rinse the beans and put in a Dutch oven or similar heavy-bottomed pot. Cover beans with 2 inches of water. Peel black garlic and lightly smush the heads with the side of a chef’s knife or a fork. Add to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a slow simmer, using the pot lid to regulate temperature by partially covering. Cook until beans are tender (begin checking at about one hour). Salt to taste. Ladle out beans with their broth into a bowl and top as desired with truffle hot sauce, sriracha, parsley, mint chutney, pico de gallo…whatever you have on hand that you think would be delicious with it.

French Potato and Green Bean Salad

I had some potatoes and green beans from the farmer’s market that were in need of attention, so I looked up “green bean potato recipe” on Google, and this was the first thing that came up. And boy am I glad it did! This simple warm salad is beguilingly fresh, rich, unctuous, and just impossible to stop eating. The recipe here is adapted from the French Potato and Green Bean Salad recipe by David Tanis in NYT Cooking, with a number of changes, deletions, and substitutions.

French Potato and Green Bean Salad
Serves: 2

2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes

1/2 shallot, minced finely

1 tsp capers, chopped

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 pound green beans, ends trimmed

2 eggs

2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Fishwife tinned smoked salmon (optional)

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Salt well. Add potatoes, skins and all, and cook until they are firm but a knife pushes through easily, about 30 minutes. Remove from water with a skimmer and allow to cool.

While potatoes cook, make the vinaigrette. In a mason jar, add shallots, capers, mustard and vinegar. Add half of the olive oil, close jar and shake vigorously. Add the rest of the olive oil, close jar and shake vigorously. Add salt and pepper, add a little more vinegar if it needs it—let your tastebuds be the judge of when the vinaigrette is ready.

After potatoes cool enough, remove skins with a paring knife and cut potatoes into 1/4 in thick slices. Place slices in a salad serving bowl, coat with a good layer of vinaigrette (about half the jar’s worth). Toss gently with your hands to coat the potatoes. Set aside.

Put the beans in the same boiling water as the potatoes cooked in. Simmer until cooked but still full of life, about 4-5 minutes, depending on how mature the beans are. Remove from water with a skimmer and cool under cold water. Allow to drain.

Put the eggs in the same boiling water as the beans cooked in. Turn heat down to medium and simmer eggs for 8-9 minutes, depending on how jammy you prefer the yolks to be. Cool eggs in ice water, then peel. Cut each egg in half.

To serve, place beans in salad bowl with the potatoes. Coat with the rest of the vinaigrette. If you are adding the tinned smoked salmon, break up salmon into little chunks with a fork and add to the bowl. Gently toss everything with your hands. Sprinkle with parsley, then put eggs on top. Eat it all!

Chana Masala

I was in the mood for Indian food and didn’t feel like crossing the river into Rhinebeck, so I made chana masala, a delicious (and vegan) chickpea curry. It’s easy and satisfying. The recipe I used is adapted from Phaidon’s India Cookbook, with some edits.

1 tablespoon neutral oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large tomato, pureed

1 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste

4 cloves garlic

2 inch finger of ginger, peeled

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 lb cooked chickpeas

Roughly chop garlic and ginger and then mash into a paste with a mortar and pestle (or blender/food processor).

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion, tomato, tomato paste, garlic paste, ginger paste, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chili powder. Cook for three minutes, until onions start to soften. Add chickpeas and 1/2 cup of warm water and cook until hot throughout. Salt to taste.

Shrimp Scampi

I got it in my head that I wanted shrimp scampi. Why? Well, I read an article in the New York Times about a rosé scampi that sounded good, if fussy. And I just wanted a straightforward scampi. So I went to Gadaleto’s, a local fishmonger in New Paltz, and got a pound of wild caught Gulf shrimp. And then I made dinner.

I based the recipe on the classic Melissa Clark recipe, with some edits and substitutions based on reader comments and personal taste, as listed below.

2 tablespoons Kerrygold butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cloves garlic

2/3 cup dry white wine

1 Calabrian chili, chopped, or 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 pound large or extra-large shrimp, shell-on

1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Spaghetti

Peel and devein shrimp. Reserve shrimp shells.

In a small saucepan, place reserved shrimp shells and 2/3 cup of dry white wine and 1/3 cup water. Saute over low heat for 15 minutes. Strain shrimp broth.

Heat large pot of well-salted water to the boil.

In a large saute pan, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until the scent blooms, about two minutes. Add shrimp broth, a pinch of kosher salt, calabrian chili or red pepper flakes, and a decent amount of black pepper. Bring to a simmer and let liquid reduce for three minutes.

Add spaghetti to the pot of well-salted water. Cook for ten minutes.

Add shrimp and saute until they turn pink, 2 to 4 minutes depending on size. Grab a cup of the pasta water and toss it with the shrimp and stir around for one minute. Turn off heat, add parsley and lemon juice to the pan, toss around.

After 10 minutes, drain spaghetti in a colander.

Serve spaghetti in a bowl, with shrimp and scampi poured liberally over top.

Thomas Keller Roast Chicken

After the hundredth time or so I made this roast chicken, I lost count. It’s simply perfect, every time. Crispy, crunchy, golden brown skin, and succulent, flavorful meat. I seldom make a roast chicken with any other method.

3-4 pound chicken

Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Rinse chicken, then pat it as dry as you can get it with paper towels.  Truss or tie up the legs, if you are so inclined—I usually don’t bother.

Salt the chicken liberally inside and out, getting every surface with a nice amount of kosher salt.  Pepper to taste as well. 

Place chicken on a roasting pan or a saute pan and put it into the oven.  Roast it until it’s internal temperature is 165°F, or the juices run clear at the joint, around 50-55 minutes for a 3-4 lb. bird.   

Let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board, then cut up and serve.

Making Pesto

I bought some basil at the farmer’s market to serve with fresh heirloom tomatoes. Rather than let the rest of it go bad, as I often do, I decided to make pesto. Basic, yes, but also ridiculously easy and delicious. I intend to keep it around at all times.

2 cups fresh basil (leaves only)

3 tablespoons pine nuts

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup grana padano or parmigiano reggiano

Place pine nuts and garlic in mortar and pestle. Mash into a rough paste. Add basil leaves and smash ‘n’ grind until everything turns into a nice thick paste. Add in some of the olive oil and incorporate. Add the rest of the olive oil and incorporate. Add cheese and stir to lightly incorporate it. Done!

Season’s Eatings

Heirloom tomatoes with a chiffonade of basil, olive oil, sel gris, black pepper, and hunks of Piave. Perfection…